Zunda Tolga | Kalmykia

/ Raisa B., born in 1935, remembered some of the Jewish refugees who lived with them for a period of time before being exterminated by the Germans © Cristian Monterosso - Yahad-In Unum Raisa B. indicates the approximate locate of the mass graves of the 11 Jewish refugees © Cristian Monterosso - Yahad-In Unum The approximate location of the killing site in the middle of the steppe © Cristian Monterosso - Yahad-In Unum

Execution of Jewish refugees in Zunda Tolga

1 Execution site(s)

Kind of place before:
Steppe
Memorials:
No
Period of occupation:
1942-1943
Number of victims:
11

Witness interview

Raisa B., born in 1934, told us, « There was a Jewish family named Bortnikov. There were four of them: the grandmother, the mother and two children—one boy and one girl whose name was Olya. And the boy, his name was Vanya, he survived. He was just injured in the leg. Once he regained consciousness in the middle of the steppe, he saw that all his family was dead. He went to the forest to stay the night in the house there, and in the morning, he was discovered by local women who took him home and nursed him back to health. Afterwards, he left for Arzguir, but I don’t know what happened to him after that.” (Witness n°527, interviewed in Arzguir, on August 15, 2015)

Historical note

Zunda Tolga is located 83km south of Elista. Historically home to Russians and Kalmyks, there were no Jewish families living in the village before the war. Once the war broke out, several families of Jewish refugees arrived in Zunda Tolga. The Germans occupied the territory in August 1942.

Holocaust by bullets in figures

Through field research, Yahad-In Unum discovered that 11 Jewish refugees were shot 7km away from the village of Zunda Tolga. One Jewish boy was able to survive. They were shot in pits, which served as zemlianki* [Note: shelters dug in the ground for winter].

Nearby villages

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