Shepetovka, Ukraine
And its descendants
shepetivka, Ukraine (current name)
Lat: 50° 11', Long: 27° 04'
This web page
This website was assembled to provide information for people interested in Jewish heritage from the town of Shepetovka. It is also intended to honor the residents of Shepetovka, both emigrants and current residents, and also the memory of our Shepetovka ancestors who were murdered there during the Holocaust. I hope that descendants may recognize a name or a face and help add to the knowledge base for this town. In this effort, I was greatly assisted by Miriam Weiner, who has roots in the town and provided extensive material. Her willingness to share her tremendous base of knowledge has been invaluable to this project. Special thanks go out to an indefatigable early researcher of Shepetovka, Mr. Sanford Masovitz. Although I never met Mr. Masovitz, this website owes so much to him. I also thank other contributors, including Marla Raucher Osborn, Christian Herrmann, David Kalis, Esther Chanie Dushinsky, Polina Gluskin, Lesley Kisner Cafarelli, Yoni Kupchick, Norman Shacat, Aaron Glassman, Irene Soskin, Michal Troudart, Linda Strauss, Marilyn Lustig, Renee Hatt, Barry Porter, Ilya Zeldes, Kirill Gayvoronsky, Maureen Hershman Shaw, Richard Narva, Jean Kaplan Teichroew, Axel Reineke, Donna Gershman, Michael Bernstein, Ariana Klein, Lauren John, Mitchel Lidowsky, Shirley Ginzburg, Scott Berger, Christine Meadows, Jennifer Lichman and Alexander Khibnik.
The town of Sudilkov is located three miles east of Shepetovka, and the two towns are intricately related. Shepetovka is the larger of the two. For more information about Sudilkov, please see this website.
Note About the Town Name
Researchers of Shepetovka are fortunate that the town name has been virtually unchanged within recent memory. The Ukrainian (current) version of the town name is Shepetivka. This web page uses the names Shepetovka and Shepetivka, depending on context. Spelling variations include Szepetowka, Szepietowka, Schepetowka, Shepetivka, Shipitivke, Shpitovka, etc.
Shepetovka Synagogue
Photo of the Synagogue of Shepetovka
from the S. An'Sky Ethnographic Expedition 1912-1914
Photo of the remodeled Shepetivka Synagogue
Photo credit: Marla Raucher Osborn, 2017
Sudilkov-Shepetovka Russian.pdfDescription of Sudilkov and Shepetovka from the Journal of Ministry of Internal Affairs, May 1836, Vo. XXI, p. 185; Military Statistics of Volynia Governorate, p.59, Urban Settlements, Vol. I and III, Description of Mineral Waters, Vol. I, p. 282. (Geographical and Statistical Dictionary of the Russian Empire, Complied by P. Semenov. Volume V, St. Petersburg 1885. See description and translation below.
Описание Шепетовки в Географическо-статистическом словаре Российской империи. Сост. П. Семёнов. Том V, СПб., 1885.
Шепетовка, местечко (влад.), Волынская губерния, Заславский уезд, в 20 верстах от уездного города, при реках Красноселка и Вапниковая. Число жителей: 2,791 человек обоего пола, 395 дворов, православная церковь, синагога, 2 еврейских молитвенных дома. По воскресеньям проводятся базары, 4 ярмарки.
При местечке имеются 2 железных источника, расположенных друг от друга в 50 шагах, на чернозёме. Подпочва состоит из песчаных и глинистых слоев, богатых железной охрой и обломками известняка. Вода в обоих источниках светлая, чистая, с лёгким вяжущим железистым вкусом и болотистым запахом. В малом источнике вода слабо сернистая. Температура воды +8° по Реомюру. Вода полезна как для внутреннего, так и для наружного применения при общей слабости и истощении сил, особенно при женских заболеваниях.
Shepetovka, a shtetl (small owner’s town), in Volhynia Governorate, Zaslavsky Uyezd, 20 versts from the uyezd town, located by the rivers Krasnoselka and Vapnikova. Population: 2,791 people of both sexes, 395 households, an Orthodox church, a synagogue, 2 Jewish prayer houses. Markets are held on Sundays, 4 fairs.
Near the town, there are 2 iron springs, located 50 paces apart, on black soil. The subsoil consists of sandy and clay layers, rich in iron ochre and limestone fragments. The water in both springs is clear and clean, with a slightly astringent iron taste and a swampy odor. In the smaller spring, the water is slightly sulfurous. The water temperature is +8° Réaumur (50°F, and 10°C). The water is beneficial both for internal and external use in cases of general weakness and exhaustion, especially in female ailments.
Translation from Russian provided by Alexander Khibnik.
Databases
Search the JewishGen Ukraine Database
Search the JewishGen Family Finder page for Shepetivka
List of holocaust victims in the Yad Vashem database for Shepetovka (you may have to search using other spelling variations)
Other Shepetovka Links
Photos and list of archived documents by The Miriam Weiner Routes to Roots Foundation
Routes to Roots Foundation article by Sergey Kravtsov and Vladimir Levin about the architecture of the Shepetovka synagogue including plans and photos
Photos of Shepetovka by author David Kalis
Shepetovka page on jewua.org
Photos of Shepetovka and discussion of the burial site of Rabbi Pinchas of Koretz at asimplejew blog and the twotzaddiks website
Information on cemeteries in Shepetovka in the JOWBR website
Wikipedia entry for Shepetivka
Yad Vashem Untold Stories entry for Shepetovka
Yad Vashem Untold Stories for the Sudilkov-Slavuta Road
Yad Vashem Untold Stories for the Tsvetukha Forest Murder Site
Yad Vashem Untold Stories for the Synagogue Murder Site
Yad Vashem Untold Stories Commemoration
Yad Vashem Untold Stories Report from the Soviet Extraordinary State Commission
Wikipedia article about Nikolai Ostrovsky, an influential writer of Soviet literature, best known for his novel How the Steel Was Tempered, who lived much of his short life in Shepetovka
Information and photos of Shepetovka and neighboring Sudilkov
Booklet in memory of residents of Shepetovka who were murdered by the Nazis, 1941-1944 (Yad Vashem Documents Collection, in Ukrainian); and List of Jews from Shepetovka who were Murdered by the Nazis, from this booklet (also in Ukrainian).
Drone photography of Shepetovka
Architecture of Shepetovka as described by a visitor