Vapniarka ( uk, Вапнярка), also known as Vapniarca, Vapnyarka, Wapnjarka or Wapniarka, 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 ...

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. ...

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 ...

, known since 1870 as a railroad station. Its name from the

Ukrainian language Ukrainian ( uk, украї́нська мо́ва, translit=ukrainska mova, label=native name, ) is an East Slavic language of the Indo-European language family. It is the native language of about 40 million people and the official state lan ...

translates as a

lime Lime commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Botany ...

(

gypsum Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, blackboard or sidewalk chalk, and drywal ...

) settlement. As of January 2022 Vapniarka's population was approximately During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, following the start of

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...

, Vapniarka was administered by

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

. From October 22, 1941, to March 1944, it was included in the region of

Transnistria Transnistria, officially the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR), is an unrecognised breakaway state that is internationally recognised as a part of Moldova. Transnistria controls most of the narrow strip of land between the Dniester riv ...

and became the site for a

concentration camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...

for members of the Romanian Jewish community. This succession of events formed a part of the Holocaust in Romania. Today, Vapniarka serves as the final train destination for visitors traveling to villages in Tomashpilskyi and Yampilskyi

Raion A raion (also spelt rayon) is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet states. The term is used for both a type of subnational entity and a division of a city. The word is from the French (meaning 'honeycomb, department'), and is co ...

. From here, buses or private transportation are used to get to villages like Busha, Dzyhivka, Olhopil, Tomashpil, and Sobolivka.

World War II camp

In October 1941, the Romanians established a detention camp in Vapniarka. One thousand Jews were brought to the site that month, mostly from the city of Odessa. Some 200 died in a

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure. ...

epidemic; the others were taken out of the camp in two batches, guarded by soldiers of the

Romanian Gendarmerie The ''Jandarmeria Română'' () is the national Gendarmerie force of Romania, tasked with high-risk and specialized law enforcement duties. It is one of the two main police forces in Romania (the other being the Romanian Police - a civilian fo ...

, and shot to death.

References

External links

Nizkor Project
Tesimony of a camp inmate
Shoah Resource Center - Yad Vashem
Personal artifacts from camp inmates, including Vapniarka *Local site in Ukrainian about modern Vapniark

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