Bogdanivka (Bogdanovka) | Ternopil

/ Volodymyr V., born in 1923: “I saw Jewish men and women, as well as some Ukrainians, working on the railroad construction. Jewish workers were under the guard of Germans and local policemen.” ©Nicolas Tkatchouk/Yahad - In Unum Iaroslav S., born in 1927: “Skilled Jewish workers were subjected to forced labor in the barracks, located near the railway station.” ©Nicolas Tkatchouk/Yahad – In Unum At this site, in the ravine near the road towards Klebanivka village, a Jewish man was shot dead by a German. As of today, there is no tombstone marking the grave. ©Nicolas Tkatchouk/Yahad - In Unum

Execution of Jews in Bogdanivka

1 Killing site(s)

Kind of place before:
Ravine near the road
Memorials:
No
Period of occupation:
1941-1944
Number of victims:
About 55

Witness interview

Yaroslav C., born in 1927: "The Jews from Bogdanivka were taken to the Kamyanky labor camp, where they were subjected to forced labor on road construction. When I was transporting beets to the sugar factory, I passed down that road and saw about 300 Jews working. I threw them some beets while German guards couldn’t see me. The Jews were so hungry that they ate them raw. Some of them managed to escape from the camp. Once, our family discovered two Jewish men, a father and a son, hiding in our attic. After giving them some food, I transported them to Pidvolochysk. Upon arriving in the town, they discreetly got off my cart and went into hiding. Years later, during my military service in Moscow, I met one of these men. He had managed to survive the war." (Testimony N°YIU774U, interviewed in Bogdanivka on May 6, 2009)

Soviet archives

"QUESTION: Tell us what you know about the atrocities committed by the Germans in the village of Bogdanovka [today Bogdanivka] between 1941 and 1944.
ANSWER: In the summer of 1941, around July, in our village of Bogdanovka, on the orders of the German authorities, all the Jewish families (12 families, about 53 people) were arrested. 11 Jewish men were taken to the village of Kamianki [today Kamyanky], in the Podvolochisk [today Pidvolochysk] district where they were buried alive in shell holes created by bombing raids. The women and children were taken to Zbarazh and Podvolochisk where they were killed. […]
QUESTION: How do you know that Jewish men were buried alive in pits in Kamianki?
ANSWER: It was the inhabitants of Bogdanovka, Ivan P. and Voitko P., who told me about this, as they were with these Jews when it happened." [Deposition of Pavlo S., given to State Extraordinary Soviet Commission(ChGK), on October 25, 1944; GARF 7021-75-9/Copy USHMM RG.22-002M]

Historical note

Bogdanivka is located about 30 km (19mi) east of Ternopil, in the historic region of Galicia. The village was first mentioned in 1583 as a part of the Kingdom of Poland. At the end of 1918, the village was part of the Western Ukrainian Republic, before it was taken over by Poland, where it remained until 1939. Following the outbreak of war, Bogdanivka was incorporated into the Ukrainian Social Soviet Republic in 1939 as a result of the Molotov Ribbentrop Pact. According to 1939 census, Bogdanivka numbered 2,270 inhabitants, including 70 Jews. The majority of Jews lived off trade and handicraft. A bigger Jewish community lived in the town of Pidvolochysk, located at 12km (7mi) southeast.  

Holocaust by bullets in figures

Bogdanivka was occupied by German troops in early July 1941. Persecutions of the Jewish population started during the very first days of the occupation. A group of 11 local men were taken to the nearby village of Kamyanky and subjected to forced labor on the road construction. They were then severely beaten by the German guards and buried alive in the shell hole near the same road, alongside a group of local Jewish men.

After the establishment of the forced labor camp in Kamyanky in October 1941, a number of local Jews deemed fit for work were transferred there and shared the fate of other detainees. In 1942, the remaining Jewish families were deported to Zbarazh and Pidvolochysk, where they were subsequently murdered.

Isolated shootings of Jews who managed to escape from different labor camps set up in the area were perpetrated until the end of the German occupation. According to the Soviet Archives, 55 Jews were killed Bogdanivka during the war. Yahad - In Unum managed to locate a grave of a Jewish man shot dead by a German soldier in the ravine near the road towards Klebanivka village. There is no tombstone or memorial.

For more information about the killing of Bogdanivka Jews please follow the corresponding profile.

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