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1 Execution site(s)
Anna A., born in 1926, remembers the day she saw the shooting: “It was in the fall. The pits had been dug in advance. One of them measured more than 5m long. The Jews were lined up at the edge of the pit and someone fired at them. Those who were not shot dead and did not fall down nearby were thrown alive into the pit. Everything was done by Germans who were helped by the local police. There were traitors among the Ukrainians. Once the pit was covered, the ground was moving for several days. It was awful.” (Witness N°1752, interviewed in Rozkishna, on June 11, 2013).
“One month or a month a half after the shooting of 16 people, the police chief, I., ordered the round-up of all men, women, children and the elderly of Jewish nationality living in the district of Stavishche and to bring them to the police post. Me, N., K. and other policemen proceeded to arrest the Stavyshche Jews. In all, we rounded up about 60 people and we brought them to the police post of the district. There were women, children and the elderly among the Jews. Once all the Jews were gathered, me, N. and other policemen escorted them to the execution site, located in the forest called Revekha. About six Germans were already waiting for us there. When we started to unload the Jews from the carts, the Germans took them in groups of four towards the pit to shoot them. All of the policemen, including N. and I guarded the Jews to prevent them from escaping. All 60 people, women, children, and the elderly, were shot like this by the Germans. After the shooting, we took off all the good clothes (coats, shirts, boots, scarves, etc.) from the bodies and transported them to the warehouse of the police.” [Interrogatory of V., a former policeman, RG. RG 31.018M, Delo n° 11906]
Rozkishna is located 138 km from Kyiv. The local Jews lived off of small trade. They owned shops or sold goods at the market. The Germans occupied the village in mid-July 1941.
According to the historical sources, there were two executions of the Jews, which took place in the fall of 1941. During the first execution, 16 Jews were shot and during the second one, which was carried out one month or one and a half months after the first, about 60 Jews were shot in the forest, known as Revekha. The Jews were brought from the village of Stavyshche in carts by local policemen. According to the witness accounts, the shootings were carried out by the police.
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