51:44:49
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SW
corner of Belarus, 25 miles S of Brest-Litovsk, in Grodno Gubernia
Before
WWI (c. 1900): Russian Empire (Domachevo, Brest, Grodno)
Between
the wars (c. 1930): Poland (Domaczewo Brzesc nad Bugiem)
After
WWII (c. 1950): Soviet Union (Domachevo)
Today
(c. 2000): Belarus (Domachėvo)
Domachevo was a holiday and health resort located south of Brest. There was very little industry. Most of Jewish population made their living from the summer residents who owned dachas there and the thousands of holiday visitors who stayed at the many guest houses. The town was surrounded by thick pine forests and was an idyllic place for a vacation from the cities.
In 1942, on the Sunday before Yom Kippur, all 2700 Jewish residents were killed by the Germans
THE HOLOCAUST IN DOMACHEVO
In 1942, the 2,700 Jews of of Domachevo were rounded up the Sunday before Yom Kippur and put in the ghetto by the Germans. They were ordered to pay the Germans each day for their survival. When they ran out of money, they were then taken to Ossover Hall opposite the German church. They were stripped naked and searched to see if they had any valuables still on their persons.
According ot the testimony of Domachevo residents (on the film taken by Paul Lustgarten of Venezuela in 2006) the local farmers and residents were allowed to get their shovels, hoes and pitchforks and kill the Jewish population. Other accounts say the people were taken aside in groups and shot by the Germans. The Jewish shtetl of Domachevo was no more.
After the war, Stalin ordered every town in Russia to give a written account of the German occupation of their towns and list those who were killed. He had all those who cooperated with the Germans killed.
A memorial listing the names of all who perished in Domachevo was later built.
