Memorial Book of Vishnevets: Translation of Sefer Vishnivits

Vishnevets, Ukraine, located on the higher north shore of the Horyn River, first had Jewish residents at the end of the 11th or 12th century. Later, it was the base of the principality of the Polish Wisniowiecki family. At the end of the 14th century, Prince Jeremi Wisniowiecki established the town of New Vishnevets across the river from what became known as Old Vishnevets, with the two parts of the town connected by a bridge. By the 17th century, an established Jewish community existed in Vishnevets; in 1653 the Jews there were slaughtered by Tatars. In 1765, the Jewish community registered 457 Jews in the old city, 26 in the new city, and an additional 163 Jews in nearby villages, and by 1847, the Jewish community in New Vishnevets registered 3,178 people. In 1897, Jews numbered 2,980 out of a population of 4,196. In the 20th century, Vishnevets was under the rule of the Russian czar until World War I. After the Russian revolution, the government changed often. In 1939, the Russians conquered the town, and in 1941, the Nazis occupied Volhynia, and Vishnevets became the area's ghetto. Under Nazi command, 6,000 Jews were destroyed there. By the mid-20th century, only one Jewish family, which took on the duty of protecting the Jewish graves, remained.