Lost Treasures: The Wooden Synagogues of Eastern Europe The Artwork of Bill Farran

Sapotskin, Belarus - Original Linocut

Sopotkin [Yid]

Sapotskin is a small town in Belarus north-east of Grodno. Situated on the road connecting Grodno and Kovno, the town prospered on trade and forest products.

During World War I, the citizens of Sapotskin suffered at the hands of the Russians and Germans as the town was occupied and liberated several times. Sapotskin became part of Poland in 1921 and suffered under the new anti-Semitic Polish government.

In September 1939 at the beginning of WWII, Sapotskin was occupied by Soviet troops and incorporated into the Byelorussian SSR in November. In June 1941, the Germans invaded the Soviet Union and set fire to Sapotskin. The Germans ordered the Jews to dig mass graves and bury the dead. When the Germans asked local Poles to identify Jews who collaborated during the Soviet occupation, they obliged, and those Jews were executed. The Sapotskin Ghetto was liquidated in January 1943, when they were sent to Auschwitz where almost all were murdered. Only a few survived the Holocaust, including those protected by the Falejczyk and Bykowski families, later named by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations.

Purchase a print

Original linocut prints are 8x10 inches, and are available either unmatted or in an 11x14 matte.

I also offer matted 5x7 digital prints. These prints are created from high-res digital images and come in an 8x10 matte.