Strombotne / Specht

Alternative Names: Lipovets (Russian), Lipovetz (Yiddish), Lipowiec (Polish)

Jewish Population: 4135 (in 1897), 1353 (1939), 0 (1942)

"The Jews of Lipovets" and the Jewish presence in the surrounding area of Lipovets was first mentioned in writing in the mid-18th century. During this time (late 1760's), the Jewish population in the area was under constant assault by the Haidamaks (cossack paramilitary bands of commoners, peasants, and former Cossacks).

The 1897 Russian census describes 14 distinct "Jewish communities" in Lipovets and the immediate surrounding area totally 4135 Jews (47.8% of the 11761 total population). In 1910, there were two private Jewish schools in Lipovets, one of which was free.

During the time of the Russian civil war (1917-1922), it is estimated that at least 40 Jews were killed in Lipovets after several pogroms. The Jewish population swelled in size during the early 1930's as the village accepted Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi occupied Poland. The remaining Jewish population by 1942 was massacred by the German army when they occupied the area in 1941. Two mass graves can be found in a field in the northeast area of the town.