Chornyi Ostriv, Ukraine

Coordinates: 49°30' N, 26°45' E
Alternative Names: Chërnyy Ostrov [Rus], Chorny Ostrov [Yid], Czarny Ostrów [Pol]

The history of Jews in Chornyi Ostriv goes back to at least 1545 when a census recorded 854 Jews living there (50% of the population).  In 1765, 225 Jews lived in the village. By 1847, the Jewish community had grown up to 1,186 and in 1897 they represented 73% of the total population. The community had a synagogue, three prayer houses, an education institution for men, and a cemetery. By the end of the 19th century industrialization was in full swing and Chornyi Ostriv had a brewery as well as brick and carpentry factories, a sugar factory, and a bell factory. The town was also well known for quality leather goods and sheep wool coats.

However, as the political crisis across Eastern Europe became dangerous Jews began a mass exodus. The remaining Jews in Chornyi Ostriv were wiped out in 1942-43 during German occupation and none of the town's current population (roughly 1000) are Jews. The cemetery is the only testament that Chornyi Ostriv once had a thriving Jewish community.

JewishGen Communities Database Entry for Chornyi Ostriv

This shows:

• the town's name in various languages,

• political jurisdictions during different time periods, and

• contact information for other researchers interested in this town via the JewishGen Family Finder (JGFF).

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JewishGen Family Finder

Search The JewishGen Family Finder for all researchers interested in Chornyi Ostriv

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Why are records from Chornyi Ostriv so hard to find?

Three things make records from Chornyi Ostriv hard to find -

First is the change of administrative governments. Chornyi Ostriv has been part of Poland, Russia, the Soviet Union, and independent Ukraine. With so many different administrations a continuous system for records was not possible; things often fell through the cracks.

Second is destruction of records. Chornyi Ostriv has been witness to war, revolution, uprisings, and dismantling of all kinds. Records easily became collateral damage when housed in government buildings - a popular target during any national crisis. It is also known that the Soviet Union destroyed many records intentionally.

The third factor is confusion of the translated spelling of the name Chornyi Ostriv; and to a lesser extent, confusion of the country/local identity. Below is a list I have started of all the ways I have seen Chornyi Ostriv referenced.

Some of the differences are minor but depending on the search parameters used by the website there could be a number of results that don't show up. There is no way to fix the issue so always remember to use options such as "Sounds Like", "Spelled Like", or "Fuzzy Match" when available.

If you have any additional information about Chornyi Ostriv, past residents, or stories you would like to share, or know of other databases with records from Chornyi Ostriv please send me a message and I will do my best to add it to the site. Thank you! 

mrichman@jewishgen.org