Justingrad (; Yustingrod; also transliterated Yustingrad or Ustingrad) was a Jewish community in present-day Uman Raion, Ukraine. The Justingrad shtetl was created after Jews were forced out of their homes in the village of Sokolivka, Kyiv Oblast. These Jews from Sokolivka moved to the land on the other side of a quarter mile bridge/dam across a lake edge. This shtetl was named Justingrad in honor of Justina, wife of the nobleman who sold the land to the Jews. Many of these Ukrainian Jews left for a better life in the United States around 1900.
In August 1919, a pogrom made its way through Justingrad. Jewish men were murdered and Jewish women were defiled. With World War II, on July 27, 1941, the Nazis destroyed Justingrad. Currently, the land of former Justingrad is used as farmland and grazing for livestock from those of neighboring villages.
In 1966, Joseph Gilman traveled to the area, in order to compile documents regarding the Kaprov family from the Sokolivka/Justingrad area. This was published as a book in the US in 1969. In 1966, Justingrad was nonexistent as a village or shtetl; the land was used as a cow pasture. However the Justingrad shtetl sign was still there.
History
The Jewish community of Sokolivka appeared in the second half of the 18th century. In 1760, the owner of Sokolivka, Francis Pototski, issued a decree whereby all Christians and Jews who wished to settle in the town were exempt from taxes on spirits, beer and honey for three years. In 1765, there were around 585 Jews in Sokolivka and the surrounding villages.
Jewish persecution was common in European nations for thousands of years for a number of reasons, and the Russian Empire was no exception. In 1825, Nicholas I issued a law restricting the rights of Jews to choose their place of residence and occupation. A military settlement was set up in Sokolivka and the Jewish population was expelled. Directly across the Ros River from Sokolivka was undeveloped land with rich soil, perfect for settlement. However, this land was owned by a noblewoman named Justina, (some sources say Justina's husband owned the land) who the Jews desperately pleaded with for access. Justina sold the land to the expelled Jews of Sokolivka, and in gratitude they named the new settlement "Justina's town" — "Justingrad". Though this was the town's official name, most still referred to it as Sokolivka, as they were still understandably bitter about their undue expulsion. From year to year the new settlement grew and became a town. In the year 1852, the Rabbi Reb Gedaliah Aharon, a famous Tzaddik in the city of Illintsi, settled in Justingrad, and with him his many followers (Chassidim). The settlement continued to grow as non-Jewish farmers began settling the area. Strong relationships in trade and in occasional employment developed between the settlers and the Jews, and in 1897 the total number of inhabitants reached 3,194, of whom 2,521 were Jews and 673 non–Jews. Over the years, four synagogues were built in Justingrad, twelve melamdim, each with their own cheder. Massive libraries, schools, and banks were built. In the mid-19th century, the local population consisted of 2,349 Orthodox Christians and 502 Jews, but by 1900, 2,521 Jews resided in Justingrad.