Mariiampil

Halych district, Ivano-Frankivsk region

Holocaust memorial in the Jewish cemetery in Mariiampil

Ivano-Frankivsk region - list of settlements and location of objects

Mariiampil, 2023

Year - Total Population - Jews

1765 - ? - 188
1880 - 1,316 - 663
1900 - 1,871 - 525
1921 - 940 - 241

Sources:
- Pinkas Hakehillot Polin: Encyclopedia of Jewish Communities, Poland, Volume II, page 307-308, published by Yad Vashem, Jerusalem. Translated by Jerrold Landau, JewishGen, Inc.

Photo:
- Jewish Cemeteries Initiative. Mariiampil Jewish Cemetery

Mariampol (ukr. Mariiampil, Маріямпіль) is a town, with a suburb village of the same name next to it, about eight kilometers from the Beizopol railway station. It was apparently founded in the latter half of the 17th century, and was under the private ownership of the nobility.

In the 18th century, Mariampol was centered around two monasteries that were erected in the place (one of them, of the Capuchin order, was closed in the 19th century). Practically, the town existed in the shadow of two larger cities: Halicz, 15 kilometers away, and Stanisławуw, 18 kilometers away. During the First World War, Mariampol was damaged by the destructive acts of the Russian conquerors (1914-1915), and especially from the pillage of the Petliura gangs in September 1920.

The first Jews settled in Mariampol during the latter half of the 17th century. At first, the community of Mariampol was subordinate to that of Jezupol, and even the sum of the head tax that the Jews of Mariampol were assessed in 1717 was attributed to the two communities together – for a total of 215 zloty.

During the latter half of the 18th century, the community of Mariampol was independent. In 1765, it oversaw 69 Jews in 11 nearby villages.

In 1785, a school for Jewish children, founded by H. Homberg[1], was founded in Mariampol. Two teachers taught at that school: Hershel Tobak and Yaakov Kajms. However, the fate of that school was the same of the fate of similar schools in the outlying towns of Galicia during that era.

The livelihood of the Jews of Mariampol during the 18th century was primarily from leasing, tavern keeping, innkeeping, and commerce. In 1773, a local Jew leased all the income (taxes, fees, and profinance) of the owners of the city.

During the 19th and 20th centuries, most of the Jews of Mariampol earned their livelihoods from small-scale commerce and peddling (especially in the fairs of the area), and from trades.

In 1912, a fire broke out in Mariampol that destroyed the houses and shops of the Jews. Many were left without a roof over their heads.

The suffering inflicted on the Jews of Mariampol during the time of the Russian occupation of 1914-19115 was followed by the tragedy of the invasion of the Petliura gangs in September 1920. During the pogrom that took place, four Jews were murdered, including a pregnant woman, and 16 were injured.
The hooligans raped four women and five girls (including two young girls). The destruction of Jewish homes was assessed at 1.5 million marks.

The Jewish town did not recover from its destruction until the time of the outbreak of the Second World War. Many of its residents left to live in larger cities. Some emigrated overseas. Attempts to rehabilitate the community did not work out well.
The charitable fund set up in 1927 ceased to operate in 1933. Not even one Jew was elected during the town council elections of 1927.

The rabbis of the community of Mariampol that we know include: Rabbi Moshe the son of Rabbi Aharon (occupied the rabbinical seat in Mariampol in 1747); Rabbi Mordechai the son of Rabbi Yona (who in 1765 signed a list of head tax payers as the rabbi of Jezupol and Mariampol); Rabbi Eliezer the son of Meshulam-Issachar HaLevi Ish-Horwitz, the author of Divrei Halacha and Ateret Zekeinim, served from 1851-1857.

Rabbi Eliezer moved to serve in Rohatyn, where he died in 1869. His son Rabbi Ephraim Fishel Horwitz inherited the rabbinate from him. In 1905, Rabbi Moshe the son of Rabbi David Horwitz, the grandson of Rabbi Eliezer, was appointed in 1905.

Rabbi Chaim-Tzvi the son of Rabbi Moshe Obersztag was accepted as the head of the rabbinical court of Borislaw. During the first years after the First World War, Rabbi Gershon Fogelman served in Mariampol. His position was inherited after 1929 by Rabbi Zeev-Wolf Heller (died during the Holocaust period).

A traditional spirit pervaded Mariampol until the First World War. The Zionist movement barely made any inroads.
The children studied only in cheders. About 100 of them studied in the Talmud Torah set up in 1906. Still in 1931, the rabbi of the city banned a mourning gathering in the synagogue on the yahrzeit of B. Z. Herzl.
In later years, Zionist youth organizations were set up: Hashachar, Achva, Hanoar Hatzioni, and Akiba. Apparently, these organizations were set up intermittently.

We have no information regarding what happened to this small Jewish settlement during the time of the Second World War. We can imagine that it was liquidated by the Nazi conqueror in September or October 1942. Apparently, the Jews of the place were deported to the Stanisławуw Ghetto, and murdered in the Rudolph Station along with the rest of the Jews concentrated there from the area, or they were deported to the Belzec death camp.