Oral history interview with Iosif Gotsura

Oral history interview with Yulia Lipai

Oral History

Yulia Lipai, born in 1932 in Sunchitsi, near Novogrudok, Belarus, describes the arrest of the Jews of her village in 1942; the ghetto in Novogrudok; the yellow Star of David badges worn by Jews; the mass murder and burial of Jews in August 1942; the looting of Jewish homes; and the aftermath of the war.

Oral history interview with Maria Yuzefa Karavaiska

Oral History

Maria Yuzefa Karavaiska, born in 1928 in Novogrudok, Belarus, describes the Jewish population of Novogrudok; the pogroms in Novogrudok in 1941 and 1942; the arrest of the Jewish population; the establishment of the ghetto in 1941; a massacre of Jews in the main square in 1941; her mother giving bread to the Jews; non-Jews who hid Jewish children; the liquidation of the ghetto; hiding Jews in her family’s house; the aftermath of the war; and the effects of the Holocaust on her family.

Oral history interview with Grigory Rakhmanko

Oral History

Grigory Rakhmanko, born in 1924 in Novogrudok, Belarus, describes the prewar Jewish population in Novogrudok; a mass killing of Jews that occurred with the German occupation; the requirement that Jews wear yellow Star of David badges; the deportation of Jews from the region; the ghetto of Novogrudok; the transfer of Jews from the ghetto of Novogrudok to Litovka; a partisan attack on German food carts; his arrest and imprisonment in a camp in Grajevo in Poland; questioning about the Partisans; his transfer to Drambur City; his forced labor for a German woman in Kalderdorf village; and the aftermath of the war.

Oral history interview with Irina Egerova

Oral History

Irina Egerova, born in 1933 in Baranovichi, Belarus, describes the Germans occupation of her village; the Jewish population of Turec; a mass killing of Jews in the area; a teacher who told her not to help Jews otherwise risk punishment; her parents helping a wounded Jewish man who later joined the Partisans; searches by Germans for Jews and partisans; an incident in which her mother admitted to helping Partisans to an undercover policeman who then beat her; and the aftermath of the war.

Oral history interview with Marija Aleshina

Oral History

Marija Aleshina, born in 1921 in Koldychevo, Belarus, describes her family; her arrest and time in a concentration camp as a result of her husband’s affiliation with the Partisans; the torture of her and her baby in an attempt to discover the location of her husband; the terrible conditions of the camp; her release by a local Belarusian policeman; the massacre of Jews in the region; her arrest and time in prison in Gorodische (Haradzishcha); and her time with the Partisans.

Oral history interview with Ljubov Kalosha

Oral History

Ljubov Kalosha, born in 1933 in Koldychevo in Belarus, describes the concentration camp in Koldychevo for prisoners of war and Jews; the professions of the Jews in the camp; how local citizens could request Jews for labor; the mass murder of Jews in Gorodische (Haradzishcha); the escape of some Jews from the camp; the liquidation of the camp by the Germans at the end of the war; and the aftermath of the war in Poland.

Oral history interview with Jefrosinja Surma

Oral History

Jefrosinja Surma, born in 1922 in Koldychevo, Belarus, describes spending time in the forest during the war; milking cows in a field near the Koldychevo concentration camp; secretly giving bread to the prisoners of the camp; Jews being forced to work in a sewing factory in the camp; the escape of some Jews from the camp and subsequent searches of the village by policeman; and the aftermath of the war in the region.

Oral history interview with Jelizaveta Dolenga-Vzhzosek

Oral History

Jelizaveta Dolenga-Vzhzosek, born in 1929 in Warsaw, Poland, describes fleeing the German invasion of Poland in 1939; traveling with her family to Baranovichi and then Stolovichi in Belarus; the large community of Jewish refugees in Stolovichi; the German occupation of the region; the relocation of Jews to a ghetto; living conditions in the ghetto in Domashevichi village; forced labor of Jewish men; the liquidation of ghetto in Solovichi; her mother’s work for the Partisans; hiding Richard Vanger (Ryszard Wanger), a young Jewish boy, in their small home; Richard’s hiding place under a bed, where he remained whenever someone, including policemen and soldiers, entered the home; the participation of local policemen in the massacre of Jews; the looting of Jewish belongings by local citizens; her mother’s involvement in hiding the children of a rabbi in a nearby shed; the discovery and murder of one of the children by an SS soldier; her mother’s imprisonment in Koldychevo concentration camp in 1944; caring for Jewish children in hiding after the arrest of her mother; the torture of her mother by the camp’s guards; her mother’s return from the camp and later arrest and harsh treatment by the Soviets; her mother’s death six months after her release; and the long-term effects of the war on her family.

Oral history interview with Veronka Milova

Oral History

Veronka Milova, born in 1926 in Baranovichi, Belarus, describes her childhood in an orphanage; the treatment of Jewish children in the orphanage; relocating to Detkovichi with the help of a teacher in 1942 because of food shortages; the murder of Jewish children from the orphanage; and escaping relocation to Germany with the help of her mother.

Oral history interview with Lev Voitkovsky

Oral History

Lev Voitkovsky, born in 1930 in Pugachevo, Belarus, describes the establishment of ghettos for the Jewish population in 1942; the conditions of ghettos in Brest; the murder of Jews at Bronnaia Gora; the relocation of Jews to Dubininsky fort; the arrest of a man who assisting prisoners of war escape; prisoners of war working at local farms; prisoners of war escaping to join the Partisans; the closing of the German bunker in the village; German soldiers searching the village for partisans; threats to villagers to provide information about partisans; and an auction of Jewish belongings.

Oral history interview with Anatoly Garay

Oral History

Anatoly Garay, born in 1936 in Gomel, Belarus, describes German soldiers searching his home for gold; violence against citizens thought to be working for the Soviets; the hanging of people suspected of being partisans; town children who gave food to prisoners of war in Brest; the establishment of a ghetto in his town; yellow Star of David badges worn by Jews; the liquidation of the ghetto; the relocation of townspeople to the ghetto in 1943; and the arrival of the Soviets in 1944.

Oral history interview with Vladimir Jarasjuk

Oral History

Vladimir Jarasjuk, born in 1927 in the village Maloschitniki near Brest, Belarus, describes the appropriation of land during the German occupation; being accused of stealing sheep skins form the farm on which he worked; his relocation to Brest in 1942, from which he ran away; his arrest and time in prison until 1943; his forced labor on a railway; the Jewish ghetto; witnessing the murder of a Jewish person by an officer dressed in an SS uniform; the liquidation of the ghetto; the murder of Jews in Bronnaja Gora; collecting Jewish belonging from the ghetto for German occupiers; his transfer to Germany in 1943; his forced labor in Berlin; and his liberation in 1945.

Oral history interview with Aleksandr Judchits

Oral History

Aleksandr Judchits, born in 1923 in Peshki village in Belarus, describes groups of Jews fleeing to Pruzhzany; a massacre of Jews near Detkovichi; and his service in the Soviet Army.

Oral history interview with Valentina Golotina

Oral History

Valentina Golotina, born in 1936 in Dedy near Bronnaya Gora, Belarus, describes hearing the sound of bullets during the massacre of Jews in Bronnayja Gora; how her step-brother temporary hid a Jewish girl who soon after joined Partisans; the forced relocation of the people in Dedy to Bronnaya Gora; smoke caused by burning corpses; mass graves; how German soldiers used citizens as hostages; the aftermath of the war; and the effect of the Holocaust on her family.

Oral history interview with Ivan Nikolajev

Oral History

Ivan Nikolajev, born in 1925 in Bronnaja Gora, Belarus, discusses living in the village Belavitsa (Bialavichy) during the war; the reason why German forces chose Bornnaja Gora as a garrison; first seeing Jews wear yellow badges in 1941; the death of his Jewish teachers; the deportation of Jews in 1942 to the ghetto in Bereza (Biaroza); massacres of Jews; and the taking of hostages by German soldiers to ensure their own safety during the advance of Soviet forces.

Oral history interview with Vladimir Parkhimchik

Oral History

Vladimir Parkhimchik, born in 1925 in Slopishchi in Belarus, describes the Jewish population of Šack; a massacre of young Jewish men during the German occupation; yellow star badges worn by Jews; the ghetto in Šack; the demand on the Jewish population to give up its gold; the massacre of Jews in the autumn of 1941; the lynching of one of his teachers; the beating of his mother; joining the Partisans; and the aftermath of the war.

Oral history interview with Valentin Lukjanenko

Oral History

Valentin Lukjanenko, born in 1930 in Bobruysk (Babruĭsk), Belarus, describes the beginning of the war while living in the village of Svisloch, Belarus in which many Jews lived; hearing the first rumors in autumn 1941 that Jews in the area would be killed; witnessing the murder of several Jews, including a classmate; seeing the body of a woman with a baby, who was still alive, laying next to her; trying to help the baby but being prevented by local policemen; the murder of Jews committed by German soldiers and policemen in his village; reactions of civilians to the killings; the looting of Jewish homes; and the actions of civilians in hiding Jews.

Oral history interview with Leonid Vusnich

Oral History

Leonid Vusnich, born in 1932 in Leningrad, Russia, describes his childhood in the town of Bobruisk, Belarus; the evacuation of a large part of the Jewish population at the start of the war; the Bobruisk ghetto; the shooting of Jews in Jeloviki village in 1941; helping two children who survived the mass shooting and sending them to the Partisans; how some local policemen warned people about roundups; his family’s expulsion for their home; German soldiers’ fear of the partisan attacks; how German soldiers used townspeople to check for land mines; murders committed by German soldiers; the deportation of young people to Germany; the treatment of prisoners of war; and the aftermath of the war.

Oral history interview with Zoja Abramova

Oral History

Zoja Abramova, born in 1932 in Smolevichi, Belarus, describes the Jewish population of Smolevichi; badges worn by Jews; the ghetto of Smolevichi; the hanging of individuals who were suspected of being involved with the Partisans; how people were more afraid of local policemen than the Germans; the mass killing of Jews at Kaplitsa; the burning of her family home; the looting of Jewish homes; and the burning of the village Yelovitsi.

Oral history interview with Anna Trofimova

Oral History

Anna Trofimova, born in 1926 in Minsk, Belarus, describes the forced relocation of the Jewish population to the ghetto in Minsk; women who were hanged for their association with the Partisans; the liquidation of a Jewish ghetto; yellow Star of David badges worn by Jews; a mass killing of Jews near Masyukovshchina village; the sight of a mass grave; saving a Jewish family from the ghetto and hiding them on her family’s property; the looting of Jewish belongings; and the aftermath of the war.

Oral history interview with Nina Aukhimenia

Oral History

Nina Aukhimenia, born in 1926 in Minsk, Belarus, describes living in Fundaminka village during World War II; her arrest along with her siblings as a result of communist paraphernalia in her family’s house; a mass killing of local villagers suspected of being communist or having relatives in the Soviet Army; her escape from a killing site with the aid of a German soldier; the arrest and murder of the Jewish families of the village; the murders of those thought to have connections with the Partisans; hiding a Jewish girl in her house; mass killings in the the villages Kamenka and Rykov; the cruelty of a local policeman who was eventually killed by partisans; prisoners of war brought through her village by German forces; the partisan liberation of the prisoners; and the aftermath of the war.

Oral history interview with Nina Abakshonok

Oral History

Nina Abakshonok, born in 1924 in Osipovichi, describes yellow badges worn by Jews; Jews who evacuated the area early in the war; the forced labor of the Jews; seeing a procession of Jews who were being led by a German soldier and three policemen; hearing shots a short time later; subsequent killings of Jews and individuals suspected of being involved with communists; and villagers joining the Partisans; and the treatment of Soviet prisoners of war.

Oral history interview with Georgiy Zabavskiy

Oral History

Georgiy Zabavskiy, born in 1930 in Svisloch, Belarus, describes living conditions for the Jews at the beginning of German occupation; the mass killings of Jews by German forces; the three arrests of his father; the time his father spent in the concentration camp Vyazze; his father’s connections with the Partisans; his grandmother purchasing his father’s freedom; the robbing of local citizens by Germans and policemen; the killing of individuals who were suspected of helping the Partisans; the fate of local policemen who collaborated with the Germans; cases of betrayal by a neighbor; and his life after the war.

Oral history interview with Evgenia Matul

Oral History

Evgenia Matul, born in 1927 in Novaja Anrejevka, Belarus, describes the mass murder of Jews in a ghetto in Glusk, many of whom were family acquaintances; the participation of local policemen in the search for Jews; the escape of her Jewish friend who joined the Partisans; hiding another Jewish friend who had been wounded until he recovered and joined the Partisans; the murder of non-Jews from her village; the ghetto in Glusk; the burning of her house by the Germans; joining the Partisans with her father; and the effects of the Holocaust on her family.

Oral history interview with Fedora Subbotkina

Oral History

Fedora Subbotkina, born in 1931 in Berezovka, Belarus, describes the murder of a Jewish family living in her village; the burning of her family’s house; how her family was almost shot by German soldiers because of their suspected involvement with partisans; the relocation of young people from her village to work for the Germans; seeing unkempt German soldiers hiding in the village at the end of the war; and seeing a procession of prisoners of war who were guarded by Soviet forces.

Oral history interview with Viktor Pravosud

Oral History

Viktor Pravosud, born in 1927 in Bobruisk, Belarus, describes his work tending cattle in the village of Vysokiy Polk near the town of Parich; the flight of many Jews from Parich prior to the German invasion; the Jewish ghetto in Parich; witnessing the mass shooting of Jews in 1942; and how local civilians were made to cover the pit of bodies, some of which were still moving.

Oral history interview with Maja Bakumets

Oral History

Maja Bakumets, born in 1925 in Bobruisk, Belarus, describes her refugee status at the beginning of the war; her return with her father to Bobruisk; a roundup and mass shooting of Jews in Jelovik; the Jewish ghetto in Bobruisk; the role of local policemen in the persecution of Jews; a mass shooting of Jews at village of Kamenka; an attack by partisans; escaping from a transport that would have relocated her to Germany; and the aftermath of the war.

Oral history interview with Aleksandr Pauk

Oral History

Aleksandr Pauk, born in 1928 in Gomel, Belarus, describes his Jewish teachers Moisey Judevich (now Morris Sorid) and his wife Regina Kaplan Judevich, who were relocated to the ghetto in Pruzany; the forced labor of Jews outside the ghetto; his father bringing food to Jewish acquaintances in the ghetto; how members of the Judenrat, German soldiers, and local policemen guarded the ghetto; the liquidation of the ghetto in 1943; hiding Mr. and Mrs. Judevich despite the threat of death for those who hid Jews; the looting of Jewish belongings by locals; prisoners of war in Pruzany; and the aftermath of the war.

Oral history interview with Semjon Shakarov

Oral History

Semjon Shakarov, born in 1924 in Gomel, Belarus, describes attending school with Jewish children in Zuravici; the relocation of Jews to Pansky manor in 1941; the patrolling of the area by policemen and German soldiers; witnessing a mass killing of Jews by gassing in trucks; the participation of policeman in throwing bodies from trucks into pits; a mass partisan movement in 1942, which included many Jewish members; his membership with the Partisans; and the burning of the villages of Kamenka, Krasnitsa, and Pakhar by German forces.

Oral history interview with Jevdokija Kashparova

Oral History

Jevdokija Kashparova, born in 1932 in Sraryje Zuravichi (Zhuravichy), Belarus, describes fleeing the village Leshashi due to bombings at the beginning of the war; the Jewish population of her village; witnessing the murder of Jewish refugees by German soldiers; and her mother’s refusal to allow German soldiers to be billeted in her family’s home.

Oral history interview with Maria Safonova

Oral History

Maria Safonova, born in 1925 in Sraryje Zuravichi, Belarus, describes the Jewish population of Sraryje Zuravichi; the evacuation of many Jews prior to the German occupation; a mass shooting of Jews behind a nearby hospital; the hanging of partisans; wounding herself so that she would not be forcibly relocated to Germany; and hiding military prisoners in the cellar of her family’s home.

Oral history interview with Petr Velikanov

Oral History

Petr Velikanov, born in 1930 in Mogilev, Belarus, describes the German occupation of Belarus; the pillaging of shops in Zabelishino by German soldiers; looting by local townspeople; the murder of Jewish families by German forces; a partisan attack on local policemen; and the arrest and conviction of a local policeman after the war.

Oral history interview with Viktor Khrjapkin

Oral History

Viktor Khrajapkin, born in 1927 in Kozjany, Belarus, describes the prewar Jewish families of Kozyany; the forced relocation of Jewish families to Ljady; the participation of policemen in the relocation of Jews; a mass killing of Jews in Lyady and Dubrovno; the looting of Jewish property by the police; a column of prisoners of war; violence committed by German guards against women who tried to give bread to the prisoners; guarding German prisoners in 1945; and seeing sites of mass murder after the war.

Oral history interview with Dmitry Gazin

Oral History

Dmitry Gazin, born in 1927 in Vitebsk, Belarus, describes moving to the village of Verhovie (possibly Viarkhoŭe, Vitsebski raion) in 1940; the evacuation of most of the Jewish families early in the war; the sight of prisoners of war being taken through the village on the way to Velikije Luki; the threat by German authorities to kill anyone hiding communists or Jews; German propaganda about how well they feed Russian prisoners; a prisoner of war camp near Luzhesnyanski technical college; witnessing the shooting of a group of Jews by German soldiers; the actions of a villager to help Jewish prisoners escape a shooting; the liquidation of the Jewish ghetto; the pillage and burning of his village in 1942; his time in the concentration camps Vitebsk and Alitus, Lithuania in 1943; a woman who provided policemen with information on families who were helping partisans; the looting of the homes of those killed by local policemen; deportation to Smorgon by train; a priest who helped him escape to the village of Belkovshchina; and the aftermath of the war.

Oral history interview with Viktor Pogorelskiy

Oral History

Viktor Pogorelskiy, born in 1930 on a khutor near the small settlement of Slaveni (in Mogilev Oblast), discusses living in Slaveni during the German occupation; the relocation of the Jewish community to one part of the village, near a brick factory, in 1942; Jews wearing yellow circles or ribbons; the mass shooting of the Jewish population by German soldiers; seeing from his house German soldiers burning dead bodies; his acquaintance with a Jewish boy named Berko who reported that all the Jews were taken to the execution site; Berko joining the partisans; and reuniting with Berko, now known as Boris, in Minsk after the war.

Oral history interview with Nina Tatur

Oral History

Nina Tatur, born in 1927 in the Podyasen settlement in Mogilev oblast, discusses life in Grodzyanka (Hradzianka) during the German occupation; peaceful relations between Belarusians and Jews prior to the war; the shooting of an assembly of Belarusian communists by German paratroopers; the sequestering of the Jewish population on an estate which was guarded by local policemen, in late 1941; the local police helping German forces search for Communists and Jews; her father’s assertion that they should help Jews; her brother Kostya who brought food to the sequestered Jews; Jews wearing Star of David badges and being beaten on the street by German soldiers; policemen moving into houses previously owned by Jews; the mass shooting of the area’s Jews in 1942; the German order that anyone hiding Jews would be shot; housing a Jewish refugee family named Gvozdetskiye who her mother’s claimed were relatives; hearing from partisans about atrocities committed by German soldiers; the death of her father and sister who were killed by German soldiers; the revenge torture and killing of police and their families by partisans; seeing the hanged corpses of military prisoners; the evacuation of policemen with the German forces at the end of the war; and a policeman who was associated with the Gestapo and still lived in town in the years following the war.

Oral history interview with Leonid Kruzhalenko

Oral History

Leonid Kruzhalenko, born in 1925 in Sverzhen, Gomel Oblast, discusses the German occupation and the forced relocation of Jews into designated homes following bombings and fires; the mandate that Jews had to wear Star of David badges; German soldiers' attacks on Jews; Jews having to go house to house to beg peasants for bread; the use of a work association building as an execution site; seeing German soldiers with dogs bring groups of Jews to the building; the inspection of Jews for gold teeth; seeing villagers he recognized enter the building; seeing several Jewish men with shovels going to dig a pit; the murder of Jewish women and girls by German soldiers; the shooting by a German soldier of Jewish children who were begging for food in the village; seeing pits in which there were the bodies of children; covering the bodies in the pit with soil; the bombing of the execution building; the brutal chief of police, Kozhan, who recruited people who were enemies of Soviet rule; the lack of Jewish survivors from the village; the looting of Jewish belongings by peasants; and his involvement with partisans.

Oral history interview with Nikolay Starovoytov

Oral History

Nikolay Starovoytov, born in 1929 in the village of Rakutino, Gomel Oblast, discusses living in Rakutino during the war; the lack of a Jewish population in Rakutino; attending school in neighboring Sverzhen with Jewish children; the Jewish community in Sverzhen; the German occupation of Sverzhen and the rounding up of Jews into yards guarded by local policemen; some poor Jews who fled before the occupation; wealthy Jews who remained to maintain their belongings; seeing Jewish men working on the highway to repair pits caused by bombings in Serebryanka; German soldiers marching approximately 50 Jewish men from Sverzhen to the forest across a river; trenches in the forest which served as graves for Jews shot by policemen; hearing pistol shots while skiing; hearing about German soldiers and police shooting elderly Jews in their homes; seeing pits with bodies covered with soil; the killing of a policeman named Kozhan by partisans; the liberation of military prisoners from the Gomel labor camp; the wives of the military prisoners who gave the Germans port fat in exchange for their husbands’ freedom; and a young teacher in Sverzhen who spied for the Germans prior to the occupation.

Oral history interview with Galina Savenko

Oral History

Galina Savenko, born in 1932 in Bobruysk, discusses the German occupation of Belarus; positive relationships with her Jewish neighbors prior to the war; attending school with her Jewish friend, Sonya Kaznelson; the mandatory wearing of the yellow Star of David badge and the labeling of Jewish homes with a white “R” following the German occupation; the harsh treatment of Jews by local police; watching German soldiers and local police force Jews out of their homes and into trucks for deportation; seeing her friend Sonya Shapiro board a truck; the emotional reaction of onlookers during the events; hearing machine gun shootings from the direction of a nearby internment camp; the rumor that German soldiers were hanging people at town squares; her grandmother’s exclamation that “they are killing our Jews;” the disappearance of all of the town’s Jews following the deportation; the looting of Jewish belongings by local citizens and policemen; individual acts of resistance; a German soldier giving her family bread and margarine; her family housing a Belarusian boy named Arkasha who German soldiers beat because of his Jewish appearance; a gendarme who nearly released a grenade in her vegetable garden during the German retreat; a churchwarden who looted Jewish belongings; and the churchwarden’s sentence of 10 years in jail after the war.

Oral history interview with Antonia Ryabukho

Oral History

Antonia Ryabukho, born in 1922, discusses traveling by train to Bobruysk from the frontier border where her husband was an officer in service; escaping from a train as it was being bombed; walking from Bialystok to Bobruysk; seeing German forces hang men, separate children and mothers, and throw bodies of the living and dead into wells and fires; hiding with her daughter in bushes to escape German paratroopers; seeing dead bodies by a river full of blood; her survival tactics to save her daughter as they made their way to Bobruysk on foot; Gestapo officers and German soldiers gathering Jews in the town; Jews, Communists, and high-ranking Soviet functionaries being forced to live in a patrolled outdoor area outside Bobruysk; secretly delivering potatoes to Jewish prisoners; hiding Jewish neighbors in her cellar; returning to Bialystok; her husband’s work as an artillerist on fortifications; hiding Jews in her vegetable garden; changing her name to avoid being mistaken as a Communist; joining the Komsomol and receiving a new passport; working as a recruiter for the partisans in 1943; a police chief who joined the Gestapo instead of the partisans; a Gestapo officer’s warning that she will be hanged; recognizing the need to escape; arranging a hiding place for elderly Jews who remained in Bobruysk; the capture of her mother, sister, and nieces who were sent to a concentration camp; the fate of her family members; and the partisan and Soviet army takeover of Bobruysk.

Oral history interview with Valentina Tevyshova

Oral History

Valentina Tevyshova, born in Zhlobin, Belarus in 1925, discusses the German occupation of Belarus; the large prewar Jewish community in Zhlobin; positive relationships with her Jewish neighbors and classmates before the war; the forced relocation of Jews into barracks; seeing German forces and local police load Jews into open trucks; the emotional reaction of bystanders; her discovery that the Jews of the town, including close acquaintances, where being shot; hearing reports that Romani people were taken away to be shot; descriptions of the mass burial pits from bystanders at the execution site; the disappearance of all of the town’s Jews, except for those who had joined the partisans; witnessing German soldiers hang two Russians at the town square; German soldiers deporting young people to work in Germany; her involvement with a partisan unit; the possibility that Jews were killed later in Zhlobin because of the burgomaster’s support of the partisans; the difficulty of joining the partisans and identifying who is a member; a prisoner of war camp in Zhlobin; cases in which prisoners of war joined the local police to survive; and differences among German soldiers in terms of the treatment of civilians.

Oral history interview with Sofya Prokopchik

Oral History

Sofya Prokopchik, born in Lazovoye, Mogilev oblast, discusses life in Grodzyanka during the German occupation; peaceful relationships with Jewish colleagues and neighbors prior to the war; working on a farm alongside Jews; the German invasion in the fall of 1941; Jews being collected and forced into manual labor by German authorities; the participation of policemen in guarding Jews; providing food to starving Jews; the looting of Jewish-owned home by policemen; seeing a procession of Jews being taken to a cemetery by German soldiers and local policemen; her fondness for Jews and feelings of sympathy for them; her uncle’s report that Jews were being shot and were falling into the pits; the survival of two Jewish sisters, one in hiding and one with partisans; the blockade of the village by German forces in 1943; the shooting of peasants who attempted to escape to the forests; the search for partisans in the forest; being shot by German soldiers as she tried to escape into the forest; a Finnish soldier who brought back escapees; seeing a Jewish mother being separated from her daughter; the shooting of the Jewish mother at the village council; being chased by Russian, Ukrainian, and Finnish volunteers for the German military as a result of her connection to partisans; and the arrival of the German military at the partisan camp.

Oral history interview with Martin Boyko

Oral History

Martin Boyko, born in 1935, discusses life in Baranovichi, Belarus during the German occupation; peaceful relationships with Jews prior to the war; his fear of walking the streets because of his Jewish appearance; villagers' comments about Germany as a safe alternative to Soviet rule; the introduction of restrictions on Jews; the establishment of the Jewish ghetto in 1942; the guarding the ghetto by policemen; sneaking through the ghetto fence to play with Jewish children; the understanding among Jewish children that they would be deported; the mass killing of Jews in the summer of 1943 by German forces; being mistaken as a Jew during the organization of a procession; being forced to join the procession of Jews until his mother confirmed his Catholicism; hearing shooting, lasting more than two hours, from behind the railroad bridge; seeing bodies covered with soil and in a trench at the railroad construction site; hearing moans and seeing movement under the soil; seeing prisoners of war in a car at the town square; the hanging in the town square of men, women, and children who were labeled with tags indicating “partisan” or “bandit”; his belief that Belarusian, Ukrainian, and Lithuanian policemen were more cruel than the German police; sneaking into the military prisoner camp to deliver bread to prisoners and receiving toys in return; and his memory of German soldiers removing corpses from a train carrying prisoners of war.

Oral history interview with Anastasia Vasilevich

Oral History

Anastasia Vasilevich, born in 1933 in Khoroshki, Belarus, discusses life in the village during the German occupation; a Jewish settlement outside the village; villagers’ aid to withdrawing Soviet troops; witnessing the murder of the Jewish population by German soldiers; the looting of Jewish-owned homes by villagers; her memories of the kindness of her Jewish neighbors; German soldiers torturing her father, communists, and other villagers to obtain information on partisans; her father’s death during a mass killing in Novogrudok; a survivor’s description of the killing, including her father’s defiance of German rule; a village head who denounced partisans to the German authorities; the killing of a partisan who was set on fire in his house; nearly being shot after she refused to provide a German soldier with eggs; and the killing of four German soldiers by partisans.

Oral history interview with Anna Vasilevich

Oral History

Anna Vasilevich, born in 1929 in the village of Bolshaya Kolpenitsa, discusses life during the German occupation; the destruction of Malaya Kolpenitsa village by the German forces; seeing military prisoners inside a fenced area at the military camp; the absence of Jews in Bolshaya Kolpenitsa prior to the war; purchasing items from Jews in Baranovichi; the kindness of Jews in Baranovichi; witnessing soldiers in black uniforms hang a man, possibly involved with partisans, in the market place; processions of Jews guarded by men in black uniforms; transports of Jews to an execution site; an incident in which a baby thrown from a truck and was picked up by a teacher who hid the child; seeing the ground move at the site of a mass grave; the suicide of a partisan who refused to surrender to German forces; being able to obtain Russian prisoners of war for farm work; the lack of any Jewish survivors; and the detention of German soldiers in nearby camps following liberation.

Oral history interview with Yadviga Petukhovskaya

Oral History

Yadviga Petukhovskaya, born in 1931 in Navahrudak, discusses life during the German occupation of Belarus; peaceful relationships with Jews prior to the war; the bombing of the town; her brother’s friendship with a neighboring Jewish boy; seeing a procession of Jews, guarded by German soldiers, walking to the ghetto; open access to the ghetto on Peresek Street; seeing the bodies of two people who attempted to escape the Pereseka ghetto; the severe conditions of the second ghetto on Minskaya Street; witnessing a shooting of a group Jews by German soldiers and police in a market place in summer 1941; Jewish women being forced to wash blood off pavestones; delivering food to a family friend in the Minskaya Street ghetto; seeing policemen in black uniforms bring a group children, who were possibly in hiding, to the ghetto; a policeman’s attack on her mother because she wanted to give water to the children; the transfer of Jews in the ghetto to Litovka where they would be executed; watching German soldiers shoot 60 people, mostly Polish male intelligentsia; and identifying exhumed bodies after the war.

Oral history interview with Vladimir Bubnovich

Oral History

Vladimir Bubnovich, born in Lyubcha, Belarus in 1932, discusses life during the German occupation; positive relations with the Jews prior to the war; partisan activity; hiding in the forest after Vlasovtsy soldiers set Lyubcha on fire; the surrender of Vlasovtsy soldiers after partisans set fire to the butter factory where they were hiding; partisans hanging Vlasovsty soldiers in the Lyubcha square; seeing a procession of Jews under German guard in the summer of 1942; the ghetto in Lyubcha; his sister’s desire to hide Jews; his uncle’s description of an execution at the cemetery; watching from his house as German soldiers shot a large groups of Jews by pits; German soldiers shooting cannons at a Jew who escaped the execution by swimming across the Neman River; the participation of local policemen and civilians with the Germans; the relocation of the town’s young men to a camp outside Minsk; his brother’s escape from the camp with a neighbor; partisan roundups of Germans at the end of the war; the shooting of the partisan commander by a German woman; the partisan execution of the woman and the soldiers; and the absence of Jews in Lyubcha after the war.

Oral history interview with Pavel Mashchonsky

Oral History

Pavel Mashchonsky, born in 1930 in Turets, Belarus, discusses life during the German occupation; peaceful relationships between Jews and non-Jews prior to the war; increasing restrictions on Jews; Jews being forced to perform manual labor jobs under the occupation; seeing Jews being collected in the town square and guarded by policemen wearing black uniforms; young village men being deported to a camp in Minsk; the transport of the remaining Jews to an execution site; seeing Jews being forced to undress by a pit before they were shot by policeman; villagers covering the pit with soil; an incident in which German soldiers shot a Jewish woman hiding in a well; public hangings; hearing about drunk partisans shooting columns of German soldiers as they passed through the village; policemen from neighboring villages inhabiting Jewish-owned homes after the mass execution; the retreat of local policemen along with German troops; and the return of Jews who had been sent to the camp in Minsk.

Oral history interview with Olga Maschonskaya

Oral History

Olga Mashchonskaya, born in 1934 in Turets, discusses life during the German occupation; purchasing food from Jewish-owned businesses prior to the war; bombings leading up to the German occupation; living close to the cemetery that was used as an killing site for Jews; policemen collecting clothing in horse carts following the mass killing of the area’s Jews; seeing only policemen and not German soldiers participate in the killing; and visiting the mass burials in the weeks that followed the event.

Oral history interview with Raisa Semashko

Oral History

Raisa Semashko, born in Minsk in 1930, discusses her family’s peaceful relationships with Jews prior to the war; the bombings and destruction of homes in Minsk during the war; German soldiers prohibiting her from leaving Minsk as a refugee; witnessing German soldiers shoot prisoners of war in a procession; living conditions for prisoners of war being held in Tchelyuskintsev Park; a prisoner of war who hid in her yard after escaping a procession; women bringing food to German soldiers and helping some prisoners of war; German authorities sending prisoners of war to concentration camps; the participation of Ukrainian policemen in the execution of Jews; hiding two Jewish girls, Ida Borshcheva and Nina Zeitlina, and Russian policemen in her family apartment; German forces gathering Jews into Russian homes; the Zamkovaya Street ghetto; hearing gunshots during an execution; a woman working for the NKVD hiding in a Russian orphanage; how the only Jewish survivors in the area were the individuals who had hid in her house; a German officer’s girlfriend who leaked information to her brother, a member of a clandestine group; the fragmentation of underground groups in Minsk; families being killed because of their communist ties; and seeing the dead bodies of prisoners of war alongside the street.

Oral history interview with Galina Bodanovich

Oral History

Galina Bodanovich, born in Oshmyany (Ashmiany), Belarus in 1937, discusses her mother’s friendship with Jews prior to the war; moving into the home of a Jewish woman who asked her family to keep it safe until she could return home; seeing Jewish acquaintances being transported in a truck with German guards; hearing gunfire coming from Yagelovshchina (IAgelovshchina, Belarus) and Lyugovshchina, Belarus; after the shooting ended, traveling to the killing site with her mother and other villagers; seeing a mass grave in which the soil still moved; the number of Jews from Oshmyany who survived the war; villagers taking property from Jewish-owned homes; hearing about Jewish families hiding in khutors and returning after the war; and the names of survivors who returned after the war.

Oral history interview with Gelena Stashkevich

Oral History

Gelena Stashkevich, born in 1933 in the village of Galiny, Belarus, discusses the absence of Jews in the village; her familiarity with Jews who worked in shops in Oshmyany (Ashmiany, Belarus) prior to the German occupation; the forced relocation of Jews to a ghetto in Oshmyany; seeing the burial pit at the Lyugovshchina execution site; guards who spoke in Russian forcing Jews to “graze” on grass around the pit; and hearing a long period of shooting after guards ordered her and other onlookers to leave the area.

Oral history interview with Stanislav Boltukho

Oral History

Stanislav Boltukho, born in 1931 in Dolginovo, Belarus discusses prewar relationships among nationalities in Dolginovo; his Jewish classmates and friends; the German invasion; the increasingly harsh treatment of Jews; the Centroviki, an armed unit of men who lived in the center of town and helped the Germans and local police relocate Jews to the ghetto; German soldiers blocking the town and shooting Jews on his street; a neighboring Christian girl who was shot by soldiers after she refused to leave her attic; his father’s recruitment to transport bodies to the cemetery; the composition of soldiers and guards, which included Estonians, Lithuanians, and Germans; a procession of Jews being forced to march from the ghetto towards an execution site; orders for the victims to undress upon entering a shed, which was then set on fire; the escape of several Jews from the ghetto and their survival in nearby villages; a local Catholic priest who hid Jews; witnessing a Jewish girl being shot allegedly because she walked outside of the boundaries; his father’s discovery of a man named Leiba Perevozkin hiding in his hay shed; an incident in which a German guard whipped his mother after she fed Russian military prisoners; the use of a church building as an interment site for military prisoners; the relocation of the military prisoners to Vileyka; witnessing German soldiers shoot two escaping military prisoners; his family’s aid to a military prisoner who was found on the road unconscious; and Jews who returned after the war.

Oral history interview with Arkady Zmachinskiy

Oral History

Arkady Zmachinskiy, born in 1928 in Stolbtsy, Poland (Stoŭbtsy, Belarus), discusses the large prewar Jewish population; peaceful relationships among nationalities before the war; seeing BUND soldiers marching through town; the Polish government discouraging patronage of Jewish-owned businesses; the closing of Jewish stores following the German invasion of Poland; the entry of Soviet troops into Poland; Jewish refugees from Southern Poland relocating to Stolbsty; the arrival of German soldiers in Stolbtsy; his grandfather who was killed by German soldiers; the order for Jews to wear Star of David badges; curfews for Jews; the resettlement of Jews into the ghetto; the guarding of the ghetto by local policemen; the looting of Jewish-owned homes by local citizens; forced manual labor; his views about the brutality of Latvian and Lithuanian soldiers; young Jews relocating to Baranovichi for work and never returning; the burning of her family’s home; living in a small building that overlooked the ghetto; hiding 10 Jews in their attic during the first execution; how after the Jews left the hiding place, they joined a Jewish partisan unit under Tuvia Belskiy’s in Nalibotskaya Pushcha; the arrival of SD soldiers; seeing elderly Jews from the ghetto being forced into trucks and then driven to the northwest part of town; hearing about the execution of elderly Jews; the participation of policemen in the shooting of young Jews in the second round of executions in 1943; the fact that the only Jewish survivors were those that had joined the partisans; the bodies of German soldiers after a conflict with partisans; his autobiography containing details about the Jews of Stolbtsy; and the return of some local Jews to town for a short time after the war.

Oral history interview with Ivan Tishkevich

Oral History

Ivan Tishkevich, born in 1932 in Malkovichi, Belarus, discusses moving with his family from Malkovichi to Peschanka in 1936; his mother’s positions as a teacher and a local deputy; returning to Malkovichi to escape German forces who were targeting deputies; the presence of Jewish families in Malkovichi prewar; the participation of Polish and Belarusian police in executions, looting, and arson; the execution of nearly all of Malkovichi’s Jews in August 1941; hearing about men who escaped the execution site; seeing policemen taking jewelry from a Jewish woman’s body; policemen openly discussing details of the execution with neighbors; the execution of Jews who had been conscripted to work on the railroad; moving to a new house across the street from police headquarters in 1943; and the police chief’s disappearance after the war.

Oral history interview with Marija Zanko

Oral History

Marija Zanko, born in 1923 in the village of Lyusino, Belarus, discusses how her father and local villagers saved a Jewish neighbor from German soldiers; witnessing a hanging carried out by German soldiers in Gantsevichi; escaping to a khutor when German forces announced plans to set the village on fire to kill all suspected partisans; the capture of 80 men, including her husband and father-in-law, by German soldiers; her husband’s conscription to dig a pit for German soldiers; her husband’s release with five others after a village women pleaded with high ranking German officers whom she hosted in her home; being closely guarded by German soldiers as she and other women were made to chop wood in the forest; and seeing a crowd of onlookers watch as a German soldier shot a man caught in the forest.

Oral history interview with Yelena Bondar

Oral History

Yelena Bondar, born in 1924 in Lipniki, Belarus, discusses life in Gantsevichi during the German occupation; the large prewar Jewish population; peaceful relationships between Poles, Russians, and Belarusians before the war; the German invasion; the order for Jews to perform manual labor; seeing Jewish men in the ghetto pulling grass and being abused by German guards; seeing a procession of Jews being taken to an execution site; hearing gunshots and seeing a large pit in the forest outside of town; the story of a German soldier who fell in love with a Jewish woman; the looting of belongings from Jewish-owned homes by local citizens; villagers hiding themselves and their valuables during the German withdrawal; and the return of some Jews to the area after the war.

Oral history interview with Adam Shpudzeika

Oral History

Adam Shpudzelka, born in 1931 in Gorodnaya, discusses the prewar Jewish population; peaceful relationships between nationalities; discrimination against Jews by Polish authorities; gradual changes after the German invasion; the deportation of young girls to Germany for work; the relocation of Jews to the ghetto; local men digging pits on the outskirts of Gorodnaya; seeing a procession of Jews being taken to an execution site; hearing the sound of gunfire; the ability of some Jews to bribe police and escape to join the partisans; Jewish partisans setting former Jewish-owned houses on fire so local policemen could not occupy them; the death of citizens, mistaken to be partisans, from Pesovo khutur; the flight of prisoners of war to the forest where they joined partisan units; and the hanging of police commander Pavel Poleshko after the war.

Oral history interview with Valentina Miksha

Oral History

Valentina Miksha, born in 1933 in Gorodnaya, discusses the prewar Jewish population in Gorodnaya; her many Jewish neighbors; the beginning of the war and the arrival of German forces; the relocation of the Jews to a ghetto; being caught by a policeman when attempting to sneak bread into the ghetto; the looting of Jewish-owned homes by local citizens; a procession of Jews being taken from the ghetto to an execution site; witnessing the shooting of Jews by German soldiers and local policemen; attempts at escape by some of the victims; her father being ordered to dig and then cover up the pit; the interrogation of her grandfather Ded Todusj who hid Jews in his field; and German forces burning down the village during their withdrawal.

Oral history interview with Marija Grichik

Oral History

Marija Grichik, born in 1928 in David-Gorodok, discusses the prewar Jewish community in David-Gorodok; peaceful relations among ethnic groups before the war; the German occupation; the removal of Jewish men to forced labor; the relocation of women, the elderly, and children to the special ghetto in Stolin; the order for 10-15 local Belarusian men to dig two large pits in a field; the execution of all the Jews in the ghetto; the looting of Jewish belongings by German soldiers, policemen, and local citizens; the execution of a policeman who hid his Jewish identity and helped Jews; the execution of Jewish women who escaped the ghetto and attempted to join the partisans; her attempt to help a Jewish woman whom she found hiding near her home; her father’s fear that their family would be killed if found giving aid to the woman; the differences between the regular police in blue uniforms who kept order in the town and the Wachman force in black which punished the local population under German control; and the postwar trial and incarceration of police by the Soviets.

Oral history interview with Alexandra Novik

Oral History

Alexandra Novik, born in 1926 in Kholma, discusses the prewar Jewish population; peaceful relationships with the Jewish community before the war; the arrival of German forces in 1941; the bombing of Ozarichy and Kholma; seeing Jews being gathered outside a home; hearing shooting from the direction of the execution site; policemen executing a woman who was discovered hiding with her baby; seeing a member of the town’s council being taken away by policemen and later hearing shots; and participating in the destruction of Jewish homes for firewood.

Oral history interview with Vera Chernyavskaya

Oral History

Vera Chernyavskaya, born in 1926 in Kholma, discusses the prewar Jewish population; the survival of Jews who joined the partisans; the execution of the town's remaining Jews; witnessing Jewish and Belarusian citizens suffering under the German occupation; the burning of villages; her own experience in which soldiers locked her and other refugees in a shed in Chistoluzhye and set it on fire; their rescue by Soviet forces from the shed; seeing the bodies of Jews who were killed in their houses in Ozarichy; and how her parents hid a Jewish family until they could safely transfer them a partisan unit.

Oral history interview with Alexander Pinchuk

Oral History

Alexander Pinchuk, born in 1932 in the village Malije Litvinovichi, Belarus, discusses the closing the local school by German authorities; a Jewish neighbor who was killed by a policeman; his family’s relocation to an internment camp; the horrible living conditions in the camp where many prisoners died from lack of food; and the liberation of the camp by the Red Army.

Oral history interview with Vladimir Melnikov

Oral History

Vladimir Melnikov, born in 1930 in Ozarichi, discusses the large prewar Jewish community in Ozarichi; peaceful relations between non-Jews and Jews; the looting of Jewish-owned belongings by German soldiers at the start of the war; two local policemen who, on orders from German authorities; shot Jews in their homes; Jewish friends who were hiding in his family’s shed; the fate of his friends’ family members; the escape of his friends to partisans units; his reunion with his friends after the war; seeing bodies on the streets and inside houses; policemen searching for Jews and looting valuables; seeing policemen shoot an elderly Jewish woman and her grandson who were hiding in a house; locals from Novoselki looting Jewish-owned belongings; escaping a deportation to Germany in 1943; the concentration camp in Ozarichi; the death of prisoners from lack of food; the horrible living conditions in the camp; his mother’s survival; and liberation by the Red Army.

Oral history interview with Darya Lyogkaya

Oral History

Darya Lyogkaya, born in 1929 in the village of Visokiy Polk, Belarus, discusses her Jewish childhood friends; attending school in Parichi; prewar peaceful relations between non-Jews and Jews; the German invasion and bombing of the town; the brutality of German soldiers; incidents in which citizens turned in their neighbors for alleged partisan activities; the execution of suspected partisans and their families; witnessing a roundup of Jews at a hotel; seeing trucks full of Jews and later hearing gunfire; a Jewish friend who survived the mass killing and escaped to Moiseyevka; the burning of the burial pits as Russians forces approached in 1944; being taken with other children to a work camp; attempting to escape the camp; working at the school for German students; and returning to Visokiy Polk after the war.

Oral history interview with Anna Zinovich

Oral History

Anna Zinovich, born in 1933 in Mogilev, Belarus, discusses the establishment of “forbidden zones” from which citizens were forced to resettle during the German occupation; a cemetery in which carloads of bodies were buried in pits made by bombings; hearing gunshots after German soldiers take a group of Jews to an empty house; the betrayal of a Jewish family on her street by neighbors; the shooting of the family in their home by German soldiers; a family that moved into the house; witnessing a German soldier shoot a man whom he suspected of being Jewish based on the man’s physical features; and hearing about the hanging of Jewish children in Svisloch.

Oral history interview with Eva Drozdova

Oral History

Eva Drozdova, born in 1935, discusses her father’s prewar friendships with Jews from Silebia; moving to Bobruysk, Belarus; hiding in the forest in Grabovo, Belarus for several days at the start of the war; her view that the Russian gendarmes were more brutal than the Germans; being interrogated by gendarmes after a neighbor accused her of stealing goats for partisans; the forced resettlement of Jews to Turenskaya Street, a large originally Jewish street; numbers tattooed onto the forearms of Jews; Jews burying valuables and documents; neighbors who served the German occupation; the relocation of the area’s Jews to Kamenka, Belarus; being taken with her mother to Kamenka when they were falsely identified as Jews by neighbors; being taken with her mother to an execution site from which they were rescued by a soldier who was a former classmate of her mother’s; seeing flames from the execution site; the absence of Jews in town after 1943; seeing a truckload of children who were being taken for blood donations; and her brother’s death from an explosive grenade.

Oral history interview with Zinaida Shlichtova

Oral History

Zinaida Shlihktova, born in 1934 in the village of Falevich (possibly Falevichy, Homel'skaia voblasts', Belarus), discusses the burning of her village in October 1943; hiding with her family in their house as German military vehicles surrounded the village; the death of several members of her family who were shot in their home; and escaping the attack with only her mother and aunt.

Oral history interview with Valentina Rusakova

Oral History

Valentina Rusakova, born in 1930 in Kamenka village, discusses the German invasion; the brutal treatment of military prisoners; the relocation of the military prisoners to Bobruysk; her father who was taken to bury the bodies of prisoners of war; watching from a window as German soldiers tortured Jews in a nearby yard; the shooting of Armenians who were begging for food; the burning of a fortress that held military prisoners; a mass killing of Jews near a radio station building; the billeting of Hungarian forces in her house in 1943; the brutality of the Hungarian soldiers; two German soldiers who worked clandestinely for the partisans; a German soldier who saved her brother from being detained by local citizens who volunteered for the German authorities; and the burning of the remains of military prisoners and Jews by German forces.

Oral history interview with Tatjana Fedorenko

Oral History

Tatjana Fedorenko, born in 1929 in the Ukraine, describes her childhood; her family's move to Belarus; living in Smolevitchi; her father's work for the NKVD; the torture of her mother by German soldiers; living in emptied Jewish owned homes; assistance received by her family from partisans; the deportation of her sibilings to work in Germany; witnessing a roundup and procession of Jews in 1942; the Jewish ghetto; witnessing German soldiers executing partisans; witnessing a shooting of Jews by German soldiers and local policemen; the distribution of looted Jewish owned belongings to local townspeople; the her deportation along with her mother to Poland; their forced labor; and their liberation at the end of the war.

Oral history interview with Valentsina Ustsinova

Oral History

Valentsina Ustsinova, born in 1932 in Mstislavl, Belarus, describes the arrival of German forces; the mass murder of the Jewish community by German soldiers and local townspeople; local Jews who went into hiding; the looting of Jewish owned belongings by townspeople; the execution of partisans; and the deaths of her siblings.

Oral history interview with Aleksey Stsepanov

Oral History

Aleksey Stsepanov, born in 1928 in Ugli, Belarus, describes the Jewish community of Tchernievka; the arrival of German forces; the deportation of young adults to Germany; conditions for the Jewish community under the German occupation; mass shootings of Jews by German soldiers; the looting of Jewish owned belongings by local townspeople; aiding a partisan member; and his participation in the construction of a memorial to wartime victims.

Oral history interview with Nina Kashlatch

Oral History

Nina Kashlatch, born in 1932 in Grodzyanka, Belarus, describes the prewar Jewish community of Grodzyanka; German soldiers terrorizing local civilians; the establishment of a Jewish ghetto; the mass murder of the Jewish community in 1942; Jews who were able to go into hiding and survived the war; the cruelty of Ukraian soldiers; actions of local partisans; the looting of Jewish owned belongings by local townspeople; and the destruction of her village in 1943.

Oral history interview with Galina Kazatchionok

Oral History

Galina Kazatchionok, born in 1932 in Anatolyevka, Belarus, describes the prewar Jewish community of Anatolyevka; her family sheltering Jews during the war; hiding with her family in the nearby forest, the execution in the forest of a Jewish couple who were sheltered by her family; her family's involvement with the Partisans; witnessing the execution of military prisoners by German soldiers; and the punishment of local collaborators after the war.

Oral history interview with Valentsina Gudey

Oral History

Valentsina Gudey, born in 1930 in Vetka, Belarus, describes the prewar Jewish community of Vetka; the beginning of the war; life under German occupation; a roundup and convoy of Jews by led by German soldiers; a mass shooting of Jews by German soldiers; the looting of Jewish owned belongings; local collaborators; actions taken by townspeople to avoid being taken to work in Germany; the retreat of German forces; the liberation of Vetka; and starvation suffered immediately after the war.

Oral history interview with Zinaida Tchernyuk

Oral History

Zinaida Tchernyuk, born in 1928 in Zaturgi, Poland (present day Belarus), describes the prewar Jewish community of Zaturgi; the arrival of German forces; fear of local partisan units; the mass shooting of Jews by German soldiers; and the distribution of Jewish owned homes to local townspeople after the war.

Oral history interview with Zinaida Yantchevskaya

Oral History

Zinaida Yantchevskaya, born in 1932 in Soltanovshchina, Belarus, describes her family; the prewar Jewish community of Soltanovschina; life under the German occupation; a child who was almost killed because he was thought to be Jewish; details of a mass murder of Jews by German soldiers; and a Jewish woman who hid in her village.

Oral history interview with Nikolay Ulasik

Oral History

Nikolay Ulasik, born in 1926 in Stolbtsy, Poland (present day Belarus), describes the prewar Jewish community of Stolbtsy; life under the German occupation; the establishment of the Jewish ghetto; conditions for the Jewish community under the German occupation; his involvement with local partisan units; a mass shooting of Jews; the poor treatment of townspeople by local policemen; the mass execution of captured partisans; and a fire in Stolbtsy.

Oral history interview with Tatyana Kalashnikova

Oral History

Tatyana Kalashnikova, born in 1930 in Stolbtsy, Poland (present day Belarus), describes the prewar Jewish community of Stolbtsy; the looting of Jewish owned shops by Soviet forces and local policemen in 1939; arrests made by the NKVD; the burning of her town; the treatment of local townspeople by German soldiers and by partisan members; Jewish families joining the partisan movement; restrictions placed upon the Jewish community under the German occupation; the establishment of a Jewish ghetto; and the execution of Jews by German soldiers and local policemen in 1942.

Oral history interview with Dmitriy Zmatchinskiy

Oral History

Dmitriy Zmatchinskiy, born in 1935 in Belarus, describes arrival of German forces; the construction of the Jewish ghetto and other restrictions placed upon the Jewish community under the German occupation; local collaborators; the execution of local Jews in 1942; and the looting of Jewish owned beloingings by townspeople.

Oral history interview with Larisa Pribysh

Oral History

Larisa Pribysh, born in 1932 in Stolbtsy, Poland (present day Belarus), describes the prewar Jewish community of her hometown; the establishment of the Jewish ghetto; selling food to Jews in the ghetto; a group of Jews who attempted to start a fire in the ghetto to cover their escape; roundups and shootings of Jews by local policemen; townspeople looting the mass grave; and witnessing the murder of her Jewish girlfriend by a local policeman.

Oral history interview with Arkadiy Shkuran

Oral History

Arkadiy Shkuran, born in 1934 in Belarus, describes the prewar Jewish community of his hometown; the involvement of his family with the partisan movement; hiding two Jews; local collaborators; witnessing the killing of his father and other family members by German soldiers; the destruction of his hometown to create a labor camp in 1943; his deportation to Ozarichi concentration camp; the deaths of his grandmother and aunt in Ozarichi concentration camp; and his liberation from the camp.

Oral history interview with Michail Karpuk

Oral History

Michail Karpuk, born in 1930 in Belarus, describes the conditions for the Jewish community in Vysokovskiy during the German occupation, including the creation of a ghetto; a shooting of Jews in the ghetto in 1942; the deportation of Jews to Treblinka concentration camp; local collaborators; and German soldiers living in Jewish owned homes.

Oral history interview with Regina Lavrovich

Oral History

Regina Lavrovich, born in 1933 in Osavetz, Belarus, describes the communist leanings of her family; the prewar Jewish community of Osavetz; the treatment of local townspeople by German soldiers; the destruction of her village in 1942; living in the forest in 1943; her transfer to a displaced persons camp and then prisons in Babruisk and Minsk; and her relocation to work in Germany.

Oral history interview with Evgeniy Novitskiy

Oral History

Evgeniy Novitskiy, born in 1932 in Zmejovka, Belarus, describes the arrival of German forces; his father and brother joining partisan forces; the deportation of his family to Ozarichi concentration camp and the death of several family members there; and his liberation from the camp and stay in a hospital after the war.

Oral history interview with Mariya Akola

Oral History

Mariya Akola, born in 1934 in Belica, Belarus, describes the treatment of local townspeople by German soldiers during occupation; the mass shooting of the Jewish population; his deportation to Ozarichi concentration camp; the death of his mother and two brothers; the liberation of the concentration camp; and his life after the war.

Oral history interview with Lidia Atrashkevitch

Oral History

Lidia Atrashkevich, born in 1931 in Cholma, Belarus, describes the prewar Jewish community of Ozarichi; a mass shooting of Jews; her deportation to Ozarichi concentration camp in 1943, where many of her siblings died; and her liberation from the concentration camp.

Oral history interview with Mikchail Gigo

Oral History

Mikchail Gigo, born in 1926 in Belarus, describes the prewar Jewish community of Voloknovichi village; German soldiers confiscating his family's livestock; the Jewish ghetto in Novogrudk; the mass murder of the Jewish population; his arrest in 1942 and escape; and his work with a partisan unit.

Oral history interview with Leokadiya Tcherviak

Oral History

Oral history interview with Vera Perepecha

Oral History

Oral history interview with Zenon Pudakevich

Oral History

Oral history interview with Yadviga Yoda

Oral History

Oral history interview with Nina Bychko

Oral History

Oral history interview with Lidia Radyuk

Oral History

Oral history interview with Artemiya Tchurilo

Oral History

Oral history interview with Cheslav Yarmolovich

Oral History

Oral history interview with Aleksey Kozhukh

Oral History

Oral history interview with Mariya Pavlyukovich

Oral History

Oral history interview with Fiodor Pavlyukovich

Oral History

Oral history interview with Anna Derachits

Oral History

Oral history interview with Nadezhda Antonovich

Oral History

Oral history interview with Gennadiy Parkhomenko

Oral History

Oral history interview with Gennadiy Kezhev

Oral History

Oral history interview with Valentin Lukinykh

Oral History

Oral history interview with Pyotr Borzdov

Oral History

Oral history interview with Franya Tsodova

Oral History

Oral history interview with Anna Podstennaya

Oral History

Oral history interview with Ivan Gavrilovitch

Oral History

Oral history interview with Yevgeniya Lavrenova

Oral History

Oral history interview with Ivan Bout

Oral History

Oral history interview with Tamara Lipenj

Oral History

Oral history interview with Vladimir Rizo

Oral History

Oral history interview with Olga Rossolaj

Oral History

Oral history interview with Neonila Linich

Oral History

Neonila Linich, born in 1932 in the town of Knyazhitsy, Belarus, describes having Jewish neighbors and classmates; half of the population being Jewish; hearing from a history teacher about the start of the war; tanks approaching from the west; Germans tearing apart a flag and using pieces of it for scarves; Germans imposing their own rule and saying their race was the best one; older Jews being driven to a swamp where she heard shootings, and people calling it an execution; Germans tearing pages out of books; and a neighbor making a dugout for a hiding place when Germans were moving toward Russia.

Oral history interview with Marija Lohmakova

Oral History

Marija Lohmakova, born in 1929 in the town of Buda-Kashalyova in the Gomel Region of Belarus, describes many Jewish families living in the town; all Jews being collected and being brought to a school building and having to wear white stars; the school having no sleeping facilities; how she came from a poor family; and seeing bodies of Jewish people who had been executed in rows by shootings and left in the snow without being buried.

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