Memorial Book of Dubienka, Skryhiczyn and Dorohusk

The Jewish Communities of Dubienka, Skryhiczyn and Dorohusk

There has been a Jewish community along the Bug River in the Dubienka area since King Sigismund III granted permission for Jews to reside and operate businesses there in the late 16th century. The community's growth in the mid-18th century was linked to the town's economic success as a station on the Bug River grain transportation route. Residents included tradesmen, merchants, dealers, and peddlers, most of whom were poor but maintained a community life with multiple synagogues and traditions of mutual support and charity.

The town of Skryhiczyn is about 5 km (3 miles) from Dubienka on the Bug River. Skryhiczyn included a special Jewish community, whose members were pious, scholarly, and descendants of Hasidic leaders. They possessed all the best features: religious study, work, Zionism, and doing good deeds. Most Polish Jews were not farmers since Polish law prohibited selling land to Jews. But the brothers Shmuel and Chayim Rottenburg were able to purchase an entire estate in Skryhiczyn. Life in the town was unique, and for many years nearly idyllic.

Dorohusk lies on the banks of the Bug River about 20 km (12 miles) from Skryhiczyn. Dorohusk was a lively town with a rich Jewish life.

In September 1939 Germany invaded Poland, and soon occupied the entire country. They attacked the U.S.S.R. on 22 June 1941, crossing over the Bug River bridges. The Germans intensifyed their persecution of Jews in 1942, hunting and murdering them at random. Of those that survived, most were sent to the Belzec and Sobibor death camps.

This Yizkor book provides firsthand accounts of life along the Bug River and the multifaceted Jewish communities that existed for centuries. It also provides accounts of the destruction of those communities, and efforts to memorialize the martyrs of the Shoah.