RAIGOROD

RAIGOROD I:     US Commission No. UA01710101 Alternate names: Raigrod (Yiddish) and Raygrod (German). Raigorod is 23 km from Nemirov. The cemetery is located at center of village, on right of road to Gaysin. Present town population is 1,000 - 5,000 with no Jews. Town officials: Village Soviet, Chairman Alexeenko Konstantin Efimovich [Phone: (071) 35542]. Jewish Community of Vinnitsa of Chairman-Desner. Caretaker: Sushchitskaya Lidiya Nikiforovna of 36, Naberezhnaya St. Regional: Regional State Archives of Vinnitskaya Oblast. The earliest known Jewish community was 18th century. 1926 Jewish population was 497. Effecting the Jewish community was June 27, 1942 mass execution of the Jewish community. Living here were R. Haim Lerner and R. Yos Kushminsky. The last known Hasidic burial was in 1975. No other towns or villages used this unlandmarked cemetery. The isolated rural (agricultural) presipice has no sign or marker. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open to all. No wall, fence, or gate surrounds site. The approximate size of cemetery before WWII was 1.00 and is now 0.70 hectares. 101 to 500 stones are most in original location. The cemetery has no special sections. The tombstones have metallic elements and/or metal fences around graves. The cemetery contains no known mass graves. Municipality owns site used for Jewish cemetery only. Properties adjacent are agricultural and residential. The cemetery boundaries are smaller now than 1939 because of agriculture. Occasionally, private visitors and local residents stop. This cemetery was not vandalized. Jewish individuals within country cleared vegetation as constant care. Now, a regular caretaker cuts the grass for hay. Within the limits of the cemetery are no structures. Moderate threat: uncontrolled access, weather erosion, pollution and vegetation (seasonal). Slight threat: vandalism, existing and proposed nearby development. Sokolova Eleonora Eugen'evna of 253152 Kiev, 5 Tychiny St., Apt. 68 [Phone: (044) 5505681] visited site and completed survey on 21/10/96. Sushitskaya Lidiya Nikiforovna of 36, Naberezhnaya St. was interviewed on 21/10/96. RAIGOROD II:     US Commission No. UA01710501 See Raigorod I for town information. The mass grave is located at mass burial 2 km E of village center. See RAIGOROD I for town information. Nemirov (23 km away) and Bratslav (23 km away) Jews were murdered here. The unlandmarked, wooded, isolated hillside has signs or plaques in local language and Russian mentioning the Holocaust and Russian. Reached by turning directly off a public road and crossing public forest and field, access is open to all. A continuous fence with non-locking gate surrounds the mass grave. 1 to 20 stones, all in original location, date from 1955. No stones were removed. No structures. Some tombstones have traces of painting on their surfaces. Municipality owns property used for Jewish cemetery only. Properties adjacent are agricultural forest and fields. The mass grave boundaries is larger now than 1939. Organized individual tours, Jewish or non-Jewish private visitors, and local residents visit occasionally. This mass grave was not vandalized. Local/municipal authorities and Jewish individuals within country did re-erection of stones and cleared vegetation in 1955. Occasionally, authorities clean or clear. Moderate threat: uncontrolled access and vegetation (seasonal). Slight threat: weather erosion (seasonal), pollution and vandalism. No threat: existing and proposed nearby development. Sokolova Eleonora Eugen'evna of 253152 Kiev, 5 Tychiny St., Apt. 68 [Phone: (044) 5505681] visited site and completed survey on 21/10/96. Mostovoy Mikhail Naumovich of 26 Lenina St., Nemirov, Vinnitskaya Oblast. [Phone: (04331)22582] was interviewed on 21/10/96.