Obj. ID: 44971 Holocaust memorial in the Jewish cemetery in Tovste, Ukraine, 1990
Memorial Name
Пам’ятне місце масових розстрілів євреїв
Translation: Memorial place of the mass shootings of Jews
Who is Commemorated?
Jewish Holocaust Victims from Tovste and all the Jews, buried in the cemetery
Description
The monument is located on the killing site in the Jewish cemetery in Tovste. It is a rectangular upright slab, which sits on a large stone foundation. The slab has a Magen David in its upper part.
A Ukrainian inscription contains general information about thousands of Jews, Victims of fascism. A Hebrew inscription is more specific and is dedicated to the "martyrs" from Tovste and its surroundings, along with all other martyrs buried in the cemetery.
Several small plaques with the names of the victims in Hebrew were attached to the monument after 1997.
There was a large inscription "1943" on the foundation of the monument at least until 1997.
Inscriptions
Ukrainian:
Навічно в памʼяті
тисячі євреїв
жертв фашизму
Translation: Forever in our memory, thousands of Jews, Victims of fascism
Hebrew:
לזכר קדושי טלוסטה והםביבה
שחושמדו על ידי הנאצים
בשנים 1942–1943 ולזכר
כל הקדושים שנקברו בבית עלמין
זה הוקם על ידי שרידי טלוסטה
Translation: In memory of the martyrs of Tluste and surroundings who were annihilated by the Nazis in the years 1942-1943 and in memory of all the martyrs who are buried in this cemetery. Erected by the survivors from Tluste
Small plaques with names of victims added after 1997 also mention names of Israeli descendants, who installed the plaques, as well as traditional Hebrew formulas such as
לעילוי נשמת
Translation: To the exaltation of the soul of [name]
תנצבה
Translation: May their souls be bound in the bundle of life
השם יקום דמם
Translation: May God avenge their blood
Commissioned by
Jewish Holocaust Survivors from Tovste, descendants of killed Jews.
There were 1,196 Jews in Tovste in 1939. The German Nazis occupied the city on July 7, 1941. The Jewish cemetery has become the main place for mass murders and mass burials. On October 5, 1942, about 1,000 Jews were deported to the Bełżec killing center, and 120 Jews were killed. On February 12, 1943, 40 Jews were shot. On May 27, 1943, about 3,200 Jews were killed in the cemetery. The last mass murder in the city took place on June 6, 1943, when about 1,000 Jews from Tovste and surroundings were shot in the Jewish cemetery [Tsal Kaplun Foundation].
Holocaust Survivors from Tovste erected the monument in 1990 ["Selyshche Tovste"].
The Representative of the President of Ukraine in Ternopil Region included the monument on The List of Monuments of History of Local Significance by his order no. 148 on June 25, 1992 (protecting number is 1422) ["Ternopilska oblast..."].
According to the 1997 photo, there was a large inscription with the year 1943 on the foundation of the monument. [JewishGen KehilaLinks]. Several small plaques with the names of the victims in Hebrew were attached to the monument after 1997 by Israeli descendants of killed Jews. Seemingly, the reconstruction works were carried out between 1997 and 2019.
"Holocaust Memorial in Jewish Cemetery in Tolstoye4850 (Tluste)," JewishGen KehilaLinks, https://kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/Suchostav/Tolstoye4850/ScheniderMemorial.html (accessed November 12, 2023)
"Selyshche Tovste," Zalishchytska miska tsentralna publichna biblioteka, https://zal-lib.pp.ua/selyshhe-tovste/ (accessed November 12, 2023)
"Ternopilska oblast. Skhema planuvannia terytorii (prodovzhennia roboty). Okhorona nerukhomykh obiektiv kulturnoi spadshchyny", vol. 3 (Kyiv: Derzhavne pidpryiemstvo "Ukrainskyi derzhavnyi naukovo-doslidnyi instytut proiektuvannia mist "Dipromisto" imeni Y.M. Bilokonia", 2017), p. 162., https://architecture.te.gov.ua/media/uploads/сп__тернопільська_область_том_iiі.pdf (accessed April 25, 2023)
"Tovste: Jewish Cemetery,"
Shoah Atrocities Map - Ukraine (Tsal Kaplun Foundation), https://shoahatlas.org/u1415.html.