1 Execution site(s)
“During the occupation, the German Kommendant ordered to mark all Jewish houses with a Star of David. The Jews were also forced to wear distinguishable yellow badges on their chests and backs. All residents were registered according to their nationality. The Jews weren’t allowed to walk on the sidewalks anymore. If a Jew was seen walking on a sidewalk, he would be forced to drink water from a puddle. If a Jew was noticed without a distinctive signs he was shot dead on the spot.” [Deposition of a Jewish survivor, Khaya B., born in 1924 to the State Extraordinary Commission; RG.22.002. 7021-71-54]
Kalynivka is located 35 km west of Zhytomyr. We do not know if there were any Jews living in Kalynivka before the war, however we do know that the majority of them lived in the town of Korets, located 10km west of Kalynivka. According to the census in 1921, 4,120 Jews lived in Korets. By 1937, the Jewish population increased up to 4,895 Jews who represented 75% of total population. Most of the Jews were traders or artisans. There were at least 84 Jewish shops in the town. Under Soviet rule, the artisans were united in cooperatives or artisanal associations. Many Jews owned local industries. There were 3 mead breweries, 2 steam mills, 2 cloth factories, 2 beer depots, a tannery, and 3 timber yards. In 1910, there were 15 synagogues. In the 1920s and 1930s, branches of various Jewish parties and organizations operated in Korets. The village of Kalynivka was occupied by the German forces in the end of July, 1941.
Over the course of Yahad field work, our team, with the help of a local villager, identified an execution site located in the forest north-east of the village. Today, there is a monument. According to the historical sources 350 Jewish women, children and elderly from Korets and surrounding villages were shot there in late July – early August, 1941. The execution was conducted by Security Police from Rivne and German gendarmerie who were assisted by the local police. It was the second execution of Jews. The first one was conducted in mid-July, several days after the occupation. During this aktion, about 120 Jews were shot in the forest, 2km away from the town. Supposedly, this execution site is located close to the village of Povchyne. After that, all remaining Jews were registered and marked with distinguishing badges and forced to perform different types of manual labor, such as digging trenches. By the fall of 1941, an open-ghetto was created, but, in May 1942 it was converted into a closed one, just after the third aktion (conducted on May 21, 1942). During this third aktion, some 2,500 Jews were killed in the forest close to the village of Kozak. The fourth aktion was conducted at the same place four months later. On September 25, 1942, 2,000 of the remaining inmates from the ghetto were shot.
For more information about the execution in Povchyne and Kozak please refer to the corresponding profiles
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Read Yahad-In Unum’s report of the research trip in this area