Memorial Book of the Community of Turka on the Stryj and Vicinity (Turka, Ukraine)

Translation of Sefer Sikaron le-Kehilat Turka al Nehar Stryj ve-ha-Seviva
Hard Cover, 11” by 8.5”, 452 pages.

Turka is a Ukrainian town situated on the left bank of the river Stryi. Jews first came to Turka in the 1800s. The first synagogue, Jewish cemetery and the Jewish old age home were built in 1730.

In 1903, Turka began to flourish when a railway line connected the city with Lwow and with Budapest, and the Austrian government authorized the founding of an official Jewish community. Business expanded, especially the lumber business. Jews owned the sawmills, had licenses to sell liquor. Others worked at various trades - tailoring, shoemaking, barbering, clock making, and lock smithing. Many of the physicians and lawyers in Turka were Jews. Yiddish theatre came to Turka and interest was sparked in cultural events, sports events, and political events. Some Jews were Zionists, some were Hassids, some were socialists, and some were assimilationists. After the Great War, Galicia reverted to Poland, the city had been plundered by the Russian army; many Jews had left, and all Jewish property had been destroyed. There were Ukrainian revolts and Jewish pogroms. Nevertheless, after the War, there were approximately 6,000 inhabitants in Turka, 41% of whom were Jewish. Another 7,000 Jews lived in the surrounding villages. The Jewish population managed to rebuild. Just prior to World War II, 10,000 people lived in Turka; half were Jewish. The catastrophe began when the Germans turned against the Soviet Union in June 1941 and Turka was captured by the Wehrmacht. The Jews of Turka were massacred, or starved to death, or sent to the Sambir ghetto and, hence, to the crematoria. There are no Jews left in Turka today.

This book serves as a memorial to the Jewish community of Turka.

Turka, Ukraine is located at: 49°09' North Latitude and 23°02' East Longitude

Alternate names for the town are: Turka [Polish, Ukrainian], Turka al nehar Stry [Hebrew], Turka nad Stryjem

Nearby Jewish Communities:

Melnychne 2 miles S
Nyzhnya Yablun'ka 4 miles SW
Borynya 6 miles SSW
Sokoliki, Poland 8 miles WSW
Yabluniv 8 miles SSE
Sianky 11 miles SSW
Dzźwiniacz Górny, Poland 11 miles W
Tarnawa Nizna, Poland 11 miles W
Limna 11 miles NW
Strelki 13 miles N
Bitlya 13 miles SSW
Uzhok 14 miles SSW
Dovhe 14 miles E
Volosyanka 15 miles SW
Skhidnitsya 15 miles ENE
Podbuzh 16 miles NE
Lutowiska, Poland 17 miles WNW
Tykhyy 18 miles SSW
Smozhe 19 miles SSE
Stavnoye 19 miles WSW
Boryslav 20 miles ENE
Staryy Sambor 20 miles N
Bukovets 20 miles SSW
Lyuta 21 miles SW
Orov 23 miles E
Truskavets 23 miles ENE
Stara Sil' 23 miles N
Skole 23 miles ESE
Verkhneye Sinevidnoye 25 miles E
Drohobych 25 miles ENE
Stebnik 26 miles ENE
Sambir 26 miles NNE
Skelevka 27 miles N
Nyzhni Vorota 27 miles S
Sil' 27 miles WSW
Krosźcienko, Poland 27 miles NW
Lavochnoye 28 miles SSE
Khyriv 28 miles NNW
Verkhni Vorota 28 miles S
Chornoholova 28 miles SW
Ustrzyki Dolne, Poland 28 miles NW
Uličské Krivé, Slovakia 29 miles WSW
Ulič, Slovakia 30 miles WSW
Husne Wyzne 7 miles SSW
Husne Nizne 7 miles SSW