Беларусь, Мозырь қаласының тарихы мен халқы

City in Gomel Region, Belarus

Mazyr or Mozyr (, ; Мозырь, ; Mozyrz; ) is a city in Gomel Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Mazyr District. It was a county seat in the Mińsk Voivodeship of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth until the Partitions of Poland. In the 18th century, Baroque monasteries and churches of Cistercian monks and nuns were established. At various times, the 2nd and 3rd Lithuanian Vanguard Regiments were stationed there. During the Partitions of Poland, the city was annexed by Russia, within which it was administratively part of the Minsk Governorate. The city was subjected to Russification policies. In the 19th century both Cistercian monasteries were closed down. but later on it fell to the Soviets. During World War II, the German occupiers operated a Nazi prison in the town. The city has suffered radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl disaster. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Cistercian churches were restored to the Catholics.

Jews were first mentioned in chronicles in the second half of the 17th century. It is known that there were three synagogues in the city as of 1856. R. Kugel, a prominent Jewish community figure, had been the chief Rabbi of Mazyr since 1861. He was also the head of the local Jewish literacy school. During this period Jews were mostly engaged in craftsmanship and trading. Part of Mazyr's industry, the match factory and the wood sawing factory were owned by Jews. There were eight active synagogues, a yeshiva, Jewish school and Talmud Torah school in the wake of the 20th century. All of the facilities had been closed down by 1939. Thousands of Jews were executed by German troops in the local ghetto during World War II. After the mass execution, almost no Jews remained in the city, whereas before the war 30% of the population within the city was Jewish. On August 31, 1941, hundreds of Jews gathered inside a house at Malo Pushkin street. They poured kerosene on the building walls and set it alight, while the people huddled inside. The mass suicide was an attempt to escape execution by the Germans. The incident is known as the "Belarusian Masada". After the war some Jews returned to Mazyr. Although they refused to take back the partially destroyed synagogue building, an official Jewish community was registered in 1946. A few years later, authorities denied the organization's right to exist. The community organization was re established officially in 1989, when a revival began in the city. A synagogue and a Jewish culture club were opened.