The Jewish Cemetery of Savran

Savran’s Jewish cemetery is a single burial complex with adjoining old and new sections. The older section preserves historic matzevot and the ohel associated with the Savran Hasidic dynasty; the newer section contains later burials as well as the Holocaust memorial and mass grave. ^[C1,C2]

On this page: Old Cemetery New Cemetery Ohel Holocaust Memorial Location Sources

Old Cemetery

Savran’s Old Cemetery contains nineteenth- and early twentieth-century matzevot (gravestones) in varying states of preservation, together with the Hasidic ohel. Many stones are partly sunken, broken, or obscured by vegetation; inscriptions are identified only where the reading is sufficiently clear. ^{[C1,C2,C4,C6]}

Overgrown matzevot in the Old Cemetery at Savran — Overgrown matzevot in the Old Cemetery. ^[C4]

Hebrew matzevah in the Old Cemetery at Savran — Hebrew matzevah in the Old Cemetery. ^[C4]

Decorated Hebrew matzevah in the Old Cemetery at Savran — Decorated Hebrew matzevah in the Old Cemetery. ^[C4]

Weathered Hebrew matzevah in the Old Cemetery at Savran — Weathered Hebrew matzevah in the Old Cemetery. ^[C4]

Partly sunken Hebrew matzevah in the Old Cemetery at Savran — Partly sunken Hebrew matzevah in the Old Cemetery. ^[C4]

Hebrew matzevah among trees in the Old Cemetery at Savran — Hebrew matzevah among trees in the Old Cemetery. ^[C4]

Large weathered Hebrew matzevah in the Old Cemetery at Savran — Large weathered Hebrew matzevah in the Old Cemetery. ^[C4]

Collapsed and overgrown gravestones in the Old Cemetery at Savran — Collapsed and overgrown gravestones document the condition of part of the Old Cemetery. ^[C4]

Older Hebrew matzevah with a later civil nameplate for Maria Khaimovna Sheyde-Lander. ^[C4]

Matzevah photographed by Oksana Hula in the Old Cemetery of Savran, dated 1892 — Matzevah in Savran's Old Cemetery, dated 1892. ^[C6]

Matzevah photographed by Oksana Hula in the Old Cemetery of Savran, dated 1875 — Matzevah in Savran's Old Cemetery, dated 1875. ^[C6]

New Cemetery

The adjoining New Cemetery contains later twentieth- and twenty-first-century burials. Its more recent monuments often combine Hebrew with civil-language inscriptions and photographs of the deceased. ^{[C1,C2,C4,C5]}

European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative survey sign at the Savran Jewish cemetery — European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative (ESJF) survey sign recording the 2019 survey of the Savran Jewish cemetery. ^[C1,C4]

Graves and monuments in the New Cemetery at Savran — Graves and monuments in the Savran Jewish cemetery. ^[C5]

Cemetery view in the New Cemetery at Savran — Cemetery view in Savran. ^[C5]

Recent view across the New Cemetery at Savran — Recent view across the New Cemetery. ^[C4]

Damaged monument in the New Cemetery at Savran — Damaged monument in the New Cemetery. ^[C4]

Matzevah in the New Cemetery at Savran — Matzevah in the Savran Jewish cemetery. ^[C5]

Grave marker of Sara Ruvovna Gropman, 1901 to 1960 — Sara Ruvovna Gropman, 1901–1960. ^[C5]

Grave marker of Leib Shimonovich Shtelmakher, 1878 to 1955 — Leib Shimonovich Shtelmakher, 1878–1955. ^[C5]

Grave marker of Iosif Yakovlevich Krutoy, 1909 to 1977 — Iosif Yakovlevich Krutoy, 1909–1977. ^[C5]

Grave marker of Shlomo Leibovich Portnoy, 1896 to 1955 — Shlomo Leibovich Portnoy, 1896–1955. ^[C5]

Ohel

An ohel (Hebrew for “tent”) is a small structure built over or around the grave of a revered rabbi or other religious figure, creating a sheltered place for prayer and pilgrimage. The Old Cemetery contains the ohel associated with Rabbi Shimon Shlomo of Savran, father of Moshe Zvi Giterman. ^[C1,C2,C7]

Exterior of the Savran Hasidic ohel. ^[C4]

Interior of the Savran Hasidic ohel. ^[C4]

Hebrew restoration plaque on the Savran Hasidic ohel — Restoration plaque on the ohel. The main Hebrew text reads: “Restored and renovated by the Ohaley Tzadikim–Geder Avot Association, under the leadership of Rabbi Yisrael Meir Gabbai.” ^[C4]

Hebrew sign identifying the ohel of Rabbi Shimon Shlomo of Savran — Hebrew sign: “Ohel of the holy rabbi, Rabbi Shimon Shlomo of Savran; may his merit protect us, amen.” ^[C5]

Holocaust Memorial

The Holocaust memorial and mass grave are in the New Cemetery. The present central monument is relatively recent: the 2018 My Shtetl documentation of Savran showed a new memorial at the cemetery while it was still under construction, and contemporary reporting records its dedication on November 18, 2018, seventy-seven years after the deportation of Savran’s Jews. The monument was funded by former ghetto prisoners who belonged to the Odesa regional association of Jews who had survived ghettos and Nazi camps. It stands alongside the older mass-grave marker. ^{[C3,C8,C9,C10]}

Close-up of the Hebrew and Ukrainian inscriptions on the central Holocaust memorial — Close-up of the Hebrew and Ukrainian inscriptions on the central memorial. The Ukrainian inscription reads: “In memory of the Jews: women, children, and elderly people who were murdered at the hands of the Nazis during the Second World War, in the period 1941–1944.” The Hebrew text concludes with the traditional phrase, “May God avenge their blood.” ^[C2,C3,C5]

Close-up of the inscription on the mass-grave memorial in the New Cemetery at Savran — Close-up of the mass-grave memorial. The Ukrainian inscription reads: “More than 15 Jews are buried here: elderly people, women, and children—victims of Nazi genocide. We remember you!” ^[C3,C4]

For the wartime history associated with these memorials, see The Holocaust in Savran, 1941–1944.

Location and cemetery surveys

The old and new sections lie next to one another, adjacent to 35 Malyarova Street in Savran. ESJF describes the old section as unfenced and the newer section as fenced and maintained. Its survey also records the ohel in the old section and the Holocaust mass grave in the new section. ^[C1,C2]

For detailed mapping, survey information, and additional photographs, see the European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative, Ukraine Jewish Heritage (JewUA), and the Center for Jewish Art. The site's Maps page provides general orientation within modern Savran.

Sources for this page

[C1] European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative (ESJF), “Savran Jewish Cemetery.” Survey information, location, condition, old/new section distinction, ohel, and Holocaust mass grave.
[C2] Center for Jewish Art, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, “Jewish cemetery in Savran, Ukraine.” Cemetery, ohel, gravestone, and memorial documentation based in part on the 2019 ESJF survey.
[C3] Center for Jewish Art, “Holocaust memorial in the Jewish cemetery in Savran” and “Memorial on the mass grave in the Jewish cemetery in Savran.” Ukrainian inscriptions and monument documentation.
[C4] Ksenja Gula. Recent photographs of Savran’s Old and New Jewish Cemetery sections, the Hasidic ohel, and Holocaust memorials, provided for use on this site with permission.
[C5] Iryna Buzynska. Cemetery, matzevah, ohel, memorial, and local-history photographs provided for use on this site with permission.
[C6] Oksana Hula. Field photographs of the Old Cemetery reproduced from the appendices to her 2023 thesis.
[C7] See Savran Hasidism for biographical sources on Rabbi Shimon Shlomo and the Savran dynasty.
[C8] Ukraine Jewish Heritage (JewUA), “Savran.” Local Jewish history, Holocaust information, cemetery photographs, and memorial history.
[C9] My Shtetl, “Savran.” Photographic documentation from 2018, including the New Cemetery and a memorial then under construction.
[C10] STMEGI, “A Monument to Holocaust Victims Opened Near Odesa,” November 20, 2018. Reports the November 18 dedication, funding by former ghetto prisoners, and its timing seventy-seven years after the deportation of Savran’s Jews.

Full bibliography and image credits are consolidated on Sources & Further Research.