• Introduction
• The History of the Mir Community Before the Holocaust
• Mir During the Holocaust
  • Under Soviet Rule
  • Under German Occupation
  • The Mir Ghetto
  • The Escape from the Ghetto – the Story of Rufeisen
  • In the Ranks of the Partisans
  • Righteous Among the Nations
• Commemoration
• Their Legacies Remain…

Mir During the Holocaust

Under German Occupation

Report from the Baranovichi Police that Polonka and Mir are Free of Jews

26 August 1942, Baranovichi

To the Commander of the Gendarmerie in Belarus
Minsk
Cc: The Central Headquarters of the Gendarmerie
in B a r a n o v i c h i
Subject: Cleansing the region of Jews
Ref:  None

I was appointed to cleanse the region of Jews by the regional commander in Baranovichi. Over the past few months, many Jews have succeeded in escaping during the aktions, and joining groups of bandits [partisans]. In order to avoid further escapes, I have cleansed Polonka and Mir of Jews. In summary, 719 Jews were shot. Meanwhile we in the gendarmerie managed to capture 320 Jews that escaped during the great aktions. We caught them and shot them.

The aktions carried out in Mir and Polonka passed without trouble and according to plan.

A German policeman was wounded by a Jew in Polonka. He was sent to the military hospital. A local stable caught fire, but we managed to control the flames. There were no injuries.

GAOB/995-1-7, copy: YVA, M.41/1021