TUCHYN
About
Tuchyn is a small village in the Rivne province in modern-day Ukraine. In September 1942, it was the site of a Jewish uprising against the Nazis. Before the Shoah in Ukraine, Tuchyn had a Jewish population of 3,000.
Less than 100 survived.
The Shoah in Ukraine
Between 1941 and 1944, more than a million Jews died in The Shoah in Ukraine. Here, death was intimate, violent, and messy. The vast majority of Jews were shot and buried in mass graves. They were killed mere yards from their own homes and in full view of their neighbors, who were often complicit in their murder.
The Uprising
Early in the morning on September 24, 1942, Jewish resistance fighters in Tuchyn burned down their own ghetto. The fire and the ensuing fight distracted Nazi soldiers, and some 2,000 Jews escaped into the nearby forest. The fighting continued - several Germans and Ukrainian auxiliary police were killed, and one-third of the ghetto population fell.
The uprising ended on Saturday, September 26 when the lead resisters turned themselves in. Half of the remaining escapees were captured and murdered within three days of their escape. About 300 women, unable to withstand the conditions of the forest and unable to provide for their children, returned to Tuchyn and were shot. Other escapees were turned in or murdered by peasants in the vicinity.
Legacy
Despite the outcome, the resistance in Tuchyn is an important example of how Jews were more than just passive victims to The Shoah. In their final moments, the resistance fighters declared their humanity and strength, even in the face of seemingly impossible odds.