Babyna Balka | Mykolaiv 

Destruction of Jews from Odesa in Babyna Balka

1 Sitio(s) de ejecución

Tipo de lugar antes:

Babyna Balka ravine

Memoriales:

Yes

Período de ocupación:

1941-1944

Número de víctimas:

750

Entrevista del testigo

Valentyna K., born in 1928: "In the winter, Jews from Odesa, as well as from the surrounding villages, were brought here and confined in sheep barns located between Kozubivka and Kryvoruchka. There were two very large barns, and they were crowded with people. The buildings were guarded by policemen, not by Romanians.

Together with other girls, I secretly brought bread to the Jews during the day. Many Jews died in the barns from hunger and exposure to the cold, especially the children. The Jews themselves loaded the bodies onto a sled and buried them in the garden next to the barns.

Then, late one evening, we heard screams followed by bursts of machine-gun fire. Curious, we looked through the window to see what was happening. My house was directly opposite the ravine, and although it was some distance away, we could see the policemen leading the Jews toward it. The policemen had previously brought straw into the ravine. When the shooting was over, they set the straw on fire and burned the bodies. By the following morning, everything was over." (Testimony N°YIU1310U, interviewed in Kozubivka, on November 13, 2011)

Nota histórica

Babyna Balka was a small hamlet in the Voznesensk District, located approximately 95 km (59 mi) northwest of Mykolaiv. It was situated about 2 km from Kryvoruchka and 2 km from Kozubivka. Before the Second World War, no Jews lived in Babyna Balka, Kozubivka, or Kryvoruchka; the population of these settlements was predominantly Ukrainian. In contrast, a large Jewish community resided in Voznesensk, approximately 12 km to the west.

Although the hamlet of Babyna Balka no longer exists, its history has been preserved through the oral memories of the inhabitants of the neighboring villages of Kryvoruchka and Kozubivka.

Holocausto por balas en cifras

The German army occupied the area in August 1941, and the Romanian civilian administration assumed control in September 1941.

According to Oleksii A., born in 1935 in Kryvoruchka, several columns of Jews passed through the village during the occupation. The first group arrived, presumably in the summer of 1941 when the weather was warm. It consisted of approximately 200 adults who had come from Voznesensk and stayed in the village for a short time before being taken toward Bohdanivka.

Later, during the winter of 1941–1942, a much larger group of Jews deported from Odesa was brought to Kryvoruchka. Oleksii A. estimated their number at around 900, while local researchers place it at approximately 750. The group included many children who, as they passed through the village, begged the inhabitants for food and appeared to be starving. After crossing the village, they were confined in sheep barns located on its outskirts, near the hamlet of Babyna Balka.

These accounts are corroborated by Valentyna K., born in Kozubivka in 1928, and her cousin Yuliia K., born there in 1926. Both women recalled visiting the sheep barns on several occasions to bring bread to the inmates. According to their testimonies, the barns were guarded by local auxiliary policemen, while Romanian personnel visited periodically to supervise the site. Valentyna K. described the conditions in the barns as horrific: "There were many children dying from cold and hunger. The Jews themselves loaded the bodies onto a sled and buried them in the garden nearby." Yuliia K. added that the deportees had first arrived by train at Martynivka railway station before being forced to march on foot to the sheep barns.

According to archival sources, on March 7, 1942, approximately 600 of the Jews who had survived the confinement in the sheep barns were taken to a ravine near the hamlet of Babyna Balka and shot. Other sources date the massacre to October 28, 1941. Valentyna K. recalled hearing terrifying screams followed by bursts of machine-gun fire late in the evening coming from the direction of the ravine. Looking through her window, she was able to observe the shooting from a distance.

According to local researchers, the Aktion was carried out by German colonists (Volksdeutsche) belonging to a "self-defence" unit based in Rashtadt (present-day Porichchia). This attribution is supported by the testimony of Oleksii A. The victims were reportedly shot while still clothed. All eyewitnesses agreed that the bodies were burned either during or immediately after the shooting using straw that had been piled over them and set alight.

Today, the killing site in the Babyna Balka ravine is commemorated with a monument dedicated to the 600 Jews from Odesa who were burned alive and shot on October 28, 1941.

Pueblos cercanos

• Domanivka
• Kolosivka

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