Murder story of Chernigov Jews in the Chernigov City Prison

… At the beginning of 1942 I was taken from a Gomel hospital, where I was being treated, to the Chernigov city hospital. From that hospital I was transferred to the Chernigov prison, where I was held until the spring of 1942. In prison I was mostly kept in cell number 32, that was located on the first floor. In this cell, which was meant to hold 20-25 people, there were 100 … The conditions in the cells were unsanitary. The Germans treated the prisoners brutally. All those who were sick or weak from hunger and the unbearable conditions were shot. The shootings were carried out either directly in the prison, in the "the Black Yard" or outside of the prison. Men, women, and children could all be found in the prison cells. Twice a week – every Monday and Friday, and sometimes also on other days, sometimes even during the night time – the Germans carried out the so called "prison emptying", when old people, children, the sick, the weak, and others were collected from all the cells and taken out of the prison and shot in different locations in the city or in its environs. Those Soviet civilians who were selected for shooting were taken from the prison in trucks that were covered with dark tarpaulins and guarded by Germans and policemen. The policemen rode with the prisoners in the trucks while the Germans rode in cars that followed the trucks. I saw this happening all the time that I was in the prison. Sometimes the Germans transported the arrested Soviet civilians all day long and in a large number of trucks. During the transports the prison was filled with the screams of adults and the cries of children. I often saw the shooting of Soviet civilians inside the prison.…

… On the territory of Chernigov city prison there are graves consisting of 16 death pits that are located in three groups.… The commission stated that during the occupation of Chernigov several operations of brutal murder of Soviet civilians were carried out by Germans in the Chernigov city prison. One mass shooting was carried out in the auxiliary yard in the autumn of 1941, and another - in the large walking yard for prisoners – in the summer of 1942.… According to testimonies, about 3,000 imprisoned Soviet civilians were shot on the territory of the prison. In addition to [those murdered] at the prison, other imprisoned Soviet civilians were taken from the prison and shot in other locations. Initially prisoners were taken out of the prison to be shot on Wednesdays and Fridays; later they were taken on all days of the week. On one day in October 1942 1,338 people were taken from the prison to Podusovka.… The mass shooting of prisoners was carried out as a part of the so-called "prison emptying".… The commission stated that during the occupation about 45,000 Soviet civilians – men, women, and children - were taken from the prison and shot by Germans in different locations within the city and in the surrounding area.…

… the village of Nedanchikhi, Lyubech County … 29. Yukhim Arkadyevich Chernyavskiy, born in 1911, Jewish, a teacher, was arrested by police in the village of Rudny and shot in the Chernigov prison.…

… the village of Krasilovka, Olishevka County, Chernigov District.… 10. Sofya Ilyinichna Tifinskaya, born in 1902, Jewish, housewife, wife of the manager of an oil factory, was shot in Chernigov prison in December 1941.… 13. Sofia Borisovna Vasilenko, born in 1905, Jewish, a doctor in the village of Krasilovka in Olishevka County, was shot by the gendarmerie of the Chernigov prison; [the names of 6 Jews are given].…

… Makishin, Tupichev County, Chernigov District.… 13. Solomon Mordukhayevich Pukhovich, born in 1900, Jewish, member of a kolkhoz. 14. Sara Zakharovna Pukhovich, born in 1859, Jewish, member of a kolkhoz; [the names of 5 Jews are given] … they were transported, on the order of the gendarmerie of the city of Chernigov and with the help of the policemen Bogdan, Grishay, S. Zheleshko, and Meleshko, from our village [Makishin] and taken to the Chernigov prison in early 1942.…

… the village of Vorobyovo, Lyubech County, Chernigov District.… 15. Miron Samoylovich Veselyy, born 1884, Jewish, a blacksmith, was murdered in the Chernigov prison on January 16, 1942 16. Lyubov Veselaya, born in 1893, Jewish, housewife, was murdered in the Chernigov prison on January 16, 1942 17.Lev Mironovich Veselyy, born 1922, professional school student, was murdered in the Chernigov prison on January 16, 1942 18. Abram Mironovich Veselyy, born 1929, school pupil, was murdered in the Chernigov prison on January 16, 1942

… the village of Zhukotki, Mikhaylo Kotsyubinskoye County … 7. Sima Yevelevna Nepomnyashchaya, age 22, Jewish, a government employee, [and] 8. Feliks Vasilyevich Koval, age 8 months, Jewish … were taken to the Chernigov prison on December 20, 1942 and shot there.…