Aug 10 - Radyvyliv

On the way to Radyvyliv we made stops at Pidhirtsi Castle and Olesko Castle where I purchased an old synagogue key (to be confirmed).

 Olesko Castle:

Pidhirtsi Castle:

We then toured Brody, a Galician border town, having a Jewish population of almost 70% pre-WWII, with the local historian and museum curator, Vasyl Strilchuk, stoping at shops and businesses formerly owned by Jews, the great temple, market square, museum, cemetery, and Holocaust memorial at the sight of 4,000 slaughtered Jews. I’m confident my family may have traded with these Hapsburg controlled townspeople.

Radyvyliv, a Volyn border town, 10km away was home to 8 direct 3-6x GG Grandparents born between 1740 and 1860. We found a former synagogue and walked the town. 

We visited the Jewish Cemetary in very poor condition with stones in total disarray with very few readable. Carol and I walked the property and then sat quietly listening to the whispering willows and pines in the background of a small active playground. The sounds were peaceful and calming despite the heart wrenching mass of stones.

On the outskirts of town with the help of Alexander, a local grandfather figure, we located  Radyvyliv’s memorial and killing site, a good kilometer back in the woods. Here again we spent some time contemplating the horror of the well hidden death pits and respectable monuments to our relatives decedents, families, and friends.