Tomashpil (, literally "the city of St Thomas", ) is an

urban-type settlement Urban-type settlementrussian: посёлок городско́го ти́па, translit=posyolok gorodskogo tipa, abbreviated: russian: п.г.т., translit=p.g.t.; ua, селище міського типу, translit=selyshche mis'koho typu, ab ...

in the eastern

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 ...

, specifically in

Tulchyn Raion Tulchyn Raion ( uk, Тульчинський район) is one of the six regions of Vinnytsia Oblast, located in southwestern Ukraine. The administrative center of the raion is the town of Tulchyn. Population: On 18 July 2020, as part of the a ...

Vinnytsia Oblast Vinnytsia Oblast ( uk, Ві́нницька о́бласть, translit=Vinnytska oblast; ; also referred to as Vinnychchyna — uk, Ві́нниччина) is an oblast of western and southwestern Ukraine. Its administrative center is Vinnytsia. ...

in central

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 ...

. Tomashpil is situated on the banks of the Rusava River. Tomashpil is the administrative district of Tomashpil Raion (780 km²), home to 40.608 people scattered over the town and 30 villages around. Population: The closest railway station is

Vapniarka Vapniarka ( uk, Вапнярка), also known as Vapniarca, Vapnyarka, Wapnjarka or Wapniarka, is an urban-type settlement in Tulchyn Raion, Vinnytsia Oblast, Ukraine, known since 1870 as a railroad station. Its name from the Ukrainian language tr ...

, 19 km away. It is accessible by taxi or a small bus called a '

Marshrutka ''Marshrutka''Bratslav Voivodeship Bratslav ( uk, Брацлав; pl, Bracław; yi, בראָצלעוו, ''Brotslev'', today also pronounced Breslev or '' Breslov'' as the name of a Hasidic group, which originated from this town) is an urban-type settlement in Ukraine, located i ...

was part of the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Li ...

until 1569. And in 1569 (with the

Union of Lublin The Union of Lublin ( pl, Unia lubelska; lt, Liublino unija) was signed on 1 July 1569 in Lublin, Poland, and created a single state, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, one of the largest countries in Europe at the time. It replaced the pe ...

) it passed to the Polish kingdom. The first historical mention in the documents dates to 1616, when Tomashpil and the entire

belonged to the Kingdom of Poland (Polish Crown). During Polish rule Tomshpil belonged to Braclaw Voivoidship. In 1793, during the

Second Partition of Poland The 1793 Second Partition of Poland was the second of three partitions (or partial annexations) that ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The second partition occurred in the aftermath of the Polish–Russian War ...

, Tomashpil and Eastern

passed from

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

to the

Russian empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

. It was part of short-lived

Ukrainian National Republic The Ukrainian People's Republic (UPR), or Ukrainian National Republic (UNR), was a country in Eastern Europe that existed between 1917 and 1920. It was declared following the February Revolution in Russia by the First Universal. In March 1 ...

(UNR) in 1917–1919. From 1922 until 1991 it was in the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

(

Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...

). Since 1991 it has been a part of independent

. The name Tomashpil stems from Polish name for Thomas—Tomasz, pronounced as "Tomash". The ending "pil" (-pol) is presumably from Greek "polis" (city) or Slavic "pole" (field).

Tomashpil Jews

The earliest known

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

community was 17th century. 1939 Jewish population (census) was 3,252. Affecting the Jewish community were Khmelnytskyi Pogroms in 1648–9, pogroms in 1919–20, the shooting of 350

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

on August 4, 1941, and the 1941–1944 ghetto. The Jewish cemetery was established in 1928 with last known

Hasidic Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of contem ...

burial in 1994. The cemetery is located just South of Tomashphil, on a hillside on the right side of the road leading to Yampil. It is bordering a much newer Polish cemetery. Although many of the older grave markers are difficult to read, there are many newer ones that are well maintained. There is also a mass grave for the 350 Jews shot in 1941. Today, Tomashpol is considered a Ukrainian town and few Jews remain living there, although sometimes groups or individuals come searching for the gravestones or houses of their relatives. Some of the old Jewish houses remain on the old street near the central marketplace, although most are in disrepair.

Industries and enterprises

There is a sugar plant and textile industries in Tomashpil. The sugar factory was built in the beginning of the 20th century and it still operational 3 months out of the year when the sugar crop comes in. The biggest deposit of sawn stone in Ukraine is situated in Vinnytsia oblast 10 km from Tomashpil.

Population

* 1970 – 2,100 * 1994 – 5,944

People from Tomashpil

* Vladyslav Dubinchak (born 1998), Ukrainian footballer

References

{{Authority control Urban-type settlements in Tulchyn Raion Podolia Governorate Holocaust locations in Ukraine