1 Execution site(s)
Yevdokia Ch., born in 1935: “A large column of Jews was brought here from Haysyn. They were stopped on a clearing and forced to graze like farm animals. Can you imagine? They forced them to eat the grass as if they were cattle. And those who refused were beaten. While these Jews were grazing, the local Jews rounded up. They were removed from their houses and taken to the clearing. Once everyone was there, they were all taken to the anti-tank ditches located outside the village. They were escorted there by Germans. My brother and his friends saw the execution. He told me that some Jews were pushed into the trench alive. Once the pit was filled in the ground continued moving because they were still alive in there. It was awful.” (Witness n°2701U, interviewed in Terlytsia, on November 2, 2019)
Terlytsia is located 218km(135mi) southeast of Cherkassy. The records of the first Jewish community date back to the middle of the 18th or early 19th century. According to the 1897 census, 52% of the total population was Jewish, 1191 Jews in all. Back then the town was part of the Lypovets district, Kyiv Gubernia. The Jews mainly lived in the center of town, while the Ukrainian population lived in the outskirts. The Jews were shopkeepers and artisans. The Jews and non-Jews went to the same school. According to the locals, there was a Jewish cemetery and a synagogue that have since been destroyed.
Terlytsia was occupied by German forces at the end of July 1941. According to the available historiographical sources, 250 Jewish refugees were shot in Terlytsia during the occupation. The first execution was apparently conducted at the beginning of the occupation. During this Aktion, about 119 Jews from Haysyn, Vinnytsia and Mohyliv-Podilski were murdered. The remaining Jews were shot some time later. Through the testimonies of the local witnesses Yahad - In Unum established that the Jews brought in from Haysyn were murdered immediately along with the local Jews, while the Jews from Vinnytsia were confined in a local office building [Kontora] for a couple of days before being shot in turn. The Jews from Haysyn were humiliated before being shot. While the local Jews were being rounded up, the Haysyn Jews were forced to graze as if they were cattle. They were then taken to the anti-tank trenches where they were shot in groups. The site remains without memorial to this day.
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