2 Execution site(s)
Roman S., born in 1930: “In 1939, a week after the occupation of Poland, the Germans arrived. They behaved calmly, didn’t touch anyone. In 1940, the Russians arrived. They brought a lot of tanks because they were preparing for war. In 1940, there was a famine. The Jews continued to work in their stores. Churches and schools remained open at this time.
Wealthy men, priests and nationalists were arrested and taken somewhere. My father’s brother was also arrested. He had a small clothing workshop. Under the Germans, my family and I went to Boryslav, where the Ukrainians held by the Soviets were executed. The Germans organized the removal of the bodies from the basement of the local prison. The bodies were already decomposed. We couldn’t find anyone we knew or our relatives because the advanced stage of decomposition of the bodies. At the same time, another removal of bodies happened in Sambir and Drohobych.” (Testimony n°3006U, interviewed in Skhidnytsia, on November 25, 2021)
"There is also a mass grave in Skhodnitsa (Skhidnytsia), district of Boryslav, where a big anti-Jewish pogrom took place." [Deposition of Ana L., born Jewish, given to the Soviet State Extraordinary Commission (ChGK) on December 1st, 1944; GARF 7021-58-?/RG 22.002M, Reel 26 (III) p.262-393 et Reel 26 (IV) p.1-289]
Skhidnytsia is located about 100 km (68mi) southwest of Lviv. Part of Eastern Galicia, the village was under the control by different powers at different times, from the Austro-Hungarian Empire to Poland. In September 1939, Skhidnytsia was taken over by the Soviet Union as a result of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. The first records of the Jewish community date back to the mid-19th century. By the end of 19th century, circa. 50 Jewish families lived in the village. They were mainly involved in the oil industry, with the exception of a few merchants and craftsmen. The community had a synagogue, a Jewish cemetery and a mikvah (a ritual bath). Under the Soviet administration, in September 1939, all private oil businesses were nationalized, as well as the Jewish stores. Craftsmen were forced into cooperatives, and all religious and cultural movements were banned.
Skhidnytsia was occupied by German troops on July 1,, 1941. A pogrom was organized almost immediately with a participation of local gangs. During this three-day pogrom, circa. 200 Jews were murdered in the streets, in their homes, or taken to be shot in different areas of the town. With the help of local witnesses, Yahad managed to identify at least two such locations, one of which is protected with a memorial, and another one, where according to a witness about ten or twelve Jews were murdered, remains unmarked. During the pogrom, Jewish shops were plundered by the local population and villagers who came from other nearby localities. Jews who survived the pogrom were later sent to the Boryslav ghetto, from were they were either deported to the Belzec death camp or shot. The remaining Jews, mainly skilled workers, who still lived in Skhidnytsia in October 1941, were displaced to different working camps in the area.
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