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1 Execution site(s)
Maria Kh., born in 1933: “I saw the column through the window of my house. I recognized my friends and whispered “Goodbye”. The column was escorted by Germans and policemen toward the fields.” (Testimony n°651, interviewed in Luhiny on June 20, 2013)
Vereshchaki was located about 40 km of Gorki and 85 km north-east of Mogilev. The village no longer exists today. It was founded as Jewish agricultural colony in the 19th century. In 1898, 168 Jews lived in the village. The majority of them lived off agriculture. Some of them were artisans, such as blacksmiths or tailors. In 1933n a kolkhoz was established and all the Jews from Vereshchaki and nearby villages were forced to work there. According to the local witness, there was no synagogue in Vereshchaki and the Jews went to pray to Gorki. 60 Jews lived in the village on the eve of the war. German units arrived in the village in September 1941.
According to the witness interview by Yahad, shortly after the Germans’ arrival, all the Jews were gathered in a barn under the pretext of a meeting with Germans. Following the meeting, all the Jews were forced to wear yellow armbands and it was forbidden for them to leave the village. On October 10, 1941, the Jews were gathered for a second time in the barn under order of the police. They were escorted by Germans and policemen in a column to the place of shooting. The Jews were shot on a hill near the village in a large pit which had been dug by requisitioned locals. The Jews had to lie down in the pit facing the ground, before being shot with a revolver.
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