Krivelovo (Former Pizovo) | Vitebsk

/ Maria P., born in 1929: “Shebsha, a Jewish man, and his wife came to hide in the barn in our village one month after the shooting. Their children were shot, but they managed to escape.” ©Jordi Lagoutte/Yahad - In Unum The Yahad team during an interview with a witness who saw the column of Jews being led away, and then heard the gunshots. ©Jordi Lagoutte/Yahad - In Unum The Yahad team at the execution site of about 50 Jews from the village formerly known as Pizovo, today Krivelovo. ©Jordi Lagoutte/Yahad - In Unum The execution site of about 50 Jews from Krivelovo. ©Jordi Lagoutte/Yahad - In Unum The execution site of 50 Jews murdered in October 1941 remains without any memorial or protection today, and can be found in the middle of a field. ©Jordi Lagoutte/Yahad - In Unum

Execution of Jews in Krivelovo

1 Execution site(s)

Kind of place before:
Field by the road
Memorials:
No
Period of occupation:
1941-1944
Number of victims:
About 50

Witness interview

Maria P., born in 1929: "Y.U.: Where were they hiding in the house?
Witness: No, they were hiding in the barn. It was when they were being shot. The Germans gathered them to shoot them during the spring. That’s when they… Yes, they probably stayed for a month. When it got cold, the old man said: “I will go and get some clothes. Something to wear.” So, he went, and the German immediately… shot him. And the old lady said “What will I do on my own? I will go to.” So, she also left.
Y.U.: Did they have any children?
Witness: Their children had been shot.
Y.U.: And when they hid at your place, did you bring them food?
Witness: Yes, we did.
Y.U.: Did they talk to you?
Witness: We fed them as long as they stayed.
Y.U.: Did they always hide at the same place in the barn?
Witness: Yes.
Y.U.: Where was it?
Witness: The barn was filled with hay. They hid in it. They didn’t go out.
Y.U.: Do you remember their names?
Witness: No. He was called Shebsha. And her, I don’t know. They had names like that.” (Witness n°1064B, interviewed in Borkovuchi, on November 11, 2019)

Historical note

Krivelevo, formerly known as Pizovo, is located in eastern Belarus, close to the Russian border, 150 km (93 mi) northwest of Vitebsk and 50 km (31 mi) north of Polotsk. There is no exact information about how many Jews lived in Krivelovo before the war. According to locals there were several of them in the village. In the Rosony district, the first records of the Jewish community date back to the early 19th century. The Jews typically worked in shops, workshops, mills, and warehouses.

 

Holocaust by bullets in figures

Krivelovo, formerly known as Pizovo, was occupied by German forces in July 1941. Some Jews escaped to hide in the hamlets located around Krivelovo after the mass executions carried out in the district in late September-early October 1941. According to one local witness interviewed by Yahad, an execution of about 50 Jews from Krivelovo also took place. The victims were taken from the village and shot in the field not far from the road leading to Baievo. There is no exact date for the shooting, but we believe it might have happened in October 1941. Women, children, and elderly people were among the victims. Today, there is no memorial at the killing site.

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