1 Execution site(s)
Yevdokia D., born in 1935: “The Jews from Kulchyny were confined in the kolkhoz stables. Many of them were taken there on foot. The kolkhoz stables weren’t fenced in, although the territory was guarded by local police. There were so many Jews that the premises were overcrowded, and disease started to spread. Those who died were buried in a pit dug nearby.” (Witness n°873U, interviewed in Velyki Orlyntsi, on January 12, 2010)
“Excavations were carried out today in the town of Antoniny of pits in which civilians who had been killed by the German-Fascist barbarians were buried. The opening of one pit revealed the following: in the pit three bodies, all of them of men were discovered. The age of one of them was about 65 years old, of the second – 40 years old, and of the third – 80 years old. Further examination revealed that two of them had skulls broken, in the back, i.e., indicating that they had been beaten with a blunt weapon. The remaining clothing, hair, and teeth, as well as testimony of eyewitnesses, established that these civilians who had been brutally tormented by the German-Fascist beasts were the residents of the town of Antoniny - Duvid Keser, Isak Khalpin, and Moisei Mushlin. Examination of the second pit revealed three bodies, two of men and one of a woman. Examination of the third pit revealed one body, of a male of middle age. According to the testimony of eyewitnesses, the victims who were found by the Commission were killed in 1941-1942.” [Act drawn up by Soviet State Extraordinary Commission (ChGK) on June 5, 1944; GARF 7021-64-793]
Velyki Orlyntsi is located 50 km (31mi) south of Khmelnytskyi. According to local accounts documented by Yahad - In Unum, only few Jews lived in Velyki Orlyntsi before the war. 110 Jews resided in Antoniny in 1939, making up 4% of the total population. They owned shops, worked at the market or were artisans. A big Jewish community lived in the nearby town of Kulchyny, with a community of 400 Jewish individuals residing there on the eve of the war. There were no synagogues or cemeteries in Velyki Orlyntsi or Antoniny. The local Jewish communities would most probably go to Kulchyny for holidays and celebrations.
Velyki Orlyntsi and Atoniny were occupied by German forces in mid-July 1941. From late spring 1942, ghettos were created in Antoniny and Orlyntsi. They were in the kolkhoz’s (collective farms) stables and pigsties. The ghettos weren’t fenced but they were guarded by local police. According to the available historical sources, circa. 100 inmates were confined in the Antoniny ghetto. All the Jews from the area, including Kulchyny, were confined there, before being transferred to the ghetto in Manivtsi. During their detention in the ghetto, the Jews were forced to work on the road construction in inhumane conditions. For example, they had to pull the carts until Antoniny, about 5km away, to pick the stones and pull them back. Many Jews died of starvation, cold, or forced labor. They were buried in the pits located on the territory of the kolkhoz. In July 1942, the Jewish inmates, mainly women, children, and elderly people, were murdered in the forest near Manivtsi.
For more details about Manivtsi please refer to the corresponding profile
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