1 Execution site(s)
Andrey B. recalls : “The shooting took place in February 1943. The Jews were led to a ravine in groups. Men first, then the women and children. The victims had to get undressed before the shooting. I observed the scene from the window of my house. It was during the winter, there was snow, the landscape was clear. We could hear screams. The selection was done on the road, then they led the groups of men, women and children away. The victims had to get undressed but kept their underwear on. We could hear bursts of gunfire. Local policemen and 2 Germans led the execution.” (Witness N°634, interviewed in Krasnopolye, on June 14, 2013).
Krasnopolye is located about 13km east/southeast of Mogilev. Jews began inhabiting the village in the 18th century. They were artisans or small scale traders. Some Jewish families worked in agriculture, since a Jewish kolkhoz "Frayhayt." was created in 1926. There was a Yiddish school until 1938. On the eve of the war, in 1939, 1,181 Jews lived in the village comprising 33% of the total population.
Krasnopolye was occupied by Germans on August 15, 1941. At the beginning of the occupation a ghetto was created. On September 3, 1942, the Jews were gathered by local policemen. They were told they would be resettled, but they were instead taken to the Kommunary railway station. The Jews were asked to dig a grave nearby, then forced to undress and lie face down in the grave. Many children were thrown alive into the grave. According to Soviet sources, 380 Jews perished in the village.
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