The first Jews settled in Zdzięcioł in 1580.
The town was the birthplace of preachers Jacob of Dubno and Yisrael Meir Kagan.
In 1897, three-quarters of the city's total population of 3,979 were Jewish.
In 1926, in the reborn Polish Republic, there were 3,450 Jews out of 4,600 people in Zdzięcioł (also 75 percent).
During the Nazi-Soviet invasion of Poland Zdzięcioł was taken over by the Red Army and renamed Dzyatlava.
In 1939–1941 many Jewish refugees arrived in the town from western and central Poland which was attacked by Germany in the beginning of World War II.

Soviet tanks rolled into Zdzięcioł in the evening of 18 September 1939.
Police station was already abandoned by the Poles, with only papers scattered on the floor.
Next morning, Mayor Henryk Poszwiński was arrested by the NKVD along with school principals, sołectwo council, gmina clerks and one priest, and taken to prison in Nowogródek never to be heard from again.
In June 1941, Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa.
The Jewish population of Zdzięcioł (Dziatłava) had increased to more than 4,500 due to influx of refugees.

German forces occupied the town on 30 June 1941.
On 14 July 1941, the German military commandant ordered that the Jews must wear the yellow badge on the front and back of their clothing under the threat of death.
On 23 July, about 120 of the most respected citizens and members of the Jewish intelligentsia were selected from among the Jews and assembled in the square.
The selection was carried out according to a list compiled by the collaborationist Belarusian Auxiliary Police (established on 7 July 1941) for the use by the SS Einsatzkommando killing squad arriving in Zdzięcioł.
Among those arrested were Alter Dvoretsky (an attorney active in the Communist Poale Zion), the rabbi, and Jankel Kaplan.
The local Jews bribed the Germans to attain the release of Dvoretsky and the rabbi.
All the others were allegedly taken away for forced labor, but two days later it was discovered that they had been transported to the forest near the military barracks in Nowogródek and murdered there.
The first Jews settled in Zdzięcioł in 1580. The town was the birthplace of preachers Jacob of Dubno and Yisrael Meir Kagan. In 1897, three-quarters of the city's total population of 3,979 were Jewish. In 1926, in the reborn Polish Republic, there were 3,450 Jews out of 4,600 people in Zdzięcioł (also 75 percent). During the Nazi-Soviet invasion of Poland Zdzięcioł was taken over by the Red Army and renamed Dzyatlava. In 1939–1941 many Jewish refugees arrived in the town from western and central Poland which was attacked by Germany in the beginning of World War II.
Soviet tanks rolled into Zdzięcioł in the evening of 18 September 1939. Police station was already abandoned by the Poles, with only papers scattered on the floor. Next morning, Mayor Henryk Poszwiński was arrested by the NKVD along with school principals, sołectwo council, gmina clerks and one priest, and taken to prison in Nowogródek never to be heard from again. In June 1941, Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa. The Jewish population of Zdzięcioł (Dziatłava) had increased to more than 4,500 due to influx of refugees.
German forces occupied the town on 30 June 1941. On 14 July 1941, the German military commandant ordered that the Jews must wear the yellow badge on the front and back of their clothing under the threat of death. On 23 July, about 120 of the most respected citizens and members of the Jewish intelligentsia were selected from among the Jews and assembled in the square. The selection was carried out according to a list compiled by the collaborationist Belarusian Auxiliary Police (established on 7 July 1941) for the use by the SS Einsatzkommando killing squad arriving in Zdzięcioł. Among those arrested were Alter Dvoretsky (an attorney active in the Communist Poale Zion), the rabbi, and Jankel Kaplan. The local Jews bribed the Germans to attain the release of Dvoretsky and the rabbi. All the others were allegedly taken away for forced labor, but two days later it was discovered that they had been transported to the forest near the military barracks in Nowogródek and murdered there.
Dzyatlava Ghetto