Kadish. Photo taken in 2009.
SIXTY EIGHT YEARS LATER
It has been sixty eight years since that day of September 10th 1941, when fascists shot the Jews living in Yanovichi. The witnesses remember the morning of that day – it was sunny and a little chilly.
…September 10th 2009 was also really warm. We were on our way to Yanovichi. We had not planned that trip – it happened rather unexpectedly. Several days before that, a Russian man, Vladimir Ivanov, came to Vitebsk synagogue and reminded us about the day of the ghetto liquidation in Yanovichi. Eduard Gitskovich, a businessman, gave us a van for the trip and thus, on September 10th, we headed for Yanovichi.
In Yanovichi there are several places, where Nazis organized executions of the Jewish population. One of the mass graves is located in the village of Zaitsevo. No one can tell the exact number of the people buried there. The approximate number is about 1600. Another place of mass executions is located not far from the local farm. The number on the memorial here is 230. This is the number of the people that were murdered here.
…We cut the old trees standing next to the grave – the ones that could fall and destroy the memorial. Then we mowed and cleaned the grass. Then we said a prayer in memory of the people lying here.
Arkady Shulman
Next to a memorial in Yanovichi. Photo taken in 2009.
|
|
ENG 