Turka is a Ukrainian town situated on the left bank of the river Stryi. Jews first came to Turka in the 1800s. The first synagogue, Jewish cemetery and the Jewish old age home were built in 1730. In 1903, Turka began to flourish when a railway line connected the city with Lwow and with Budapest, and the Austrian government authorized the founding of an official Jewish community. Business expanded, especially the lumber business. Jews owned the sawmills, had licenses to sell liquor. Others worked at various trades - tailoring, shoemaking, barbering, clock making, and lock smithing. Many of the...

Stawiski, Poland is a small town in northeastern Poland situated on the Dzierzbia River. The town was established in the early 15th century and over the years had multiple rulers. Napoleon's march across Europe to Russia took him through Stawiski. The town was a commercial center known for furs, fabrics and hats. The Great Synagogue of Stawiski was built in 1739; it was destroyed by the Nazis during World War II. The town first came under Soviet occupation and in June 1941 the Germans seized control of the town. A month later the Nazis forced many of the town's Jewish residents march into the...