Vaŭkavysk Ghetto

On 31 October 1942, the population of the Vaŭkavysk Ghetto was ordered to hand over all excess clothing and footwear. The next day, it was announced that the ghetto's population would be evacuated, and the day after, an order by the Gestapo was published, stating, "All Jews of Vaŭkavysk – rich and poor, young and old, healthy and sick – must take with them a supply of food for two days and gather near their homes. All homes must be closed and keys given to the Gestapo. Anyone who disobeys will be shot on the spot." A handful did not flee, instead remaining in their homes. After another effort by Fogs to bring more people to line, those found by the Germans were executed. The surviving population left the ghetto and proceeded in a column towards the opposite end of Vaŭkavysk.[2] The population of surrounding settlements was also relocated to the second ghetto, including Ruzhany, Zelva, Masty, and Mstibovo. The population was forced to live in a bunker complex.[2]

In late November 1942, the ghetto's inhabitants were told that they would soon be sent to work in Germany. Not long after, around 5,000 ghetto inhabitants were taken to the railway station, along with 1,000 from Svislach, and herded into railway cars. By this time, the ghetto's liquidation was already under discussion. Fogs requested the liquidation's delay from January to November of 1943, but was refused.[2]

The Germans ordered to leave no more than 1,700 Jewish men (none older than 50 years) and 100 women in the camp, with the rest being killed. Seven days later, following the compiling of a list, the Gestapo ordered the relocation of the ghetto's population into the empty bunkers. Panic resulted, ending in shots being fired into the crowd. Many, however, managed to bring their children in with them. One of those who made it on the list said "Parents and children, husbands and wives – all understood that this was the last separation. There was only one hour left. I sat down with my mother and four sisters. The youngest cried, 'Let me stay with you, I want to live.' My mother told me, 'Live and avenge our innocent blood!' The bunkers were filled with weeping and screaming. There was a very big noise, especially near the gate the picture was terrible. People fussed, rushing back and forth, looking for their children." Separating the people according to the list, the remaining Germans forced them out of the ghetto. A guard by the name of Zirka, accompanied by other soldiers, began to count the people in the bunkers. Some of the ghetto's inhabitants gave sleeping pills to their children, pushing them under the bunks, and the Germans did not notice them.[2]

From 6–8 December 1942, trains of Jews departed from Vaŭkavysk, travelling to Auschwitz concentration camp and Treblinka extermination camp. Of the more than 10,000 people who had lived in the ghetto on 2 November 1942, now only 1,800 remained, in addition to surviving children and 60 other Jewish workers living within the city. The sanitary conditions of the bunkers which housed the surviving Jews were particularly dire; with medical care non-existent, epidemics of typhus and dysentery broke out among the inhabitants. The Germans quarantined the ill in a separate bunker until they perished, forbidding the healthy from entry, but this failed to stop the spread of disease. Within two months, approximately 1,000 people died, and by January 1943, only 800 people remained in the ghetto, of whom 30% had typhus. On 26 January 1943, 600 of the remaining ghetto prisoners were herded into trains and sent to Auschwitz concentration camp. Those left were slaughtered.[2]

A terrible picture appeared before our eyes: a mountain of half-naked bodies with bloodied heads, broken arms and legs. These were the remains of those tortured to death during the last hour of the ghetto's evacuation. There were rags, crockery and various items on the floor. Everything was drenched in the blood of the victims. The air was filled with a smell of blood and sweat. An elderly, grey-haired woman rushed from one person to another, crying, "Why didn't they kill me too? Tell the Germans that I should also be shot!" In total, 80 people remained in the abandoned bunkers. They were ill, old people, and several children. They were left only because they could not move, and some managed to hide. The SS men herded them into Bunker 3 and kept them there for three days. Zirka ordered Jewish doctors to give people poison, but they flatly refused. Then, with the onset of twilight, a container with sulphur was placed in the bunker and the doors with windows were tightly closed. Two days later, the bunker was opened. The bodies lay in unnatural positions with their eyes open, and yet several people were still breathing - all of whom were executed.

— Doctor Kaplinsky, among the first to inspect the bunkers following the ghetto's liquidation, [2]