Friends!

I have already told you about the Jewish kibitzesbut I think you don’t know, that at firstly they appeared not in Israel, but on the Ukrainian land.

In the early 19th century 48 Jewish families from Mogilev province asked governor Mikhail Bakunin to allow them to leave. They wanted to farm. Among people distinguished two leaders - Israel Lentport and Nohim Finkenshteyn. Finally, they managed to achieve their goal. They were allowed to live near the river Ingul in Kherson district.

They called their new home "Yefynhar", which means "beautiful river". Nohim Finkenshteyn became the first mayor of the village, he was very confident and decisive, so he was elected to the post unanimously.

The case was very difficult. The land on which no one worked, did not want to take the newly handlers. Harvest was, but it was small. Generally, living in Yefynhari was difficult, because people were not accustomed to such climate. People often got ill, because they lived mainly in dugouts. Some even fled from this "agricultural paradise." But others stayed.

It took 35 years for settlement to grow. People built 60 houses, 39 huts. They were inhabited by 111 families. There were store and two prayer houses. Things were going well, people were busy not only with the ground work, they engaged animal husbandry and viticulture. Women began to weave, men also mastered various crafts. Not surprisingly, at the end of the century there was built a school and even meteorological station.

Later Yefynhar was settled by the German colonists, so they could learn how to work on the land. But gradually they were made the leaders, and even were allowed to beat Jews. With the advent of Soviet power was no better - Yefynhar, as well as other Ukrainian lands, struggled of hunger. The colony survived collectivization and even struggle with religion. Last meeting house was closed in 1936.

In 1941 the Nazis occupied Yefynhar. On the 10th of September 519 Jews gathered near the school. From there, ostensibly for evacuation, they were taken on a sand pit. There they were shot. The very colony was destroyed.

In 1945 Yefynhar was renamed into Plyuschivka. In 1953 in the village built a monument to the tortured villagers.

That's the story of one of the most successful first kibbutz, which was known for its delicious bread, milk and oil in all the neighboring towns and villages.