Sefer Tluste
Original Yizkor Book edited by: Gavriel Lindenberg Published in Tel Aviv, 1965 By the Tluste Association of Former Residents in Israel and the United States Translators: Sara Mages, Yael Chaver, Dave Horowitz-Larochette Editor of the English version: Douglas Hykle Layout: Donni Magid Cover Design: Nina Schwartz Hard Cover, 11” by 8.5”, 586 pages with all original illustrations and photographs.
About This Book
This Memorial Book was written by former residents of Tovste, Ukraine. Some who left the town before the war wrote articles and essays about the rich Jewish life in town: the people, the dreamers, the doers, the ultra-religious, the secular, the Zionists, the socialists…The various institutions in town, the charities and the help societies for the needy.
Prior to World War II, Tłuste (now Tovste, Ukraine) was a flourishing Polish market town with a Jewish presence dating back to the 1700s. Over the next two centuries, Jews came to comprise two-thirds of the population. Tluste is famously associated with the Ba'al Shem Tov, the spiritual founder of Hassidism, who grew up here.
A relatively peaceful co-existence among the Jewish, Ukrainian and Polish communities was disrupted, first by the Soviet occupation of 1939, then by the Nazi German invasion of 1941. During the war years, Tłuste and its vicinity became an important transit point and congregation center for Jews fleeing persecution from other towns and villages. While thousands of Jews perished in the town, particularly in targeted mass killings, many survived in nearby agricultural labor camps and in hiding.
The original Hebrew and Yiddish contributions to Sefer Tłuste shed light on the destruction of the Jewish community, and tell the stories of those who survived it. The 1965 book also documented in rich detail the Jewish way of life in former Tłuste, with its cultural traditions and social institutions. The recent testimony of former residents and survivors complements these precious historical accounts.
Place Details
Alternate names: Tovste [Ukr], Tłuste [Pol], Toist [Yid], Tolstoye [Rus], Tlusta [Yid], Tłuste Miasto, Tłuste Myasto, Toyst, Tołste, Tolstoya
Located at 48°51' North Latitude and 25°44' East Longitude
Nearby Jewish Communities:
Bil'che-Zolote 8 miles SE
Ustechko 8 miles SW
Potochyshche 10 miles SW
Ozeryany 10 miles ENE
Palashëvka 11 miles NW
Chortkiv 12 miles NNE
Lanivtsi 12 miles E
Horishnya Vyhnanka 13 miles NNE
Zalishchyky 14 miles S
Chemelytsya 14 miles W
Oliyevo-Koralivka 14 miles SE
Borshchiv 15 miles ESE
Yazlovets 16 miles WNW
Horodenka 17 miles SW
Losyach 17 miles ENE
Tsyhany 17 miles E
Probezhna 17 miles NE
Vasyliv 18 miles SSE
Yaseniv-Pilnyy 18 miles SSW
Zolotyy Potik 18 miles WNW
Chernyatyn 18 miles SW
Sokolov 19 miles WNW
Kopychyntsi 20 miles NNE
Tyshkivtsi 20 miles WSW
Doroshivtsi 20 miles SSE
Verkhneye Krivche 20 miles ESE
Sukhostav 20 miles NNE
Tovtry 20 miles SSE
Skala-Podilska 21 miles E
Yabloniv 22 miles NNE
Budaniv 22 miles N
Buchach 22 miles NW
Vasyl'kivtsi 22 miles NE
Vikno 22 miles SSE
Chortovets 23 miles WSW
Ustya 23 miles SE
Zastavna 24 miles SSE