Tlumach

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TLUMACH

TLUMACH (Pol. Tlumacz ; Yid. Tlomats ), town in Ivano-Frankovsk (formerly Pol. Stanisławów) district, Ukraine; passed to Austria in 1772, and reverted to Poland between the two world wars. An organized community existed there from the 18^th century. In 1765, there were 102 houses, of which 59 belonged to Jews; 372 Jews then lived in Tlumach and 148 in the surrounding area. The Jews in Tlumach were mainly occupied in small-scale commerce and crafts, the wealthier ones engaging in trade in timber and the production of alcoholic beverages. Ḥasidism gained adherents there during the 19^th century. The Jewish population numbered 1,756 (43% of the total) in 1880; 2,097 (39%) in 1900; and 2,082 (36%) in 1910. The *Baron de Hirsch Fund established a school and a bank in the town. During World War i the Jews in Tlumach suffered from the invasion of the Russian armies, and in 1918 from the Ukrainian nationalists. There were 2,012 Jews living in Tlumach (35% of the total) in 1921. In the interwar period Zionism gained influence within the community.

[Shimon Leib Kirshenboim]

Holocaust and Contemporary Periods

On July 7, 1941, after the outbreak of the German-Soviet war, Tlumach was taken by the Hungarian allies of Germany. At the beginning of August 1941 Jewish refugees from Hungary were brought to the city. During the same period the Ukrainian population expelled the Jews from the city and robbed them of their property. They returned only after the intervention of the Hungarian army. In September 1941 Tlumach was handed over to direct German administration. The leaders of the Jewish intelligentsia were killed, including the chairman of the Judenrat, Eliasz Redner. In the winter of 1941–42 many Jews were seized and sent to work camps in the area. On April 3, 1942, 1,200 Jews were deported to Stanislav, where they were murdered. Subsequently a ghetto was established, in which 3,000 Jews, including those from the surrounding area, were concentrated. On May 18 another Aktion took place, in which about 180 Jews were killed on the spot and about 350 were deported to work camps in the area. The murder of individuals in the ghetto continued, and many there suffered from disease and hunger. At the end of November 1942 the ghetto was destroyed. A few escaped to the forests, but fell victims to Ukrainian nationalists.

The community in Tlumach was not reconstituted after the war.

[Aharon Weiss]