Gory | Mogilev

/ View of the rural landscape of Shamovo. ©Les Kasyanov/Yahad - In Unum A horse cart typical of the region. ©Les Kasyanov/Yahad - In Unum Nikolay M., born in 1935, saw the Jewish column, which contained both women and children. They were carrying bundles of their belongings. The column was escorted by Germans as well as local policemen. ©Les Kasyanov/Yahad - In Unum At the extermination site, the witness shows the team the mass grave. © Aleksey Kasyanov - Yahad-In Unum

Execution of Jews in Gory

2 Execution site(s)

Kind of place before:
Fields
Memorials:
Yes
Period of occupation:
1941-1944

Witness interview

Nikolay M.: “The Jews were killed in a grave on the outskirts of the village, near the linen factory. I saw the shooting from about 300 meters away. I saw how the Jews went up to the grave and heard gunfire. I couldn’t see very well. I left at the beginning of the shooting. I remember how cold it was.” (Witness N°645, interviewed in Gory, on June 19, 2013).

Historical note

There was a Jewish community in Gory dating back to the end of the 17th century. During the Soviet period in the 1930s, the majority of the Jews were worked as artisans, in agriculture or in the flax factory. There was a kolkhoz and a Yiddish school. At the end of the 1920s, there were 355 Jews in the village. The German occupation began on July 12, 1941.

Holocaust by bullets in figures

As soon as the occupation began, numerous shootings took place in the village. First, three Jewish men were shot. According to German sources, on October 10, 1941, members of EK8 surrounded the village. Nikolay M. (Witness N°645) remembers that the Germans and local policemen led a large column of Jews out of the village. A large pit had been dug at the flax factory. The Jews were ordered to undress and lie face down in the pit before being shot. Circa. 200 victims were murdered during the execution.

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