Chaussy, Chavusy or Chausy ( be, Чавусы; pl, Czausy; russian: Чаусы;

Łacinka The Belarusian Latin alphabet or Łacinka (from be, лацінка or łacinka, BGN/PCGN: ''Latsinka'', ) for the Latin script in general is the common name for writing Belarusian using Latin script. It is similar to the Sorbian alphabet an ...

: Čavusy) is a town in the eastern

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

ian Region of

Mogilev Mogilev (russian: Могилёв, Mogilyov, ; yi, מאָלעוו, Molev, ) or Mahilyow ( be, Магілёў, Mahilioŭ, ) is a city in eastern Belarus, on the Dnieper River, about from the border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and from the bor ...

. Chavusy serves as an administrative center of Chavusy Raion. As of 2009, its population was 10,692.

Jewish history

It once was a substantial

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

shtetl A shtetl or shtetel (; yi, שטעטל, translit=shtetl (singular); שטעטלעך, romanized: ''shtetlekh'' (plural)) is a Yiddish term for the small towns with predominantly Ashkenazi Jewish populations which existed in Eastern Europe before ...

, which dated from the 17th century, as appears from a charter granted to the Jews January 11, 1667, by

Michał Kazimierz Pac Michał Kazimierz Pac (; 1624 – 4 April 1682 in Vokė near Vilnius) of the Gozdawa Coat of Arms, was a Polish-Lithuanian nobleman and a member of the Pac family. He was a son of Piotr Pac (c. 1570-19 July 1640, Lithuanian Court Treasurer 163 ...

castellan A castellan is the title used in Medieval Europe for an appointed official, a governor of a castle and its surrounding territory referred to as the castellany. The title of ''governor'' is retained in the English prison system, as a remnant o ...

Wilno Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urba ...

, and confirmed by King Augustus III of Poland. March 9, 1739. In 1780, at the time of a visit of

Catherine II , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anha ...

, there was a Jewish population of 355, in 1,057; and the town possessed one synagogue. In 1803 the Jewish population was 453, in 1,185; in 1870 it was 2,433, in 4,167; and in 1897, 2,775, in about 6,000. Some of the Jewish artisans were employed in the tanneries and in silk and woolen factories. The Jewish population in the district of Chaussy (including the town) in 1897 was 7,444, or 8.42 per cent of the total population. Chaussy was occupied during World War II by the Germans beginning in July 1941. Though a portion of the Jewish population was able to escape before the Germans arrived, the remaining Jews were registered, marked and subjected to forced labor under the German occupation. The first two round-ups of Jews occurred in August 1941, in which approximately 50 Jews were killed. Overall, approximately 675 Jews were executed in Chaussy. In 1952-53, thanks to funds collected from the relatives of victims, the remains of the victims were reburied at the Jewish cemetery. A total of 127 bags of remains were reburied, and the first memorial was erected in 1958, which was later replaced by a second one.

Notable residents

* Ekaterina Ivanchikova, singer * Parents of actor

Kirk Douglas Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor and filmmaker. After an impoverished childhood, he made his film debut in ''The Strange Love of Martha Ivers'' (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. Dou ...

References

External links

Unofficial site of the city Chausy and Chaussy District

The murder of the Jews of Chavusy
during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, at

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem ( he, יָד וַשֵׁם; literally, "a memorial and a name") is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; honoring Jews who fought against th ...

website. {{Authority control Towns in Belarus Populated places in Mogilev Region Chavusy District Cossack Hetmanate Chaussky Uyezd Shtetls Holocaust locations in Belarus