Oleksandriya | Rivne

Oleksandriya is located about 13 km northwest of Rivne.  In 1847, 728 Jews lived in the village and by 1897 the population increased up to 2,154 comprising almost half of the local population.  Due to relocation and immigration of Jews in the 1920s, the population dropped and in 1921 only 1,293 Jews remained in the village. The majority of Jews lived off small trade and handcraft. There were Jews who did farm work. According to the local witnesses, there were two synagogues and one Tarbut school. In 1939, the village was taken over by Soviets as a result of the Molotov-Ribbentrop agreement.  From September 1939, the Jewish school and other working institutions were closed. However, Jews could continue working in their shops. On the eve of the war there were about 1,100 Jews including the refugees from Poland. The village was occupied by Germans on June 29, 1941.

The first killings started a couple of days after the occupation. Thus, as a result of a pogrom organized on July 1-4, 1941 by Germans with active participation of Ukrainian nationalists, the synagogue was burned down, the Jewish homes and shops were plundered, and a few Jews were killed.On July 1931, the first Aktion was conducted by Security police and SD squads arrived from Rivne. During this Aktion about 85 Jews were shot along with the communists. Within the first months of German occupation, all Jews were marked with armbands and yellow distinguishing badges. They were subjected to perform forced labor and were systematically robbed or beaten by the police. One year later, in late July-August, 1942, the Jewish population from was forced to move to one area in the village, close to the banks of the Horyn river, and a closed ghetto was officially created. It numbered about 1,080 inmates. The liquidation of the ghetto began September 21, 1942, and lasted a couple of days. The Jewish men were the first to be shot, then, the following days the remaining women, children and elderly people were rounded-up and taken to the nearby forest. As a result of this Aktion, 903 Jews were shot. About 100 Jews managed to escape, but later the majority was found and killed at the end of October. Only 15 Jews managed to survive the Holocaust.