(The text of this article was reproduced exactly as is from http://www.belarus.net/minsk_ev/97/english/july/pogrom.htm. To see the original, check out the above link.)
The 28th of July 1942 became the most horrible day in
the history of Minsk ghetto .Its the date of beginning of a terrifying pogrom.All previous
and following pogroms continued for a day or two, but that one lasted fore more than 4
days-up to the 1st of August.The previous covered only some ghetto areas and that one
covered almost the whole territory.It can be characterized by a great number of
murder-buses which constantly went to the area of Belarusian village Malyi Trostenetz
.During the previous pogroms from 5 up to15 thousand people dyed , on the 28th-31st of
July near 18 thousand prisoners were perished.
After the pogrom ghetto’s area reduced for one third. Fascists chose prisoners to be
killed.
First of all they shot those Jews who could not move because of the illness.Those who were
ill but could move were put into the cars and taken somewhere .
Children were killed immediately .When territory of the ghetto reduced and the houses
began to be occupied corpses of small children aged less than half a year were found in
the garrets.
At first sight no one seemed to survive after the 28th of July in ghetto. But its not
quite true. The author of this lines managed to meet some prisoners of ghetto who remember
that terrifying days.
Here is the story of the former prisoner Elena Gilievna Shvartzman ; ‘At that time we
lived in Minsk in the Tank street .In the morning of the 28th father and my brother went
to work .I stayed at home with my mother. Suddenly she ran in shouting ;’Girlie! The
ghetto is surrounded There going be pogrom!’ We had a small cellar for potatoes under
the bed.But the problem was in that our neighbor and his wife stayed at home . He had a
document confirming that he worked and was free for a day.At first we invited them to the
cellar ,but they didn’t go thinking that fascists wont touch them.
Suddenly fascists burst into the room. They immediately shot our neighbor. His wife was at
a lose , opened the lid of the cellar and wanted to escape there .She was pulled back and
killed. My mother followed her and also was killed. Later I understood that mother saved
us at the cost of her life .She was afraid that monsters would go to the cellar. Rivochka
stopped my mouth for I could not speak.’
How many prisoners of Minsk ghetto dyed during that pogrom? Its difficult to answer
exactly this question yet. Its known that during the first two days 10 thousand people
were killed.
Amanuil Ioffe.
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Printed in the newspaper issued in Minsk.
Translated by Veronica Sai. Please send mail saying what are you thinking about the
translate quality. "Vecherny Minsk" electronic variant editor is Konstantin
Stolyarchuke.
eve@nil.belpak.minsk.by
Web-operator Ekaterina Korvatskaya.
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