Murder story of Polonka Jews in the Połonka Forest

“In June 1942, following a [German] order, Christians from the village of Swir were drafted to dig a large ditch; it was 20 meters long, four (4) meters wide, and 3½ meters deep. The Germans maintained that the ditch was meant to be part of a system of fortifications, but the Jews realized what its true purpose was… A number of boys – the bold ones, such as […]– encouraged the others to get ready to flee into the forest, because there was no other way out […], but others were of the opinion that such an escape would endanger the rest of the ghetto Jews […] Horrific news of the ongoing massacres in other towns and townships (Słonim, Baranowicze, Lachowicze, Stołowicze, Horodyszcze) were streaming into Połonka. After the massacre in Nowa Mysz, the tragic morning arrived. At 4 AM on Wednesday, August 12, 1942, on the eve of Rosh Chodesh (the first day of the month of) Elul in the year 5702, the whole township was suddenly surrounded by policemen and Germans. The so-called ‘aktziya’ began […] They started driving everyone toward the ditches. At the same time, they searched for people who had tried to hide in cellars and other places. There were also cases of resistance […] Near the ditches, the people were forced to take off their clothes – and, to the sound of sad and heartrending cries of Shma Yisroel, which could be heard far and wide, our holy martyrs were shot with machine guns. While they were doing that, the murderers paid no mind to the groans of the wounded that issued from the ditch; nor did they care about the suffering of the still-living children. There were seven Jewish children, from various settlements, among the victims. A priest had tried to save them by hiding them at the convent orphanage in Dziadkowicze […] The priest [rev. Wincenty Kuras] had been shot earlier.”

Local policemen forced many young people to dig a large pit in the forest and said that some factory was going to be built there. The pit remained empty for several months and then Jews were taken there. When the Germans just began to force the Jews out of their homes, a familiar Jew, a good tailor named Zayats, ran down the street toward the forest. On the way he shouted to my mother to say that she had not seen him and not to say anything to anyone. That is how he survived. He was with the partisans. We were afraid to leave our house and when we did, then people who lived at the edge of the village said that they had heard shooting for a long time. And screams and then silence. Several days later the adults planned to go to that place. I no longer recall where I went with them, but I do remember that when I came to the grave the earth was still heaving. It is a shame that there is not yet any monument there.