Naraivka (Naraewka, Narajewka) | Vinnytsia

/ Leonid O., born in 1931: “There were no Jews in Naraivka before the war, but a large Jewish community lived in the neighboring village of Terlytsia.  They often came to our village to trade with the locals.” ©Nicolas Tkatchouk/Yahad - In Unum Ustyna K., born in 1930: “I remember one Jewish woman from the labor camp who had to do household chores for the village Kommandant every day, including cleaning, cooking and laundry.” ©Nicolas Tkatchouk/Yahad - In Unum Anastasya B., born in 1930: “A Jewish woman with her child was hiding in our house, but after being denounced, she was obliged to return to the labor camp where she was murdered alongside other Jewish prisoners.” ©Nicolas Tkatchouk/Yahad - In Unum Horpyna D., born in 1922: “While working in the field, I saw an open truck arrive with men, women and children inside. The detainees were forced out before being shot.” ©Nicolas Tkatchouk/Yahad - In Unum Vira K., born in 1929: “In summer, a group of Jews were brought to Naraivka and confined in the kolkhoz building under police guard. They weren’t fed and had to barter with locals, exchanging clothes for food.” ©Nicolas Tkatchouk/Yahad - In Unum Darka D., born in 1924: “The Jews from Romanian-occupied territory were enclosed within the labor camp in Naraivka. Those deemed fit for work, had to carry out forced labor in the quarry.” ©Nicolas Tkatchouk/Yahad - In Unum Anna R., born in 1927: “The Jewish workers, poorly dressed and barefoot, were taken to the field behind the last kolkhoz building where all of them were shot in the pit dug in advance.” ©Nicolas Tkatchouk/Yahad - In Unum

Execution of Jews in Naraivka

1 Killing site(s)

Kind of place before:
Field
Memorials:
No
Period of occupation:
1941-1944
Number of victims:
Between 100 and 200

Witness interview

Anna R., born in 1927: "The Germans brought a group of Jews to our village and locked them up in the brick building. Around 100 prisoners, too weak to work, remained in the building, while another group of around 100 people were taken each morning in columns to the quarry near the village of Terlytsia, where they were subjected to forced labor. The workers were poorly clothed and barefoot. For a while, before our cow was taken away by the Germans, my sister and I would bring them bottles of milk. Sometimes, policemen would take the Jews to a nearby pond so they could wash. Once, I managed to talk to a Jewish girl, but she didn’t say much - she was crying all the time." (Testimony N°YIU1214U, interviewed in Naraivka, on May 26, 2011)

Historical note

Naraivka is situated approximately 110 km (68 mi) southeast of Vinnytsia. The village first appeared in written records in the 18th century. According to accounts of local witnesses, there were no Jewish residents in Naraivka on the eve of the war. However, an important Jewish community resided in the nearby town of Terlytsia, located about 4 km (2.5 mi) to the north.

Holocaust by bullets in figures

Naraivka fell under German occupation in late July 1941. Shortly afterwards, a German administration was established, which included the formation of a local police force. A German Kommandant, responsible for overseeing the village, was stationed in the school building.

In the summer, likely in 1942, 200 Jews from the Romanian-occupied Transnistria region, including men, women, children, and the elderly, were brought to the village and confined for about two days within the school building before being transferred to the kolkhoz workshop. This marked the creation of a Jewish labor camp, guarded by local policemen. Approximately 100 Jewish detainees were forced into labor, contributing to the construction of a road by working in the quarry near Terlytsia village. As for the weaker Jews, they were allowed to remain in the camp and could move around the village freely. 

Presumably in the early winter of 1943, following the outbreak of a typhus epidemic, the camp was liquidated. Before their execution, the victims were forced to dig their own pit, located in a field approximately 200 meters from the kolkhoz. While some of the labor camp detainees were taken to the execution site to be murdered, the remainder were transferred elsewhere, either before or after the Aktion. To this day, the site remains unmarked by any memorial.

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