
This project seeks to collect all of the Jewish families from the town of Zhidachov, Ukraine, also known as Żydaczów, Zhydachiv, Zhydachuv, Zhidechuv, Zhidachev.
Zhydachiv (Ukrainian: Жидачів) is a city in Stryi Raion, Lviv Oblast (region) in western Ukraine. Zhydachiv lies on the Stryi River.
The city has historically had numerous name variants, reflecting its complex past, including Polish: Żydaczów and Yiddish: זידיטשוב, romanized: Zidichov, Zhidetshoyv. It was mentioned for the first time in 1164 under the name Udech. In documents from the 14th to 17th centuries, the city was referred to as Zudech, Zudachiv, Sudachiv, Zidachiv, Sidachiv, Zudechev and more.
Zhydachiv for centuries remained in private hands, among others it belonged to the noble Rzewuski family, had a defensive castle and was the seat of a starosta.
In the middle of the 17th century, population of Zhydachiv participated in the Khmelnytsky Uprising also known as the liberation war led by Bohdan Khmelnytsky. In 1772, it was seized by the Habsburg Empire, as part of Austrian Galicia and in 1800 a Jewish rabbinical School was established.
From 1 November 1918 until May 1919, it was administered by the West Ukrainian People's Republic. After the Polish–Ukrainian War, Zhydachiv became a part of Second Polish Republic and was the seat of a county in Stanislawow Voivodeship. In 1929, the population of Zhydachiv was almost 4,200 including 1,960 Ukrainians, 1,290 Poles and a quarter of the total population (950 members) were the Jews. In September 1939, Zhydachiv was occupied by the Red Army. Soviet authorities deported the Polish residents to Siberia. When the Germans occupied the town in 1941–1944, they kept Jews imprisoned in a ghetto.