also known as: Nagylucska (HU), Veľký Loučky (CZ), Velikiye Luchki (RU), Groys Litshik (Yid)
48°25' N / 22°34' E
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Velikiye Luchki
was part of the Kingdom of Hungary (11th century - 1920 and 1938-1944) with the name of Nagylucska
in Bereg megye, next part of Czechoslovakia (1920-1938) with the name of Veľký Loučky
in Podkarpatská Rus (Sub-Carpathia), then part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (1945-1991) with the name of Velikiye Luchki and, since 1991, known as Velikiye Luchki, in the Mukachevskiy (Mukachivs'kyy) rayon (district) of Zakarpats'ka oblast (county) of Ukraine.
Other spellings/names for Velikiye Luchki are Veľký Lúčky, Lucski and Velikije Lucski. In Yiddish, Velikiye Luchki was referred to as Groys Litshik
.
Velikiye Luchki is located about seven miles southwest of Mukacheve, 18 miles southeast of Uzhhorod and 17 miles east of Chop.
The first record of Velikiye Luchki is found in 1400, when it was included in Mukachevo dominant in the Kingdom of Hungary and in 1728, the area around the Velikiye Luchki belonged to the Austrian lord, Karl Count von SCHOENBORN. In 1847, the village was designated as a market town by order of the Emperor of Austria.
The first Jews probably settled in Velikiye Luchki in the mid-18th century, numbering 20 in 1830. By 1877, the population of Velikiye Luchki was 3,273 made up of Rusyns, Hungarians, Germans and Jews and comprised the following religions: Roman Catholic (74), Greek Catholic (3,034), Reformed (35) and Jewish (130 or about 4% of the total population).
In 1910, the Jewish population of Velikiye Luchki was 174.
In 1918, residents of Velikiye Luchki fired up a rebellion in order to unite with Soviet Ukraine, but in April 1919, first the Hungarian, and then Czechoslovak troops, occupied the village.
In 1921, the Jewish population of Velikiye Luchki was 156.
In 1938 Czechoslovakia was divided between Germany and Hungary and Velikiye Luchki became part of Hungary. At this time, the Jewish population was 339, including 25 who were engaged in trade, 15 artisans and two flour mills owned by Jews.
The Hungarians occupied Velikiye Luchki in March of 1939 and in 1941, drafted dozens of Jews into the Hungarian Labor Battalions for forced labor or service on the eastern front, where most died. In late 1941, a few Jewish families, without Hungarian citizenship, were expelled to Kamenets-Podolski in Ukraine where they were murdered.
In April 1944, the remaining Jews of Velikiye Luchki—approximately 300 individuals—were forcibly moved to the Ghetto in Munkács and in mid-May 1944, they were deported to Auschwitz.
The Russian army, while advancing to the west, liberated Velikiye Luchki on 27 October 1944, but too late to save the Jews.
Today, Velikiye Luchki is one of the largest villages in Ukraine, 9,000 inhabitants (2007). A number of Rusyns/Ruthenians, Ukrainians and Hungarians still live there. A great number of the Jews of Velikiye Luchki were murdered in the Holocaust and no Jews live there today.
Sources (portions): The Encyclopedia of Jewish Life Before and During the Holocaust, (2001), p. 1381
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