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Murder Story of Slavuta Jews on Tsvitoskaya Street in Slavuta

Murder Site
Tsvitoskaya Street in Slavuta
Ukraine (USSR)
At the very end of June 1942, after the liquidation of the Slavuta ghetto, 13 Jews (including the well-known doctor Y. Harmats and his family) who had been caught in hiding in the town, were arrested, abused, and forced to hand over to the Germans the valuables in their possession. Then they were taken, apparently guarded by members of the Gendarmerie, to a copse of trees near the school on Tsvitoskaya Street where a pit had been prepared, made to strip naked, and then shot to death by a single member of either the Gendarmerie or the security police.
Related Resources
From the testimony of P. Sokol, who was living in Slavuta during the German occupation
At the end of June 1942 Y. Harmats [a doctor], his wife, and his son Boris, who was about 10 years old, were arrested [discovered in hiding] and made to hand over [to the authorities] the valuables in their possession. Afterwards the family was taken to the forest not far from the school on Tsvitoskaya Street…. A pit had been dug in the forest beforehand. When the doctor and his family approached the pit, one of the gendarmerie men offered Harmats the chance to live and work on the condition that his wife and son would be shot to death. He replied to this offer: 'Since you are killing my family, you have to kill me as well'…. It was pitiful to see the son Borya when a German, holding a rifle, called to him: Komm, komm' [come]. The boy was holding his father's hand, crying bitterly. In tears he begged: 'Daddy! I want to live.' The father did not let go of his son's hand and pleaded with him: 'My dear son! I beg you for the last time, listen to me. You have always loved and listened to me, so listen to me one last time.' The boy asked: 'Daddy, will it hurt?' His father replied: 'Dear son, follow me, it won't hurt. In a one second, you and I and your mother will be lying here.' The boy listened to his father and entered the pit. At that moment shots rang out, and the doctor, who was well-known throughout the Slavuta District, was no longer alive.…
S.Kovalchuk and A. Fridman, eds., Shalom [Farewell], People of Slavuta (Slavuta, 2001), pp. 29-30 (Ukrainian)
From the testimony of Yanina Yachernyavskaya, who was living in Slavuta during the German occupation of the town
After the mass shooting of the Jews by the Fascists [on June 25 or 26, 1942], another 13 Jews who had been hiding were found in the town. Before the shooting the killers abused them, forced them to hand over [to the authorities] the valuables in their possession, and made to strip naked. A fascist killer named Paul shot them, one after the other, and then trampled on their bodies.
S.Kovalchuk and A. Fridman, eds., Shalom [Farewell], People of Slavuta (Slavuta, 2001), pp.29-30 (Ukrainian).
Tsvitoskaya Street in Slavuta
road
Murder Site
Ukraine (USSR)
50.292;26.856