Memorial Book of Tluste, Ukraine: Translation from Sefer Tluste

This is the English Translation of the Memorial Book of the town of Tluste (Tovste), Ukraine. It will serve as a memorial to the Jewish community.

Prior to World War II, Tluste (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, Tluste 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 Tluste 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 Tluste, with its cultural traditions and social institutions. The recent testimony of former residents and survivors complements these precious historical accounts.

Prior to World War II, Tluste (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, Tluste 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 Tluste 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 Tluste, with its cultural traditions and social institutions. The recent testimony of former residents and survivors complements these precious historical accounts.