Talachyn or Tolochin (Belarusian: Талачын, romanized: Talačyn, IPA: [taɫaˈtʂɨn]; Russian: Толочин; Polish: Tołoczyn; Yiddish: טאָלאָטשין; Lithuanian: Talačynas) is a town in Vitebsk Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Talachyn District.[1] As of 2024, it has a population of 9,666.[1]
Talachyn
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Coordinates: 54°25′N 29°42′E / 54.417°N 29.700°E | |
Country | Belarus |
Region | Vitebsk Region |
District | Talachyn District |
First mentioned | 1433 |
Elevation | 199 m (653 ft) |
Population (2024)[1] | |
• Total | 9,666 |
Time zone | UTC+3 (MSK) |
Postal code | 211070 |
Area code | +375 2136 |
License plate | 2 |
History
editThe town was first mentioned in 1433. The village was a shtetl.[2]
In 1939, 1,292 Jews lived there, making up 21.2 percent of the total population of the town.[3]
World War II
editThe town was under German military occupation from 6–7 July 1941 until 1944.[3]
The Germans established a ghetto in September or October 1941, which consisted of 15 houses and had 2,000 inmates.[3] The ghetto was liquidated on 12 or 13 March 1942 and its inmates were killed.[3] The Germans killed more than 2,000 Jews, according to estimates made by the Soviet Extraordinary State Commission.[4] However, this figure is disputed, due to the pre-war Jewish population being significantly lower, and some Jews having been drafted or able to flee.[3] The Einsatzkommando reported that it had killed 1,551 Jews in March, presumably in the entire district.[3]
A memorial has been erected to remember the fate of the victims.
Notable structures
edit- Memorial to Jewish victims of World War II
- Church of St Anthony (Catholic)
- Church of the Holy Intercession (or: of the Protection of Our Lady)
- Pokrovsky Monastery
- Basilian Monastery, Talachyn
- Brothers' Cemetery (military cemetery)
- War Memorial
Notable people
edit- Jacob Rutstein (1877–1946), businessman
References
edit- ^ a b c "Численность населения на 1 января 2024 г. и среднегодовая численность населения за 2023 год по Республике Беларусь в разрезе областей, районов, городов, поселков городского типа". belsat.gov.by. Archived from the original on 2 April 2024. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
- ^ "My shtetl\Tolochin". Archived from the original on 2016-03-25. Retrieved 2016-03-15.
- ^ a b c d e f Megargee & Dean 2012, p. 1738.
- ^ "- Online Guide of Murder Sites of Jews in the Former USSR - Yad Vashem".
Sources
edit- Megargee, Geoffrey P.; Dean, Martin (2012). The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos 1933–1945. Volume II. Indiana University Press, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. pp. 1738–1739. ISBN 978-0-253-35599-7.