Staryi Maidan ( uk, Старий Майдан), formerly Starozakrevskyi Maidan until 1938 ( uk, Старозакревський Майдан, label=none, literally "Old Zakrevsky Maidan", maidan meaning "public square"), is a village located between

Derazhnia Derazhnia ( uk, Деражня; pl, Dzierażnia; also ''Derazhnya'') is a city and railway station in Khmelnytskyi Raion, Khmelnytskyi Oblast (province) of western Ukraine. Derazhnia is situated along the banks of the Vovk River (meaning ''wolf ...

and

Vovkovyntsi Vovkovyntsi ( uk, Вовковинці) is an urban-type settlement in Khmelnytskyi Raion (district) of Khmelnytskyi Oblast in western Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Vovkovyntsi urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. The settleme ...

, in

Khmelnytskyi Raion Khmelnytskyi Raion ( uk, Хмельницький район, ) is one of the 20 administrative raions (a ''district'') of the Khmelnytskyi Oblast in western Ukraine. Its administrative center is located in the city of Khmelnytskyi. Its populat ...

of Khmelnytskyi Oblast near Kalna in the

Podolia Podolia or Podilia ( uk, Поділля, Podillia, ; russian: Подолье, Podolye; ro, Podolia; pl, Podole; german: Podolien; be, Падолле, Padollie; lt, Podolė), is a historic region in Eastern Europe, located in the west-central ...

region of

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. It belongs to Vovkovyntsi urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. It was a Jewish agricultural colony established in 1844, but today is mostly populated by ethnic

Ukrainians Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian. The majority of Ukrainians are Eastern Ort ...

History

It was the largest and most prosperous agricultural colony near Derazhnia, at one point in the late 19th century it had a population of over 700. The colony continued until it was turned into a

kolkhoz A kolkhoz ( rus, колхо́з, a=ru-kolkhoz.ogg, p=kɐlˈxos) was a form of collective farm in the Soviet Union. Kolkhozes existed along with state farms or sovkhoz., a contraction of советское хозяйство, soviet ownership or ...

and renamed Staryi Maidan by the Soviets in 1928. It was nicknamed "Yiddish Maidan" by its residents, primarily to distinguish it from the nearby village of Novyi Maidan ("New Maidan"). Due to periodic pogroms and to impoverished conditions in the first two decades of the 20th century, many residents emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

(and some to

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

). Those who settled in America formed a burial society, Yiddish Meidan Verein, purchased a plot in Beth David Cemetery in Elmont, New York, where many of the early immigrants are buried. In 1941, the remaining residents of Staryi Maidan were moved to the Derazhnia

ghetto A ghetto, often called ''the'' ghetto, is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially as a result of political, social, legal, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished t ...

and eventually shot to death by the Nazis. Until 18 July 2020, Staryi Maidan belonged to Derazhnia Raion. The raion was abolished in July 2020 as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, which reduced the number of raions of Khmelnytskyi Oblast to three. The area of Derazhnia Raion was merged into Khmelnytskyi Raion.

Bibliography

*Chapin, David A. and Weinstock, Ben, ''The Road from Letichev: The history and culture of a forgotten Jewish community in Eastern Europe, Volume 1''. iUniverse, Lincoln, NE, 2000. (Chapter 9 "The Jewish Farmers of Podolia" provides a very detailed history of the colony.) *Chapin, David A. and Weinstock, Ben, ''The Road from Letichev: The history and culture of a forgotten Jewish community in Eastern Europe, Volume 2''. iUniverse, Lincoln, NE, 2000.

References

{{coord, 49, 17, N, 27, 33, E, type:city_source:ruwiki, display=title Jewish Ukrainian history Shtetls Holocaust locations in Ukraine Former Jewish agricultural colonies of Podolia Governorate Villages in Khmelnytskyi Raion