Kittever yisker-bukh
By: Eisig Husen Translated from Yiddish by Stanley Scheindlin, D. Sc. Project Coordinator: Melina Kuflik McCauley Cover Design: Rachel Kolokoff Hopper Layout: Jonathan Wind Name Indexing: Stefanie Holzman 8.5"x11", 208 pages, hard cover with original photographs
About This Book
Kittev (Kuty) was established in 1715 by one of the barons of the Pototski family.
The Jews made their living in trade (especially in dried fruits), tanning, carting, and artisanship.
The synagogue, which was built in the first years of the community, was a glorious and the biggest of the city buildings. There were other, smaller synagogues, three study houses and little Hassidic synagogues. During the First World War the city experienced many changes: two Russian occupations (in 1914 and again in 1916), the establishment of the Western Ukrainian Republic (November 1918-March 1919), a brief occupation of the city by the Romanians, and then by independent Poland in June, 1919.
The majority of the Jewish parties that were active in Poland had branches in Kuty.
On September 17th, 1939 units of the Red Army occupied Kuty. On July 1st, 1941 the city was occupied by Romanian and Hungarian units, which were allies of the Germans. The Romanians left the city after a short time, and the city remained under Hungarian rule until the end of August 1941. In September 1941 the city was placed under the direct administration of the Germans and on September 7th, 1942 they completely annihilated the Kittev Jewish community.
Eisig Husen, the author of this book wrote:
Since nobody believed that any Jew could be saved from the bloody talons of the Nazi evil beast and the Ukrainian murderers, that he might be able, after the war, to appear as a living witness and accuse the mass-murderers before the world tribunal, I resolved to make my modest contribution to the history of the German murder-actions that they should not be forgotten. I employed every free minute and wrote down every day what we experienced until the complete destruction of Kittev and her Jews.
May this book be a memorial to the thriving Jewish community of Kittev (Kuty) that is no more.
Place Details
Alternate names: Kuty [Ukr, Pol, Rus], Kitev [Yid], Kutten [Ger], Cuturi [Rom], Kitov, Kutev, Kutow, Kutty, Kuty nad Czeremoszem
Kuty, Ukraine is located at 48°15' N, 25°11' E and 283 miles WSW of Kyyiv
Nearby Jewish Communities:
Vyzhnytsya 0 miles N
Vyzhenka 2 miles SSW
Moskalivka 5 miles NW
Kosiv 6 miles NW
Roztoky 7 miles SW
Miliyeve 7 miles NE
Berehomet 8 miles ESE
Rozhniv 8 miles NNE
Pistyn 11 miles NW
Korytne 11 miles ENE
Myhove 11 miles SE
Ust'-Putyla 11 miles SSW
Banyliv 12 miles NE
Dzhuriv 12 miles NNE
Yabluniv 15 miles NW
Dikhtinets 15 miles SSW
Zabolotiv 16 miles NNE
Pechenizhyn 23 miles NW