Gorodok

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GORODOK

GORODOK , town in Vitebsk district, Belarus, The Jewish community was founded during the 18th century. In 1772, when Belorussia was annexed by Russia after the first partition of Poland, the town had 400 Jews, the majority of the population. In 1897 there were 3,413 Jews in Gorodok (68% of the total population), and in 1926, 2,660 (48.3%), most of whom were *Chabad ḥasidim. Jews were petty traders and artisans. In the Soviet period a Yiddish school was in operation. In 1939 the Jews numbered 1,584 (21.7% of the total population). Gorodok was occupied by the Germans on July 9, 1941. The Jews were herded into open fields outside the town, joined by others from the vicinity In August 1941, 2,000 were murdered; the rest on October 14.

bibliography:

Surkin, in: B. Karu (Krupnik) (ed.), Sefer Vitebsk (Heb., 1957), 233–4.

[Yehuda Slutsky /

Shmuel Spector (2nd ed.)]