Two towns of the same name: ShtetLink: Alternate names: Brichany [Rus], Briceni [Rom], Britshan [Yid], Bryczany [Pol], Bricheni, Briceni-Târg, Bricheni Targ, Briceni Sat, Bricheni Sat, Berchan, Brichon, Britshani, Russian: Бричаны. Moldovian: Бричень. בריטשאן-Yiddish. 48°22' N, 27°05' E, in NW Moldova, 17 miles NW of Edineţ (Yedintsy), 33 miles W of Mohyliv-Podilskyy. 1900 Jewish population: 7,184.
- KehilaLink at JewishGen.
- Memorial Book: Brichany: Its Jewry in the first half of our century (Briceni, Moldova), ed. Yaakov Amizur, Tel-Aviv, 1964. Coordinator for the translation - Carol Monosson Edan (emerita), Carla Brauer-Lalezari, Yizkor Book Project, JewishGen. yizkor: Britshan: Britsheni ha-yehudit be-mahatsit ha-mea ha-aharona (Tel Aviv, 1964).
- Brichany: its Jewry in the first half of our century
A village of 5,000 before WWII, Brichany/Briceni now has a population of 80,000. 137 Jewish families lived in the town in 1817, another 47 having left the village when it was partly destroyed by fire. A Jewish state school opened in 1847. A hospital was founded in 1885. In 1897, the 7,184 Jews in Brichany were 96.5% of the total population. In 1924, 125 farmer Jews occupied held 641 hectares (1,600 acres) of land, 500 hectares) held on lease. 1930 Census: 5,354 Jews in 1930 (95.2%). On July 8, 1941, Romanian and German troops passed through Brichany, murdering many Jews. Jews from the neighbouring Lipkany and Sekiryany were brought to Brichany. On July 28, all Jews were sent across the Dniester with several shot en route. Arriving in Mogilev, the Germans "selected" old people and forced the younger ones to dig graves for them. From Mogilev, the rest were sent back to Ataki in Bessarabia and then to Sekiryany. Hundreds died en route. For a month, they remained in the ghetto, only to be deported again to Transnistria where all the young Jews were murdered in a forest near Soroca. Only 1,000 Jews returned to Brichany at the end of the war. A second shtetl, 30 miles east, is also known as Brichany or Briceni. The first Brichany at 48° 22´N 27° 06´E is 124.1 miles NW of Chisinau . The second Brichany/Briceni at 48° 22´N 27° 42´E, 108 miles NNW of Chisinau on the NE border of Moldova. Yizkor.
CEMETERY:
Cemetery: very large, overgrown. Cleanup and cataloging of gravestones required; many gravestones are legible: American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee will accept contributions and transfer funds to their offices in Moldova to pay someone to do the work.Contact: Irwin Kaufman
On flat land surrounded by a broken wall with no gate, the 10.000 sq. m.site has 5,000 gravestones that are rough stones and boulders, flat shaped stones, finely smoothed and inscribed stones, flat stones with carved relief decoration, double tombstones, sculpted monuments. The oldest dates from the 19th century. Some are tumbled or broken. Contact: I. Boltuh (+373-247)22157. photos [March 2009]
Briceni Jewish Cemetery was photographed and indexed. 2537 records with 2360 photographs are sent to JewishGen/JOWBR. Also there are 143 photos of unknown graves. Please see the overview, maps, photos, access to 143 photos of unknown graves and more at Briceni Cemetery Report. Our appreciation to Michoel Ron who did a major part of the work! Briceni Cemetery Report and 143 photos of unknown graves. [Apr 2016]