Kovel

Also known as Kowel, Kowle, Kovla

This section of the Volhynia SIG is dedicated to the study of Jewish family history in the town of Kovel (Kowel), now in northwest Ukraine, but formerly part of Russia and Poland. Genealogists with non-Jewish ancestors from Kovel may also find useful information on the site.

Introduction

Kovel was formerly in the Russian Volhynia gubernia. Between 1921 and 1939, Kovel was part of the Polish Wolyn province. Now it is in the Ukrainian Volyn oblast. The Jewish presence in Kovel dates from at least the early 16th century, although the community was destroyed by Khmelnitskiy in 1648-1649. Later revived, the Jewish population in 1795 numbered 811 (38% of the population), in 1897 numbered 8,500 (nearly 50%), and in 1921, 12,700 (60%). The Germans established two ghettoes in May, 1942, which were emptied later that year by mass execution. (From a Ruined Garden: The Memorial Books of Polish Jewry, Jack Kugelmass and Jonathan Boyarin, eds.; New York: Schocken Books, 1983)