Staryi Maidan (), formerly Starozakrevskyi Maidan until 1938 (, literally "Old Zakrevsky

Maidan Maidan is an originally Persian word for a town square or public gathering place (Persian: ), adopted by various other languages: Urdu (''maidān''); Arabic (''maydān''); Turkish ; Georgian (''moedani''); Bangla ময়দান, meaning f ...

", maidan meaning "public square"), is a village located between

Derazhnia Derazhnia (, ; ) is a city and railway station in Khmelnytskyi Raion, Khmelnytskyi Oblast (Oblast, province) of western Ukraine. Derazhnia is situated along the banks of the Vovk River (meaning ''wolf'' in Ukrainian language, Ukrainian), 42 k ...

and

Vovkovyntsi Vovkovyntsi () is a rural settlement in Khmelnytskyi Raion, Khmelnytskyi Oblast, western Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which R ...

, in

Khmelnytskyi Raion Khmelnytskyi Raion () is one of the three administrative raions (districts) of Khmelnytskyi Oblast in western Ukraine. Its administrative center is the city of Khmelnytskyi. Population: On 18 July 2020, as part of the administrative reform of ...

Khmelnytskyi Oblast Khmelnytskyi Oblast (), also known as Khmelnychchyna (), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in western Ukraine covering portions of the historical regions of western Podolia and southern Volhynia. The Capital (political) ...

near Kalna in the

Podolia Podolia or Podillia is a historic region in Eastern Europe located in the west-central and southwestern parts of Ukraine and northeastern Moldova (i.e. northern Transnistria). Podolia is bordered by the Dniester River and Boh River. It features ...

region of

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. It belongs to Vovkovyntsi urban hromada, one of the

hromada In Ukraine, a hromada () is the main type of municipality and the third level Administrative divisions of Ukraine, local self-government in Ukraine. The current hromadas were established by the Cabinet of ministers of Ukraine, Government of Uk ...

s of Ukraine. It was a Jewish agricultural colony established in 1844, but today is mostly populated by ethnic

Ukrainians Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...

History

It was the largest and most prosperous agricultural colony near Derazhnia, at one point in the late 19th century it had a population of over 700. The colony continued until it was turned into a

kolkhoz A kolkhoz ( rus, колхо́з, a=ru-kolkhoz.ogg, p=kɐlˈxos) was a form of collective farm in the Soviet Union. Kolkhozes existed along with state farms or sovkhoz. These were the two components of the socialized farm sector that began to eme ...

and renamed Staryi Maidan by the Soviets in 1928. It was nicknamed "Yiddish Maidan" by its residents, primarily to distinguish it from the nearby village of Novyi Maidan ("New Maidan"). Due to periodic pogroms and to impoverished conditions in the first two decades of the 20th century, many residents emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

(and some to

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

). Those who settled in America formed a burial society, Yiddish Meidan Verein, purchased a plot in

Beth David Cemetery Beth David Cemetery is a Jewish cemetery located at 300 Elmont Road in Elmont, New York, United States. The cemetery was established in 1917. As of 2012, there were approximately 245,000 burials in the cemetery. Notable interments * Iris Apfel (1 ...

in Elmont, New York, where many of the early immigrants are buried. In 1941, the remaining residents of Staryi Maidan were moved to the Derazhnia

ghetto A ghetto is a part of a city in which members of a minority group are concentrated, especially as a result of political, social, legal, religious, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished than other ...

and eventually shot to death by the Nazis. Until 18 July 2020, Staryi Maidan belonged to

Derazhnia Raion Derazhnia Raion (, ) was one of the 20 administrative raions (a ''district'') of Khmelnytskyi Oblast in western Ukraine. Its administrative center was located in the city of Derazhnia. Its population was 38,289 in the 2001 Ukrainian Census. The ...

. The raion was abolished in July 2020 as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, which reduced the number of raions of Khmelnytskyi Oblast to three. The area of Derazhnia Raion was merged into Khmelnytskyi Raion.

Bibliography

*Chapin, David A. and Weinstock, Ben, ''The Road from Letichev: The history and culture of a forgotten Jewish community in Eastern Europe, Volume 1''. iUniverse, Lincoln, NE, 2000. (Chapter 9 "The Jewish Farmers of Podolia" provides a very detailed history of the colony.) *Chapin, David A. and Weinstock, Ben, ''The Road from Letichev: The history and culture of a forgotten Jewish community in Eastern Europe, Volume 2''. iUniverse, Lincoln, NE, 2000.

References

{{coord, 49, 17, N, 27, 33, E, type:city_source:ruwiki, display=title Jewish Ukrainian history Historic Jewish communities in Ukraine Holocaust locations in Ukraine Jewish agricultural colonies in the Russian Empire Villages in Khmelnytskyi Raion