Talachyn or Tolochin (Belarusian: Талачын, romanizedTalačyn, IPA: [taɫaˈtʂɨn]; Russian: Толочин; Polish: Tołoczyn; Yiddish: טאָלאָטשין; Lithuanian: Talačynas) is a town in Vitebsk Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Talachyn District.[1] As of 2024, it has a population of 9,666.[1]

History

The town was first mentioned in 1433. The village was a shtetl.[2]

In 1939, 1,292 Jews lived there, making up 21.2 percent of the total population of the town.[3]

World War II

The town was under German military occupation from 6–7 July 1941 until 1944.[3]

The Germans established a ghetto in September or October 1941, which consisted of 15 houses and had 2,000 inmates.[3] The ghetto was liquidated on 12 or 13 March 1942 and its inmates were killed.[3] The Germans killed more than 2,000 Jews, according to estimates made by the Soviet Extraordinary State Commission.[4] However, this figure is disputed, due to the pre-war Jewish population being significantly lower, and some Jews having been drafted or able to flee.[3] The Einsatzkommando reported that it had killed 1,551 Jews in March, presumably in the entire district.[3]

A memorial has been erected to remember the fate of the victims.

Notable structures

Notable people

References

Sources

  • Megargee, Geoffrey P.; Dean, Martin (2012). The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos 1933–1945. Volume II. Indiana University Press, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. pp. 1738–1739. ISBN 978-0-253-35599-7.
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