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)
Maps
Contemporary map of the region around Kovel, from Multimap.
Contemporary map of the region around Kovel, from Mapquest.
Pictures
Postcards and other pre-war pictures from Kovel.
Genealogical Research Sources
AJGS Cemetery Project report on Kovel cemetery
Records held in European archives
Kovel memorial books
Benjamin and Vladka Meed Registry of Jewish Holocaust Survivors.
Holocaust Research Sources
The Simon Wiesenthal Center
Archive holdings for Kovel at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Library holdings for Kovel at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum