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If you need help in translating documents, map locations, etc. here is a free download site - try it! I think you will like it.  LingvoSoft Dictionary software English <-> Yiddish for Windows - 400,000 wordsWith this LingvoSoft smart dictionary software on your computer, you can easily switch between English and Yiddish, (or 43 other languages) for prompt translations of 400,000 words both ways! Download Free Trial now
During Soviet days, Ukrainian cities carried Russian names, and since the Russian language doesn't have an "H" in the alphabet, a "G" was used in its place. A Guide to Finding your Town Links to the Ukrainian Towns named in The Interactive JewishGen Database Photos of a number of cities and towns Tour of Ukraine towns reveals remnants of Yiddish life Ukrainian Towns Administrative division and official pages Ukrainian Town and Jewish Family Interactive Database Ukrainian Towns by Oblast City of L'viv
"A Historical Atlas" - authored by Paul Robert Magocsi, with maps prepared by Geoffrey J. Matthews and published by University of Toronto Press in 1985. The book is written in English and shows beautifully how Ukraine has changed over the years -- demographics, boundaries, language, surrounding political units, etc. "Bricha" - authored by Joseph Eisenbruch. This is a story of Joseph Eisenbruch, a native of L'viv, Holocaust survivor and one of the founders of the "Bricha" movement that brought Jews from Europe to Eretz Israel. He made Aliyah in the summer of 1945. The book can be read on-line in both Hebrew and English "Every Day Remembrance Day" - authored by Simon Wiesenthal and published by Henry Holt in 1986. There is a place name index to trace the fate of Jews (not by family names) of a given town. ISBN 0-8050-0098-4 "The Secrets of Berdichev" - authored by A. Cedarbaum "Spisok Naselennikh Mest Kienskoy Gubernii") The List of Shtetls of Kiev Guberniya with Index. Available in some major libraries in the US Remember that the 1941 modern name of the shtetl of your inquiry may or may not be the same as the post WW II modern name. Also note, that with the collapse of the Soviet regime in the 1990s, some towns with Bolshevized names have reverted to their historical names. The Jews of Ukraine make up the fourth largest Jewish Community in the world, and are mainly concentrated in Kiev (110,000), Dnepropetrovsk (60,000), Kharkov (45,000) and Odessa (45,000). Jews also live in many of the smaller towns. Western Ukraine, however, has only a small remnant of its former Jewish population, with L'viv and Chernivtsi each having only about 6,000 Jews. The majority of Jews in present-day Ukraine are native Russian/Ukrainian speakers, and only some of the elderly speak Yiddish as their mother tongue (in 1926, 76.1% claimed Yiddish as their mother tongue). The average age is close to 45. List and a Map of Agricultural Colonies - From Our Father's Harvest Supplement by Chaim Freedman. In 1983, a detailed large scale map was discovered in the library of the University of Texas by Michoel Ronn. whose family came from the region. Click at the bottom of the page. "Jewish Agricultural Colonies of South Ukraine" - contains three english pages as offered by Yakov Pasik: mostly in Russian Maps Art Source International offers antique and prints of maps and globes at Art Source International The regions of Ukraine, in alphabetical order can be found at http://genconnect.rootsweb.com/index/Ukraine.html General Information - Geography & Environment Guberniyas - Russian for Province or county and was used by the Imperial Russian Government as the term for its major administrative units. Guberniyas are divided into Uyezds (districts) (a corrupted word for the old Russian district - it should read: Uyezd [ooh yeh zd], then into Volosts which are similar to counties. The boundaries of a Uyezd, Guberniyas and the counties itself was in a constant state of flux before World War I. Two to four Volosts formed a Uchastok (section) which were overseen by 'nacha l'niks' (managers). Infoukes Maps of Ukraine Raion - Similar to a Province, was used during the Soviet period. Oblasts are divided into Raions. For a list of oblasts A complete map of all of the Oblasts and Regions of Ukraine http://www.freenet.kiev.ua/ISD/ABOUTUKR/ukroblst.htm and a detail map of that area. In English. Povit - Ukrainian word for an administrative district/county similar in size to a township / County / district Selo - Ukrainian word for village Localities of Ukraine - a site that lists most of the Shtetls, towns and cities in English, in KOI-8 Cyrillic, and the name of the oblast (district) and a map identification. Another site is JewishGen's ShtetLinks site listing 200 or more Shtetls at www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/
A Picture Gallery of Ukrainian Cities - Cities, Villages and Shtetls Note: The shtetls and cities listed below include towns formerly in the Austro-Hungarian province of Galicia and are marked with "(G)". Regional Special Interest Groups: Ukraine SIG, Galicia SIG and Hungary SIG information is available at Index - Localities of Ukraine - Ukrainian Information Page of City/Town/Villages in English To find where records can be found, right click Archives Database, then Search Database. Activate Soundex and type in your ancestral town names. "A Guide to Finding Your Town" - Ukraine GenWeb Abazovka - a Jewish agricultural colony near Balta, founded around 1850. It no longer exists, but it's on maps from the 1930's and earlier. Alan Shuchat ashuchat@wellesley.edu hired a private researcher who found census (reviziia) records for Alan's family from the 1850's and 1870's. Alchevsk - A number of Alchevsk web sites (some in English) are located at http://www.geocities.com/prysjan/in_61.html Alupka Alushta Anapol Anopoli, Annopol) - located 50 miles west of Rovno and there are records available in the Ukrainian Archives Antratsyt - Artasuv - "Khurbn Jaryczow bay Lemberg: Sefer Zikaron le-Keoshei Jaryczow y-Sevivoteha" (Destruction of Jaryczow: Memorial Book to the Martyrs of Jaryczow and Surroundings Ukraine) - Artemivsk - A number of Artemivsk web sites (some in English) are located at Bachkurino - in Podolia Oblast near the border with Kiev Guberniya. Bakhchysaray - Bakovtsy (Bakivtsi) - located 9.5 miles NNE of Chodorow Baldien (Baldiew, Baldiem) - near Korets Balta - a small town 200 km from Odessa. The population is about 20 to 30,000. The town consisted of 2 separate parts: Balta (Ottoman Empire) and Jusefgrod (Polish territory). An excellent website, with photos, is located at Banilow - "Geschichte der Juden in der Bukowina" http://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/Bukowinabook/bukowina.html Bar - located now in Horodok Raion, west of L'viv. This town is mentioned in "The Road from Letichev" - authored by David A. Chapin and Ben Weinstock Baranovichi - had a population of 22,848. It was a rail junction and manufacturing center and had a teacher's college. Chester G. Cohen's "Shtetl Finder Gazetteer" states that Baranovichi was authorized for Jewish residence in 1903 and that there is a memorial (Yizkor) book for the town. Belaya Tserkov - located south of Kiev Belgorod-Dnestrovsky (Bilgorod-Dnistrovskiy) - Beliivka (Belilovka) - a small settlement in the former Kiev Guberniya, today in Zhitomir oblast. It is located southwest of Kiev Belozerka - located 317.6 km west southwest of Kiev Ben'kovtse - located 6.9 miles ENE of Chodorow Berdichev Cemetery where my half brother Moshe is buried. This is a 'mixed' Berdichev (Barditshev, Berdicev, Berdycow, Berdychiv, Berdichiv, Berdiciv, Berdychiv) - the Berdichev's Jewish population increased mostly in the 1700s, but was a very small minority until then. In 1899 there were 50,460 Jews in a total population of 62,283 and there were seven synagogues and sixty-two houses of prayer. There still is a small Jewish community of about 700, with a Rabbi (Rabbi Brauer), still existing in this town. Located west of Kiev and in the Volhynia Oblast. I visited this small city and was unimpressed, though I recently learned that this was the site of the first major massacre conducted by the Nazis after entering Ukraine. I found my half brother's grave in the community cemetery in this town. There is a very interesting book entitled "The Bones of Berdichev" which goes into great detail about this larger town. For additional information contact Miriam Weiner mweiner@routestoroots.com There is a Berdichev List Manager, Jeanne Gold who monitors a list at Check out the Berdichev-D Digest. Send an email to BERDICHEV-L@rootsweb.com Another site that offers a statistical review of "Berditschew Artificers" taken from an 1844 edition of "Allgemeine Zeitung des Judentums," and mentions the number of participants in each of the various trades to be found among the then 30,000 Jewish inhabitants is at The war crimes trial files from the German Embassy in Washington, D.C. concerning Engelbert Kreuzer, who was involved in the massacre of 1,000 Jews in Berdechev in 1941. He was tried in a German court in 1970/71 and sentenced to seven years for his role in the massacres of many Ukrainian Jewish communities. The files contain 10 pages in German containing information on the atrocities in Berdechev. Paul W. Ginsburg, Webmaster of the Sudilkov On-line Landsmanshaft site at An Index of 280 Jewish Persons mentioned in "The Town of Berdechev" which was edited by Baruch Kharu (Krupnick) in Tel Aviv in 1951 and indexed by Yael Driver. Contact Yael at drivery@netcomuk.co.uk for a copy of the list. Berdichev Berdichev - A Small Ukrainian Town of Rich Cultural Heritage Berdichev Discussion Group - to become a LIST member (to join the Discussion Group in LIST mode) send an email with only the word SUBSCRIBE in the body of the message to: BERDICHEV-l-request@rootsweb.com "Revision Lists of Merchants-Jews of Berdichev June 1, 1858," State Archive of Kiev Oblast, f280, op.2.d.1193 Regional Special Interest Groups: Ukraine SIG, Galicia SIG and Hungary SIG information is available at A Berdichev web site is located at A movie (in black and white with subtitles) , 'Komissar' is a work of visual and literary art that symbolically speaks to Jewish past and future of time depicted and was banned in 1962, when it was produced, according to Diane Kriegman Claussen didado@mindspring.com "The World of a Hasidic Master: Levi Yitzhak of Berdichev", by Samuel H. Dresner (Ch. 8, citation 5), a passage was cited from the book, "Siftei Tzadikkim", published in Lemberg (L'viv) in 1863, and republished in Brooklyn, N.Y. in 1996/1997. The author of this book was Pinhas of Dinovitz. Berdyansk (Berdiansk, Berdyansi'k) - There is a Holocaust Memorial outside of the town. A web site is located at See also a photo gallery entitled 'The Vanishing World of Ukrainian Jewry' Beregovo - Berez'nitsa Krulevska (Berezhnytsya, Berezhnitsa) - located 7.6 miles SW of Chodorow Berets - previously located in the Novy Sanch county. There were a total of 38,500 residents of which 2,620 were Jews. In the town itself, there were 20 Jews. Berezhany (Brzezany)- located in the Ternopol Oblast. Berezhany is the Ukrainian name; in the Polish language and the name it had during Austrian period is Brzezany, with the 'z' having a dot above it (a diacritical mark). It was Polish between 1387-1772, 1920-1939; Austrian between 1172-1918 and USSR from 1939-1991. Additional information available at "Brezezany, Narajow ve-ha-Seviva; Toldot Kehillot she-Nehrevu" (Brzezany Memorial Book) Hamlets and Villages of the Berezhany area History of Berezhany - small west Ukrainian town of astonishing history Memorial page to bygone world of Berezhany Jews Berezovka (Beresovka, Berezovke, Berozovka) - a town in Odessa Oblast and 88 km from Odessa. Early records indicate that Jews lived there, or in nearby Nikolayev since 1794. A pogrom was instigated on April 4, 1881 and out of 161 buildings owned by Jews, only the Synagogue and a pharmacy were untouched. Another pogrom in October, 1905 were stopped by the local residents. In 1897 there were 3,458 Jews, nearly 57% of the residents and in 1926 there were 3,223 or 42.3%. There is still a Jewish cemetery, located at 127 East Tanastyshina Street. Bershad - a town in Vinnitsa oblast, approximately midway between Kiev and Odessa, and slightly to the west near the Bug river. In "The Shtetl: Image and Reality", edited by Gennady Estraikh and Mikhail Krutikov and published by The University of Oxford in 2000, Alla Sokolova's study is entitled "The Podolian Shtetl as Architectural Phenomenon." The author describes the general layout of the town and discusses the architecture and interiors of many of the buildings she visited. Berteshuv - located 9.2 miles N of Chodorow Bialoholovy (Bialoglowy - Poland) Ternopol Oblast Archives has data on this village. Write (preferably in Ukrainian or Russian, though English will probably work) to: Bihali / Bihale area - In 1785 there were 346 Greek Catholics, 120 Roman Catholics and 6 Jews. In 1938, there were 2,234 Greek Catholics, 1,500 Roman Catholics and 75 Jews. Most of the Greek Catholics were probably Ukrainians and most of the roman Catholics were Poles. Bila Tserkva - A number of Bila Tserkva web sites (some in English) are located at Bobrka (G) - (Bibrka, Bobree, Boberka, Boiberik, Boyberik, Prachnik) there was a population of 1480 and was located 38 km ESE of L'vov. This shtetl should not be confused with similar named shtetls located in Poland. Some information can be found at http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/Bobrka/default.hm and at my Polish Shtetl page JRI-Poland has indexed vital records of Bobrkaqb.com. The records indexed include: 1863 - 1899 births and 1866 - 1875 marriages. A Yizkor Book, "Le-Zeykher Kehillot Bobrka u-Benoteha" (Boiberke Memorial Book) Regional Special Interest Groups: Ukraine SIG, Galicia SIG and Hungary SIG information is available at Boguslav (Boslov) - Regional Special Interest Groups: Ukraine SIG, Galicia SIG and Hungary SIG information is available at Bohorodczany (G) (Bohorodchangy, Bogorodchany, Bohorodchany, or Bohordczany) - at one time it was a part of the Poland Kingdom, but today, it is in Ukraine. It was an administrative center and is located about 20 km. southwest of Stanislawow (Ivano-Frankivsk). A map of the city and area is available at Additional information at Regional Special Interest Groups: Ukraine SIG, Galicia SIG and Hungary SIG information is available at Boiberke - Yizkor Book Bolekhiv (G) (Bolechov, Bolechow, Bolekhov, Bolekhev) - this is a shtetl that is close to Ivano Frankivsk (Stanislawow) which had a thriving Jewish community with four synagogues prior to WW II. On August 25, 1943 3,200 Jews were deported from Bolechov to Stanislavov. On September 3, 1942, 2,000 Jews from Bolechov were deported to Belzec. This web page offers Photos, Maps, a story of a trip to the shtetl and more research information. The Mormon Family History Library (FHL) has microfilmed records of this town - some as far back as 1776. You may want to check the Roman Catholic Parish Records since sometimes Jewish Vital records are co-mingled with Parish Records. A fund raising project has been initiated to translate the Yizkor Book for this shtetl "Sefer ha-Zikaron le-Kedoshei Bolechow" (Memorial Book of the Martyrs of Bolechov) Regional Special Interest Groups: Ukraine SIG, Galicia SIG and Hungary SIG information is available at Bolshovtsy - "List of Soviet Citizens Shot By German-Fascist Occupants and their Confederates of Bolshowetsky Raion, Stanislau Oblast" - http://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/translations.html Bolszowce - was at one time in Galicia, now currently Bolshovtsy Borislav (G) (Boryslaw, Borislaw)- located in the western part of Ukraine in the L'vov district, and near Drohobycz, south-west of L'vov and was an important Jewish town in Eastern Galicia prior to WW II. It is 200 km from Krosno. The Nazis destroyed the Jewish Community on February 24th. There are currently some 40 Jews, the majority originally from other cities and towns in the former USSR and who are married to Gentile Ukrainians. Currently being indexed by JRI-Poland are Birth records from 1878-1889 and 1894-1899 and Deaths from 1878-1899. Included in the Boryslaw records are records for Dolhe, Kropiwinik Nowy, Kropiwinik Stary, Lastowki, Majdan, Mraznica, Rybnik, Schodnica, Tustanowice and Wolanka. Yizkor Book - "Tys'mienica Nadai Plynie" (As the Tys'mienica Flows) Tys'mienica is the name of the river which flows through the towns of Boryslaw and Drohobycz. Additional information at Regional Special Interest Groups: Ukraine SIG, Galicia SIG and Hungary SIG information is available at Borshchiv (G) (Borschev, Borszczo'w) - is the Ukrainian name. (Borszczow is the Polish name and was the Austrian place name, Borshchev was the Soviet era place name. It is near Cziortko'w currently known as Chortkov. The town name "Borszczow" is associated with the Borszcz (Barszcz or Borscht), the beetroot soup. Regional Special Interest Groups: Ukraine SIG, Galicia SIG and Hungary SIG information is available at Borshchovichi - "Khurbn Jaryczow bay Lemberg; Sefer Zikaron le-Keoshei Jaryczow y-Sevivoteha" (Destruction of Jaryczow: Memorial Book to the Martyrs of Jarczow and Surroundings Ukraine) - Bortniki - located 3.5 miles SSW of Chodorow Borusuv - located 9.2 miles NNW of Chodorow Borynychi - these are Jewish sounding names of soldiers who came from this village and were listed as being dead - Koval, Sharan This information was obtained from a book of military deaths owned by Edward Drebot Boryspil - Borzna - Regional Special Interest Groups: Ukraine SIG, Galicia SIG and Hungary SIG information is available at http://shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/borzna/borzna.htm Bosivka (Bosovka - 106.3 miles south southwest of Kiev Boyerker (Boyarka)- located near Kiev. Jewish Landsmanshaftn Breslov - a Chassidic Shtetl west of Uman along the Bug River. Terhevitsa, Zlatipolia, Gusyatin, Shpola, Kaniblad, Tcherin, Medvedovka are a group of towns to the east of Breslov and not far from a lake. Across the lake is Kremenchug. Rabbi Nachman' s main disciple is buried here. A good deal of information can be found at this site Photos and travel information and a whole lot more Brody (G) - located in Brodivs'kyi Raion, L'vivska Oblast. It is about 90 km NE of L'viv Marjorie Rosenfeld marjorie.rosenfeld@cwix.com is working on a Brody web site. She has finished the 17th through the 19th century records translations and is now developing the 20th century records. "Ner Tamid: Yizkor le Brody" - An Eternal Light: Brody in Memoriam - http://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/translations.html Photographs - the Brody (Ukraine) Yizkor Book website hosted by JewishGen has added some photographs to their site. The photographs were obtained from Records Administration (NARA) cartographic collection of the Defense Intelligence Agency Record 373 of Captured German World War II photographs. Photo of old fortress synagogue http://members.tripod.com/~mikerosenzweig/polsynagog.htm Regional Special Interest Groups: Ukraine SIG, Galicia SIG and Hungary SIG information is available at Broshnev - Brovary - Bryanka - Bryansk - had a Jewish presence and does have an Archive Brzuchowice ( it was known as "letnisko", or the "summer place". Brzuchowice was also known as the the best managed summer vacation spot in the pre-war Lwow vicinity. It was a source of the drinking mineral waters and is located on the railway line Lwow to Rawa Ruska. Buchach (G) (Bucac, Buczacz) - about 40 miles east of Ivano-Frankivsk by the Strypa River and near Brzezany. It was once in Poland, but is now in Ukraine. It is a county seat with a population of over 15,000. It is the capital of Buchatskyi Raion in Ternopilska Oblast. The table of contents of Sefer Buczacz has been translated into English and is available http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/Suchostav/ Further information may be available at This shtetl had a strong, but small Jewish community and many of its citizens emigrated to the US. It is quite possible that the historical Roman Catholic parish records, for this shtetl, as well as Dobrowody and Monasterzyska, and Pidhaitsi are now in the archives of Poland - specifically the Archives of the Presidium of the National Workers Council and the parish records are called the Zabuzanski Collection. If the Dobrowody and Monasterzyska Roman Catholic parish records are not in the Zabuzanski Collection, they you will have to see if the Central State Historical Archives of Ukraine has the records. There is an updated Yizkor Book available on JewishGen |
Books 
