Pisky | Sumy

/ Before the war, this house belonged to a Jewish family © Aleksey Kasyanov/Yahad-In Unum Oleksandr S., born in 1928, saw the column of about 50 Jewish men. They had to walk 4 km from Romny to the shooting, located close to the village of Pisky © Aleksey Kasyanov/Yahad-In Unum Anna V., born in 1930: “The Jews did not know they were going to the shooting site until the Germans started to throw children into the river.”© Aleksey Kasyanov/Yahad-In Unum Olena K., born in 1924: “In order to evacuate, we loaded our belongings in a freight train and left towards Poltava. The train was bombed near Batizhky village” © Aleksey Kasyanov/Yahad-In Unum Yahad team with a witness during the interview near the witness’ house© Aleksey Kasyanov/Yahad-In Unum Halyna H., born in 1926: “There was an announcement that all Jews must resettle to one street and wear a distinctive sign. A curfew was implemented” © Aleksey Kasyanov/Yahad-In Unum Lidiia S., born in 1931: “I saw the Jewish column crossing the bridge in front of the factory. The children were held in mothers’ arms, younger people helped the elderly walk” © Aleksey Kasyanov/Yahad-In Unum Mykhailo N., born in 1926: “When it was the turn of the Jews to buy the bread, the police put them at the end of the queue, there was not enough bread for everyone and often there was not enough for the Jews” © Aleksey Kasyanov/Yahad-In Unum A column of Jews passed through the village to the shooting site by way of this road © Aleksey Kasyanov/Yahad-In Unum Some 50 Jewish men were taken by way of these railroads to the execution site © Aleksey Kasyanov/Yahad-In Unum Jewish men, women and children were shot by this road © Aleksey Kasyanov/Yahad-In Unum The execution site where the three ravines were located. About 1,000 Jews were forced to undress to their underwear in the freezing cold weather prior to be shot here. © Aleksey Kasyanov/Yahad-In Unum The monument for about 1,000 victims is not located at the exact shooting site but about 60 meters away © Aleksey Kasyanov/Yahad-In Unum

Execution of the Romny Jews in Pisky

2 Killing site(s)

Kind of place before:
Ravines on the hill
Memorials:
Yes
Period of occupation:
1941-1944
Number of victims:
About 1,000

Witness interview

Oleksandr S., born in 1928, recalls: “I saw one of my Jewish classmates in the column. The weather was cold. I was outside, waiting for friends to play. Suddenly, I saw the column going along the railway line in the direction to Pisky. The column was escorted by the police and Germans. There were about fifty Jewish men in that column. They carried their belongings with them. They had to walk about 4 km to Pisky.” (Testimony n°2250, interviewed in Romny on June 16, 2017)

Soviet archives

“The next day, on November 10th, 1941, all Jews were taken under guard, 2km away from Romny, towards the village of Pisky, where they were shot at the edge of three large ravines. […] Women carried babies in their arms; family members and relatives hugged each other; men, the elderly, women and children were crying. Victims who walked slowly and stayed behind were beaten and pierced with bayonets by the German soldiers and policemen. People who lived on the street by which the Jews were taken were forced to return back into their homes. They were forbidden under threat of death to watch this frightful march.
Near the execution site, down the hill, flows the river Sula, about 7m wide. It is near this river that the fascists undressed their victims to their underwear and, in the cold weather which sometimes reached -15 °C, took them along the river at the top of the hill. Once there, they separated the women and children from the men and began to shoot them in groups of 10-15 people at the edge of the ravines. Some victims fell into the ravines alive. Most of them were children. They were killed with automatic weapons inside the ravine or remained alive until they were buried.” [Act of State Extraordinary Commission drawn up from October 1st to November 6th, 1943; RG22.002M: 7021-74-510]

Historical note

Pisky is located on the banks of the Romen River, 110 km west of Sumy. Little is known about the Jews of Pisky. The biggest Jewish community of this area lived in Romny, a town situated 3,5 km north of Pisky. The first record of the Jews date back to the late 18th century. In 1803, there were only 127 Jews but by 1897, the Jewish community numbered 6,378, almost the third of total population. At the time, many Jews owned local industries such as tannery, soap factory, tobacco house and distilleries. They owned about 300 local stores. In 1910, there were 9 synagogues, 1 Talmud Torah, 5 Jewish schools, consisting of 2 for men and 3 for women, a professional women’s Jewish school, and a Jewish cemetery  in Romny. During WWI, the number of Romny Jews increased due to the refugees who arrived from expelled territories. In 1917, Jewish parties operated in Romny, including the branches of “HeHalutz”. The Jewish community suffered through several waves of pogroms, conducted in 1881, in 1905, and in 1918-1919, during which the Jewish houses and commerce were plundered and several Jews were killed. Under Soviet rule many Jewish cultural organization were forbidden and the synagogues were closed. The last one was closed in 1938. By 1926, the number of Jews had declined to 8,593 and dropped even further to 3,834 in 1939, comprising only 15% of the total population. This was due to the relocation of Jews during that time to agricultural colonies located in the Kherson region.

Holocaust by bullets in figures

Pisky and Romny were occupied by the German troops on September 10th, 1941. Almost 70% of the prewar Jews managed to evacuate by that time. According to the historical resources and Yahad’s research all Jewish population of Romny, situated 3,5 km north of Pisky, was resettled to the houses on Dimitrov street in the fall of 1941, where they stayed until the first execution, conducted in  mid-November. They were registered and marked with armbands. On November 10th, 1941, they were brought in a column to Pisky. A local woman interviewed by Yahad, happened to see that column. According to her testimony, the Jews carried their belonging with them; they did not know they were going to be executed. The column was convoyed by the Germans assisted by the local police. Suddenly, they started to throw the Jewish children into the river. According to the witness, about 10 children were killed in that way. When the column arrived to the execution site, the Jews were forced to take off their shoes. After they had to undress to their underwear and wait for the execution in the cold weather. The shooting took place in two or three ravines on the hill. The Jews were shot in groups of 10-15 people. Some of them fell to the pit alive. In all, at least 1,000 people were executed  that day. Today, there is a monument, but, with the help of the head of local Jewish community, Yahad team discovered that the monument isn’t located on the exact place of the shooting, which took place 60 meters up on the hill. Besides the Jewish victims, Soviet prisoners of war were also executed in Romny.

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