About Belarus

Dyatlovo is a city on the Dyatlovka River, 165 km away from Grodno. In the past its residents always called the city Zetelo or Zdenciol. According to one of the theories, the historic name of the Zetelo Village originates from the name of Zyato Lake that existed in Ice Age and whose location can be still traced today. The Jewish population called the place Zhetl.

Dyatlovo was first mentioned in writing in 1498 when the Grand Duke of Lithuania presented it to getman Ostrozhsky with the right to convert it into a borough. A wooden fortress was built here in the early 16 century. Later the Sapegis family became the owners.

The Cathedral of Ascension of Holy Virgin Mary was founded by Lew Sapega in 1624 and today it is one of the town’s oldest buildings. Built in the style of Baroque, it underwent a redesign in the 1840s and later, a restoration after a fire. The flock sponsored the works and amongst other things a stone fence with four corner towers was built around it. At one of its sides shopping streets were built in 1900.

Different times saw different families developing the borough – Ostrozhskys, Sapegis, Polubinskis, Radziwills, Soltans.

In 1685 the Radziwills came to own the place and after the Northern War was over they restored Dyatlovo from the ashes and ruins. The retreating Swedes pillaged everything they could and burnt down everything they failed to take with them. Amongst other things in 1751 they had a palace and a park built in the borough.

In the 1820s the Soltans, the next Dyatlovo owners, established factories to produce bricks and paper. The Dyatlovo Palace accommodated their library. Because of the part of the landlords in the anti-Russian Warsaw uprising the place passed to the government in 1831.

Administratively, after the third partition of Rech Pospolitaya in 1795 the borough became a part of the Russian Empire. Since 1921 – controlled by Poland it was taken over by the Soviets in 1939 to become one with the Soviet Republic of Belarus established in 1919. During the war it was a district center in Baranovichy Oblast.

The Nazi occupation between June 1941 and July 1944 resulted in destruction of over 12 000 residents of the district.

In 1990 Dyatlovo status changed from borough into city. In 2010 the city population was 7800. The town has a museum, a catholic church, Dyatlovo estate, a chapel.

Jews of Zhetl

From far above Zhetl probably looked like a cart wheel – a central square with spokes of the streets running towards the towns nearby. Central market was full of permanent shops selling foods, fabrics, working tools, buttons, cooking utensils, footwear and other items. They were sold and bought and exchanged into one another daily except for Saturdays.

Almost all houses in Zhetl were located next to the road though in the backyard many had a garden. The latter always included a vegetable garden whose products stored in the cellars supported the owners throughout winter months. Most people cultivated potatoes the deposits of which saved many lives during the war.

For centuries, life in Zhetl saw Jewish men dedicating a lot of time to praying and studying Tora, its different interpretations and multiple comments to it. Many men apart from that practiced a particular craft or ran a small shop.

Jewish women of Zhetl knew their part: they brought up children, ran the households and made sure this knowledge was passed to their daughters. Matchmakers arranged marriages. After a lady became a wife she had to dedicate all her spare time to the family and home bringing comfort into it.

After the borough was captured by the Nazi in late June 1941 the occupation authorities carried out several requisition campaigns – the Jews were to surrender jewelry, guns and even warm clothing. Curfew was established for them, they were banned to use sidewalks, etc.

Soon 120 Jewish men of authority were picked by the Nazis as potential candidates to head the Judenrat – the authority that regulated issues inside the Jewish community and mediated its relations with the occupation authorities. They were taken out of Zhetl, officially, on a labor project – in reality, they were executed in the forest. They were followed by several parties of dependents – elderly people, women and kids who could not work for the Nazis unlike craftsmen and unskilled labor whose lives were spared. They were issued red permits or “shines” enabling them to leave the ghetto on labor assignments and to obtain rations.

Shrinking population of the ghetto – over two thousand people – was crammed into several houses making the living conditions unbearable. Each house accommodated up to 50 or 60 people.

Out of about 3000 Jewish residents most perished during the war. Many didn’t believe in the drastic end that the Nazis kept in store for them, others were too weak for any courageous undertakings. Around several hundred people are believed to have made it into the forests, some of them surviving the war as members of the partisan teams. The detachments of the Bielski brothers (officially Zhukov detachment) and Dr. Atlas were their main harbors.

Only a handful Jews made it back to their home town of Zhetl after the war and currently there are none left...

If you wish to take a guided tour to Dyatlovo or the area or to research your family roots from Dyatlovo, do not hesitate to contact me.