Pogrebishche, 1648
1648 Pogrebishche, Poland Jewish history is full of massacres. During some periods, dozens of communities were attacked in quick succession, often wiping them out. The stories of these communities, especially the small ones, are often untold; we don't know the details of how the Jews were killed. For this reason, it is very likely that there are many, many more instances of synagogue massacres that are unknown and unreported. This can be demonstrated with the case of Pogrebishche (then in Poland, now in Ukraine) during the Chmielnicki massacres that started in 1648 and wiped out a good number of Jewish communities in Eastern Europe. My grandfather was born in Pogrebishche and I have done a lot of research about the town's Jewish history; that is the only reason why I happened across the following obscure story, passed down orally for generations and recorded on paper in the early 20th century by an immigrant to Israel, H.M. Lieberman-Weiner: "Behind the synagogue t...