Piryatin

Jews first settled in Piryatin at the beginning of the 17th century. According to some Jewish chronicles, the Jews of Piriatin were massacred during the Chmelnitsky uprising of 1648-1649. In winter or spring of 1918 18 Jews were robbed and abused and some of them were killed at the local railway station. On February 4-5, 1919 19 Jews were killed in a pogrom carried out by the White Army. Under the Soviets some Jewish artisans formed cooperatives, while other Jews were employed in white- or blue-collar jobs or engaged in agricultural work. About 260 students studied in a Yiddish school. In 1939 Piryatin's 1,747 Jews comprised 13 percent of the total population. The Germans occupied Piryatin on September 18, 1941 and immediately concentrated the Jews into a ghetto that encompassed three streets. During mass murder operations in April 1942 and later 1,600 Jews were killed. On May 18, 1942 dozens of Jews from Piryatin were shot in the town. Piryatin was liberated by the Red Army on September 17, 1943.