1 Execution site(s)
Yaroslava G. recalls: “The Jews stayed in the ghetto for six months. I used to bring milk to the ghetto. There were guards all around the house, secured by the SS. The house was at the edge of the village, next to the railway bridge. There weren’t more than one hundred Jews. They slept on the ground. The men were brought to work and they had to rebuild this bridge.” (Eyewitness N°1825, interviewed in Skole, on September 1, 2013).
Skole is situated about 100km south of Lviv. As part of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire province of Galicia, the town was under Polish administration until September 1939. The Skole Jews lived off of timber, wine and agricultural trade, wood processing, as well as manufacturing building materials. Some were employed in tourism, as Skole was a summer holiday resort. In 1938, there were 2,670 Jews living in Skole. The town was first occupied by the Hungarian army in July 1941. In August 1941, the Germans took over until July 1944.
Similar to other towns and villages of the Galicia region the Jews were deported to camps, like Belzec, or to the prison of Stry. These aktions were carried out by the SD from Drohobych and Stry, German Gendarmerie and Ukrainian Auxiliaries. Most of the Jews were deported in September 1942. The remaining Skole Jews were executed in June and August 1943. According to Yaraslova G. (Eyewintess n° 1825) before being exterminated a hundred of Jews was confined to a ghetto for six months. It was a one level wooden building, situated outskirts of the village close to the rail bridge. The Jewish men were forced to work on the reconstruction of railroads. Thanks to this testimony Yahad could identify the place of the execution of 10 Jewish men, situated in the forest. They were shot with a pistol, one by one. Before being shot, they were forced to dig the pit. According to the research results about 150 Jews from Skole were taken to Nyzhnye Synyovydne where they were shot. For more details about the execution see the Nyzhne Synyovydne profile.
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