What is Trochenbrod?
'''Trochenbrod''' ({{lang-ru|Трохимброд|translit=Trohimbrod}}; {{lang-uk|Трохимбрід|translit=Trochymbrid}}) was a Jewish [[shtetl]] (village) with an area 1,728 acres once in what is now western [[Ukraine]], about 30 kilometers northeast of [[Lutsk]]. It used to be a part of [[Poland]]. It was also known as '''Sofievka''' or '''Zofiówka''' in Polish, named after Sofia, a Russian princess who donated land for the Jewish settlement.<ref name=Barco>Barco, Eleazar. [http://members.tripod.com/sokolowg/troch.htm Trochinbrod - (Zofiowka)] (translated from [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] by Karen Engel)</ref> ==History== Trochenbrod was founded in 1835, at first a farming colony which grew into a small town. The population grew from around 1,200 (235 families) in 1889 to 1,580 in 1897.<ref name=Barco /> During the [[Polish-Soviet War]], the town was captured by Poland. By 1938 the town's population, which was only Jewish, had grown to at least 3,000.<ref name=Barco /> Most of the people worked in farming, dairy farming, or [[tanning]]. There were seven [[synagogue]]s in Trochenbrod. In 1940, the town, along with the rest of [[Western Ukraine]], became part of the [[Soviet Union]] (see [[Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact]]). The [[rabbi]] at this time was Rabbi Gershon Weissmann. The Communists exiled him to [[Siberia]] after accusing him of being involved in underground salt trading.<ref name=Barco /> When the [[Nazi]]s later occupied Ukraine, they created a [[ghetto]] at Trochenbrod, bringing in Jews from nearby villages and towns. The Jews in the Trochenbrod ghetto were killed by the Nazis in August and September 1942.<ref name=Katchanovski>Katchanovski, Ivan.[http://www.praguepost.com/P03/2004/Art/1007/opin1.php/ ''Everything Is Illuminated'', Not!] in ''The Prague Post'' (October 7, 2004)</ref> Most of the Jews of Trochenbrod as well as of the neighbouring village [[Lozisht]] were killed, as were the other Jews of [[Volhynia]].<ref name=Barco /> The local Ukrainian police force helped to round up the Jews.<ref name=Katchanov