Berezhanka | Vinnytsia

/ Tanasiy Ia., born in 1928, saw a column of Jews being brough to the village. They camefrom the direction of Tsybulivka. ©Les Kasyanov/Yahad - In Unum. Tanasiy Ia., born in 1928: “Hundreds of Jews died from starvation and cold during the first winter.” © Les Kasyanov/Yahad - In Unum. Maria V., born in 1929: “My mother hired one Jewish boy who helped her to cover the roof. For his work, she gave him bread, butter and milk.”  © Les Kasyanov/Yahad - In Unum. The former silo pit located near the river today where a hundred Jewish evacuees from Bukovina and Bessarabia were buried during the occupation. © Les Kasyanov/Yahad - In Unum. A drone view at the mass grave containing circa. 100 Jewish victims. © Les Kasyanov/Yahad - In Unum. The mass grave site of circa. 100 Jews who were buried here under the occupation. The place used to be on the territory of the brickyard.  © Les Kasyanov/Yahad - In Unum.

Execution of Jews in Berezhanka

2 Sitio(s) de ejecución

Tipo de lugar antes:
Silo pit (1); Brickyard (2)
Memoriales:
No
Período de ocupación:
1941-1944
Número de víctimas:
About two hundred

Entrevista del testigo

Tanasiy Ia., born in 1928: “The Jews were brought here in the fall. They were placed in cow sheds that belonged to a kolkhoz. When the war broke out the cattle was taken away and the premises remained empty. The stables were guarded by the Romanians day and night. Some Jews bribed the guards to go the village to ask for food. Those who didn’t have any money sneaked out, even though it was very dangerous.” (Witness n°2691U, interviewed in Berezhanka, on October 30, 2019)

Nota histórica

Berezhanka is located 135km (84mi) southeast of Vinnytsia (not to be mistaken with the villages of the same name in the Volhyn and Ternopil regions). Berezhanka was home to Ukrainians, as no Jews lived in the village before the war. There were several kolkhozes [collective farms] in the village. Agriculture was source of revenue. The Jews lived in the nearby town of Obodivka, located about 6km away, where the Jewish community represented 6% of the total population on the eve of the war.

Holocausto por balas en cifras

Berezhanka was occupied by German and Romanian forces on July 28, 1941. The village remained under Romanian control and became part of the administrative region of Transnistria in September 1941. Despite the fact that there is no mention of the village in archives, Yahad - In Unum managed to establish the presence of a temporary ghetto for Jewish refugees during the occupation, thanks to the help of local witnesses,. In the fall of 1941, hundreds of Jews - men, women, and children - were brought from Bessarabia and Bukovina and placed in the cow sheds that belonged to the collective farm. The buildings were not fenced in, although it was forbidden for the Jewish people to leave the territory. They were guarded by the local police or Romanian gendarmes, according to different testimonies. Some Jews who managed to bribe the gendarmes and leave the ghetto, found shelter with local people. They worked in exchange for food and a place to sleep, and many of them subsequently managed to survive. All the Jews, except for two rich families who stayed in a separate house, disappeared. They were likely transferred to Obodivka. According to witnesses, about two hundred Jews died from starvation, mistreatment and disease while being confined in the cowsheds. They were buried in two different mass graves which remain unmarked to this day.

Pueblos cercanos

  • Obodivka
  • Mala Stratiivka
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