Murder Story of Gomel Jews in Leshchinets

December 19, 1941 Operational Situation Report USSR No. 148 Einsatzgruppe B ... Confidential agents reported that the still numerous partisans in Gomel were aided in every way by the Jews. Consequently, a special action had to be carried out in Gomel, Rogachev, and Kormu [Korma]. Thus, a total of 2,365 Jews and Jewesses have been shot....

The indictment of Otto Bradfisch and others ... At least two mass shootings took place in Gomel itself and in the nearby area. At least 200 Jews of both sexes and all ages were murdered each time. The actions took place within a short time of each other: the first time, the area of the Jewish quarter north of the road to Orel was combed by squad members; the second time, it was the area south of this road. The Jews – men, women, and children – were taken out of their homes and assembled in the street. They were then taken to the prison, where they were held until the following day. From the prison, they were eventually - either on the next day or the day after that – taken by truck to the execution site, located on a wooded hill outside the city. The shooting proceeded in the usual manner: a number of assigned individual marksmen armed with sub-machine guns carried out the killing in shifts at the execution pit, firing shots into the backs of the heads of the people who were lying before them face-down on the ground, or lying on top of those who had already been shot, after being taken to the mass grave in groups. Sometimes during this shooting, mothers trying to protect their small children would cover them with their own bodies when they had to lie down in the grave. In such cases, several shots would be fired into the women's backs, so that the children would also be killed. No subsequent examination was made to determine whether the child had been fatally wounded or not. The bodies would be covered lightly with earth or sand only when there was a delay between the arrivals of separate trucks, giving the killers time to perform this action. During these operations, the men had to undress completely, while the women undressed only partially. The clothes were collected after every execution and handed over to the mayor of Gomel, to be distributed among the Russian population....