Krasilov Eyewitness English

Name - Translation German to English	Date of Statement	Original Pages in German	Translation, German to Russian by Leonid Kogan
Moisey Katz	Dec 22, 1972	P274-284	Красилове2
Jakow Omeljaniuk	Dec 21, 1972	P220-224	Красилове1
Michail Grinchuk	Mar 30, 1947	P199-203
Petr Tomchuk	Dec 18, 1972	P368-374
Matrene Antonjuk	March 20, 1973	P232-235

Archival reference for eye witness statements: BA-L, B 162/7846-7847.
BA-L Bundesarchiv Aussenstelle Ludwigsburg (German Federal Archives External Branch Ludwigsburg)

Dr. Martin C. Dean, Applied Research Scholar, at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies Washington DC, supplied the original eye witness statements from the German archive. The statements are from interviews originally taken in Russian, and later translated to German for use in investigations and research in Western Europe.

Link to the Krasilov Ghetto article in the The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos 1933-1945, vol. 2 Ghettos in German-Occupied Eastern Europe, vol. ed. Martin Dean, series ed., Geoffrey Megargee (Bloomington: Indiana University Press in association with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 2012), summarize in English, these eye witness statements, and other sources the authors found.

Moisey Katz statement

Khmelnytskyy, December 22, 1972

Moisey Katz, son of Meer [Moisey Meerovich Katz], born 1908, born and resident in Krasilov, Khmelnytskyy district. He is a Jew, a citizen of the USSR and not a [communist] party member. He has a 5th-grade education, is an employee and lives at Ziulkovsky [Tsiolkovsky] Street, No. 6.

The deposition began at 9:40 AM and ended at 2:10 PM.

Before the deposition the witness stated that he wished to make his statement in the Russian language because he spoke Russian fluently.

To the questions asked of him, M. M. Katz made the following statement:

Since I had no time to evacuate myself I lived with [my] family in Krasilov during the time of the German occupation. At that time Krasilov was designated a small town. It was a settlement with a substantial Jewish component of the population. Like me, many Jews in Krasilov were unable to evacuate; and they remained in their old residence. It was at just these people that a great deal of the malevolent actions by the occupiers was directed. I myself became a witness to these malevolent actions in particular cases.

About 15 to 20 days after the beginning of the Great Patriotic War the front passed Krasilov. In about July or August 1941 the occupation administration established itself here. Four German gendarmes appeared in the city. Aside from them there were chiefs for business matters. We knew little about those. After the gendarmes appeared in town the local police was founded, made up of Soviet citizens. Immediately after the creation of the police force the occupiers began concentrating the Jewish population of the surrounding villages. Police officials assisted by the German gendarmes. The population thus herded together first settled in three long one-story houses in the area of the present-day market. Previously those buildings had contained the county finance division, the division of agriculture, the hair salon and some warehouse or another. How many people were driven together into those buildings, I cannot say, because we were not concerned with counting them. I know that the crowding there was terrible. The people literally did not know where to lie down. Furthermore, part of the population of the surrounding villages moved to relatives and friends who lived in Krasilov.

Until January 1, 1942 all Jewish residents of Krasilov aside from skilled workers and their families were herded into the so-called ghetto that the occupiers created on the grounds of what is now the market. The ghetto was an area surrounded by barbed wire. Behind the fence there were 20 to 25 buildings in which the people dwelled in close quarters. The houses of Jewish residents that were not included in the ghetto area were torn down.

The ghetto was watched by two to four policemen night and day. But at the outset the surveillance was not strict. After arranging it with the police, some ghetto inhabitants succeeded in going to the market to trade objects for food. Officially the Jewish population was forbidden to go to the market. The ghetto inhabitants were not provided with food by the occupiers. Even worse was the fact that there was not a single fountain on the ghetto grounds, but leaving the ghetto to get water was also forbidden. The ghetto inhabitants got water only through the forbearance of some of the police.

The skilled workers, i.e., the shoemakers, glaziers, plumbers etc. lived outside the ghetto during the time I’m describing. They lived in the same 3 houses where the Jews who once had been driven into the city from the surrounding villages had first settled. I lived there in my capacity as a skilled worker, namely as a glazier and shoemaker. Although I did not live in the ghetto itself, I still had daily opportunities to encounter its inhabitants, who were driven to heavy labor they were not suited for, for instance fixing streets or assisting at the sugar factory. Moreover the Jews did not receive any money for their work, nor any other compensation for their work. The work orders came from the regional administration, while it was the job of the police to carry them out.

On April 25 or 26, 1942, the most respected, most educated person in the ghetto, Moisha Hammerschmidt [Gamershmid], was called to the local gendarmerie office by a policeman. When Hammerschmidt returned from there, he fainted before he reached the gate to the ghetto. At that moment the family members of Jewish skilled workers who were in the vicinity crowded around him. By coincidence I, too, was there. Hammerschmidt had marks of beatings on his face. Blood was pouring from under his fingernails. When he came to, he began shouting in Yiddish that the people should get themselves to safety because they were all in danger of being killed. He further reported that the Germans in the gendarmerie had ordered him to gather the entire population of the ghetto on the morning of May 1, 1942 in the area by the fence. According to what he said, the Germans had announced that the Jewish inhabitants of Krasilov would be resettled at some other location. They would allow [the Jews] to take their belongings with them up to a weight of 16 kg per adult and 8 kg per child.

On May 1, 1942 the ghetto inhabitants had to go to the square. Three German gendarmes—the chief of the gendarmes was not there—led the people, walking in a column along with the policemen who were residents, out of town. Later it turned out that one had taken these people to a special camp in the village of Orlintsy. We learned this because some of the people taken away to Orlintsy fled back and settled themselves in the ghetto again. On May 2, 1942 those ghetto residents who had avoided being marched out on May 1 were led off to Orlintsy. For the most part these were people who had fled the ghetto on May 1. In the following days the Germans brought small groups of captured Jews to Orlintsy. There were people who were taken to Orlintsy several times.

On May 2, 1942, my father, Meer Herschkowitcsh Katz [Meer Gershkovich Katz], was brought to Orlintsy. At the end of May 1942 the German started taking the skilled workers to Orlintsy too. It was just then that I arrived at said camp. Our group of 44 people was accompanied from Krasilov by 2 gendarmes and 2 policemen. When we were out of town the gendarmes stayed back, so that only the policemen were guarding us. We went 25 kilometers on foot, all told. 8 people who could not keep up with the column and had lagged behind were shot by the policemen. Furthermore, the policemen, who were on horseback, said that the Germans had given them the right to shoot the stragglers. Who in particular had given them such an order, I do not know.

In Orlintsy we were housed in the former horse stable of a kolkhoz [collective farm], which had not even been cleared of manure. There we found residents of Krasilov and the villages of Kulchiny, Kuzmin and Bazaliya who had been brought there previously. The stable was guarded by local police. It was not surrounded by barbed wire. In this camp we found tiny amounts of food. The elderly were locked into the 2nd half of the stable and provided with neither food nor water. They had put a German from Antoniny in charge of the camp. He was a member of the gendarmerie. I can say no more about him. Every morning they led the camp inmates to so-called labor. In reality it was humiliation. The “labor” was like this: six people were teamed in front of a German coach wagon and driven over 5 km to Antoniny. There, not far from the onetime estate of Count Pototsky, one loaded heavy curbstones onto the carriage and brought them to Orlintsy. On the next day one transported these stones back again and took others along in exchange. The carriage was accompanied by members of the police. Germans who observed this event in Antoniny only laughed and drove us on. There were also other kinds of such “labor.” Along with me there were about 100 people housed in the stable.

On the 4th or 5th day of my stay in Orlintsy I succeeded in escaping, and I returned to the Krasilov ghetto. I knew of no other place where I could have gone. More precisely, I returned to my previous residence, the house next to the ghetto where skilled workers lived.

On a day in July or August in the year 1942 the Germans, with the support of the local police, drove absolutely all the remaining residents out of the ghetto. These were old people and children whom one hadn’t taken to Orlintsy yet. There were also young men and women there who in various ways had succeeded in avoiding previous marches to Orlintsy. There were also people like me, i.e., people who had fled back from Orlintsy. Those who could not walk were put on wagons. That group included my mother, my father (who had succeeded in returning from Orlintsy), [my] two children (aged 7 and 1 year), two children of my sister and a child of my brother’s. Aside from those already mentioned, my many distant relatives came there. I only know of the event from what the townspeople told, because I fled from home the night before. I left my parents and the children behind because there were rumors that the children and old people were going to be transported somewhere.

The last group I’m speaking of, the occupiers led to the village of Manivtsy. People said that a new camp for Jews would be built there. They [the occupiers] now relocated the remaining skilled workers from the adjacent houses to the camp. I, too, moved to the ghetto after I’d returned to my former residence. At that point they had reduced the area of the ghetto and fenced it in with two rows of barbed wire. While we were behind the fence we nonetheless learned from hearing the conversations among the policemen that the people who had been taken to Manivtsy had been shot on the third day after their arrival. I cannot give a number for the people who were taken to Manivtsy in this first group. It was said that they had also brought the Jews there from Kulchiny, Kuzmin, Bazaliya and some inhabitants of Teofipol. Rumor has it that a total of about 4,000 people were shot in Manivtsy.

I lived in the ghetto until September 1942. Around the 10th to 12th of September we noticed that the guarding of the ghetto had been intensified. At that point there were still about 300 people in the ghetto. Those were skilled workers and their families plus other citizens who, by any means possible had escaped the previous deportations. Since experience had taught that intensified guarding meant reprisals to come, some of the ghetto inhabitants decided to flee. On that night, 30 people fled, including myself. Many of those who fled died in the time that followed, but I managed to survive by hiding with acquaintances in the surrounding villages and in other places. By hearsay I knew that those who remained in the ghetto after our flight had likewise been shot in Manivtsy.

Question: Can you name the German members of the Krasilov gendarmerie who participated in the crimes you describe?

Answer: As I already said, there were four German gendarmes in Krasilov. They all took part in the crimes I described. Nonetheless I cannot name them or give other essential facts about them, just as I cannot establish the measure of their guilt in what transpired. I know that the chief of the gendarmes was a German born around 1910. He was called “Meister” [master]. He was of medium height, corpulent and had a big belly. I cannot remember any other distinguishing features.

Aside from the chief I can remember a member of the gendarmerie with the given name Karl. His surname and rank I do not know. He was tall and had an athletic build. Under the right eye there was a scar 2 to 3 centimeters long. The scar was almost parallel to his nose. I cannot give any further characteristics of Karl. The Jewish population called him “the thresher” behind his back. That was because he beat up every Jew who got in his way. Once he beat me up, too, when I encountered him. After he had called me to come closer, he hit me twice in the face. I cannot name other members of the gendarmerie.

Question: What became of Moishe Hammerschmidt?

Answer: Hammerschmidt died in the mass shooting of the Jewish population in July-August 1942 in the village of Manivtsy.

Question: Which of the policemen who accompanied you to Orlintsy killed the people who lagged behind the column?

Answer: On that occasion the policemen Michalink [Makhalik] (I can’t remember his given name or patronymic) and Xenophont Saika [Ksenofont Zaika] (I can’t remember his patronymic). After the liberation of our region from the occupiers, both of them were condemned to death by shooting, as far as I know. I was deposed by the court as a witness in the case of the aforementioned persons. Both of those convicted had killed the citizens.

At my request the record was read aloud by the head chief inspector. It was taken down correctly according to my words.

Signed: Katz

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Note: Translation from German by Roger Lustig, with some editorial changes by Barry Chernick

Jakow Omeljaniuk statement

Krasyliv, December 21, 1972

Jakov Omeljaniuk, son of Mikhail, born 1913 in Krasilov, Khmelnytskyy district. He is Ukrainian, a citizen of the USSR and not a party member. He has higher education, is an employee and lives in Krasilov, Ostrovski Street No. 25.

The deposition began at 1:20 PM and ended at 2:50 PM.

Before the deposition the witness stated that he wished to make his statement in the Russian language because he spoke Russian fluently
.
In response to the questions asked of him, J. M. Omeljaniuk made the following statement:

During the time of the German occupation I lived in Krasilov and worked as director of the Children’s Home from 1942 until the Soviet Army arrived. As a resident of Krasilov I had the opportunity to observe some instances of criminal behavior by the occupiers, directed toward the Soviet citizens. A great part of the malevolent actions affected the Jewish population of our city.

Immediately after the arrival of Hitler’s soldiers a strict order was issued to all Jews, to wear a sign of identification, a yellow piece of cloth. The sign was sewn on the chest and on the back. Who gave this order, I do not know. After the formation of the regional commissariat centered in Antoniny, an order came from there, to construct a ghetto for the Jewish population. Who gave [the order], I do not know. I cannot remember when the ghetto was created. I learned of its existence by coincidence, as I walked by it. From conversations with the residents of the city I knew that they had gathered the entire Jewish population of Krasilov into the ghetto. The ghetto was situated where the market is today and was an area surrounded by barbed wire. Behind this fence there were 25 houses. Outside the fence there was a guard made up of members of the police force. It must be noted that next to the ghetto there were three long one-story Jewish houses of a particular architecture, in which Jews lived too. These houses were not fenced in and are no longer standing. All other houses of the Jewish population had been torn down at that time already.

I can say nothing about the living conditions in the ghetto, because I never had the opportunity to enter the area. From conversations with the townspeople one learned that the Jews in the ghetto often died of hunger or disease.

In the summer of 1942 (I cannot give a more accurate date) the ghetto inhabitants were moved someplace. Already after the liberation of the territory from the occupiers I learned that all the Jews, women, the aged and children included, had been shot to death in the vicinity of Manivtsy. I am not aware of any particulars of this crime.

I personally had the opportunity to be a witness to a malevolent action by the former chief of the gendarmerie of Krasilov, who did this to three Jews. This happened in the summer of 1942, a short time before the annihilation of the residents of the ghetto. During the first half of the day I found myself on the grounds of the city hospital. Suddenly, about 100 meters from me, an old carriage appeared, drawn by old Jews instead of horses. The chief of the gendarmerie had seated himself on the front seat of the carriage. He steered the Jews and whipped them. The old men were pulling the carriage away from the center of town in the direction of the railway station. I knew one of them. That was a teacher named Mur. At that time he was 70 to 75 years old. I cannot remember Mur’s given name or patronymic. The other two old men were about the same age as Mur. When they had pulled the carriage as far as the hospital, Mur fell to the ground. The German began to scream. In response to his cries some members of the police force appeared, who had been recruited from among the Soviet citizenry. They picked Mur up and carried him into the city. They chased the remaining old men there too. Later I heard that Mur had died at the moment I described. Whence the old men had pulled the chief of gendarmerie, and who owned the coach, I do not know.

After the old men had been sent toward the city, the German got out of the carriage and walked back on foot. About the chief of the gendarmerie I can say this: his surname, given name and other important facts were not known to me. Likewise, I cannot tell you his rank. He wore a grey uniform. On his sleeve he had a red armband with a swastika. The chief of the gendarmerie was tall and stocky. I cannot remember further particulars of his appearance. From his looks he would have been about 40 years old in 1942. He came to Krasilov at the same time as other officials. He likewise fled from here together with all the rest.

Question: Could you recognize the former division chief of the gendarmerie?

Answer: I cannot answer that question categorically. It is possible that I would recognize him.

I have read the record. It is written down correctly according to my words, [Omeljaniuk].

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Note: Translation from German by Roger Lustig, with some editorial changes by Barry Chernick

Michail Grinchuk [Michail Grintschuk]

Protocol of Witness Hearing (Excerpt)
Proskurov, March 30, 1947
As the chief investigator-in-charge of the investigative section of the administration of the Ministry for State Security (not the same as the STASI – Minsitry of State Security in the former GDR; note of translator) in the Kamenets-Podolskiy oblast’, I, captain Baritskiy, interrogated the detainee

Michail Grinchuk [Michail Grintschuk], son of Anisim, born 1902 in the village of Medvedovka, Krasilov raion, Kamenet-Podolskiy oblast’. He is a citizen of the USSR, married and completed secondary education.

“Question: Tell us about the reprisals measures you took against the people of Jewish nationality during the German occupation!

Answer: In the fall of 1941, I followed the instructions of the regional commissioner and ordered – via a public announcement – that all Jews from the city of Krasilov have to live in the ghetto. This public announcement was printed and put up in the city of Krasilov. The announcement was signed with my name. This was done in October 1941. About one and a half to two weeks later, the deputy of the regional commissioner, a German named Friedrich, came to Krasilov. He was in charge of the construction of the ghetto and of the settlement of the Jewish population in the ghetto.

Friedrich personally chose the area for the ghetto, i.e. certain neighborhoods in town, which where then fenced in with barbed wire. The police and the constabulary helped him to acquire the barbed wire for the ghetto.
Question: This investigation obtained documents that state that you issued a specific order that compelled the Jewish population to wear an identifying badge, sewed on their clothing. Tell us, when did you issue this order?

Answer: The regional commissioner issued this order (that all Jewish people had to wear identifiying badges sewed on to their clothing). However, I cannot remember at the moment how I passed on this order to the Jewish population. Maybe I included in the announcement, which I talked about earlier, that the Jewish population had to wear such sewed-on identifying badges.

Question: When did you issue the command that the Jewish population has to move to the camps in the villages of Manivtsy and Orlintsy?

Answer: The regional commissioner issued this command that the Jewish population had to move to the camps in Manivtsy and Orlintsy. In the spring of 1942, the Jewish population was moved from the ghetto in Krasilov to the camps in the villages of Manivtsy and Orlintsy with the help of the police and the constabulary, who guarded them. Later on, Germans and members of the police shot the Jewish population. I was not a part of the executions.

Question: For what reason did you issue the order to destroy the houses in Krasilov and in the village of Kulchiny after the Jewish population had moved to the camp?

Answer: After the Jews had moved into the camp, the rest of the population pillaged their former houses. When I saw that, I asked the regional commissioner for permission to sell some of the Jewish houses in the town of Krasilov. The regional commissioner permitted me to sell the vacant houses in Krasilov. I intitated a commission under the lead of a contstruction technician, named Bilchuk (I cannot recall his first name or his patronym) to select which buildings should be sold. This way, a decision was made which buildings should be sold and which should be kept as tenements. I sold the selected buildings to citizens who expressed the wish to buy these houses. To be more specific: these houses were sold to be torn down, i.e. to gain lumber or firewood for the authorities.

I sold the houses that remained tenements separately to people who wanted to buy a house and live in this town. Aside from selling houses, I also ordered to tear down some if them in order to use their lumber and construction material for building a house for the constabulary. Without finishing this building, it was handed over to the constabulary in 1943. I don’t recall how many Jewish houses in Krasilov I sold as firewood and lumber or how many were torn down in order to build the house for the constabulary.

The proceeds of the sale of the Jewish houses, which I had inititated, went to the budget of the district administration and were transferred like other collections (including taxes) to the regional commissioner’s office in Antoniny.

In the town of Kulchiny the regional commissioner’s office took care of the Jewish houses. How these houses were used was at the discretion of the regional commissioner’s office. The majority of the houses were torn down and the demolished material was transported as firewood for the German administration to the town of Antoniny. I only sold a small number of buildings as tenements and homes to people.

Question: Report to us how you exploited the belongings of the Jewish population – confiscated at your instigation – after they had to leave Krasilov for the camp and were eventually shot!

Answer: After the Jewish population had been forced to leave Krasilov and had been brought to the camp in the village of Manivtsy and to Orlintsy, the constabulary confiscated all valuable belongings and transported them to the town of Antoniny. I do not know where the belongings were brought later on.
The regional commissioner allowed me to sell leftover and less valuable belongings to the population. Yet, I repeat, there were no valuable things anymore: old furniture, old dishes and such – anything that the Germans did not already claim for themselves.

This protocol was recorded true to my words. It was read to me, which I confirm with my signature below.

Signature: Grinchuk

The interrogation was conducted by the chief investigator-in-charge of the investigative section of the administration of the Ministry for State Security in the Kamenets-Podolskiy oblast’.

Signature: Baritskiy

The correctness of this excerpt of the protocol is certified by:
The assistant of the public prosecutor for the Khmelnitsky Supreme oblast’ Judicial Council:
Signature illegible (N. Zarubin)
March 30, 1973
Official Seal:     Public Prosecutor’s Office of the USSR
        Public Prosecutor of the Khmelnitsky oblast’
I ensure the correctness of this translation:
L.S. Waldemar Awakowicz
For the correctness of this certified copy:
Dortmund, October 2, 1973
(Riese)
Judicial clerk
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Note: Translation from German to English by Verena Kick with editorial changes by Barry Chernick

Petr Tomchuk [Pjotr Tomtschuk]

Protocol of Witness Hearing

Khmelnitsky, December 18, 1972

Chief investigator of the KGB administration in the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR in the Khmelnitsky oblast’ and first lieutenant Tkatchuk heard the witness, Petr Tomchuk, in his office on behalf of the USSR’s Department of Public Prosecution and in connection with the request of the legal authorities of the Federal Republic of Germany, abiding by the conditions of paragraphs no. 85, 167 and 170 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Ukrainian SSR.

Witness: Petr Tomchuk [Pjotr Tomtschuk], son of Vassili, born 1904, living in the village of Kultschinki, Krasilov raion, Khmelnitsky oblast’. He is Ukranian and a citizen of the USSR. He is not a member of the Party. He attended university and is now retired.

In accordance with section IV of Paragraph no. 167 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Ukrainian SSR, the witness’ obligations as outlined in Paragraph no. 70 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Ukrainian SSR have been explained to P.W. Tomchuk. Furthermore, as outlined in Paragraph no. 179 of the penal code of the Ukrainian SSR, he was made aware of his liability in case of a refusal to testify or avoidance of a statement. As outlined in Paragraph no. 178, section 2 of the penal code of the Ukrainian SSR, the consequences in case of making intentionally untrue statements were brought to his attention, as well.

Signature: Tomchuk

The hearing started at 9:30am and ended at 12:30pm.

Before the hearing, the witness explained that he would like to make the statements in Russian, as he spoke Russian fluently.

Answering the posed questions, P.W. Tomchuk made the following statements:

During the time of the German Occupation, I lived in the city of Antoniny. Before the war, I worked as an agronomist at the local sovkhoz [state farm]. I did not manage to leave town before Hitler’s army arrived. When the regional commissionership for Antoniny and its bordering areas was founded (this happened in the fall of 1941), I was appointed as chief agronomist of the district’s administration. Three regions belonged to the so-called Antoniny Gebiet, which, in turn, formed its center: Antoniny, Krasilov and Bazaliya. I held the position of the district’s chief agronomist until November 1941. Then, I was transferred to the position of the Starosta (note of translator Kick: district head) in the district’s administration and held this position until February 1942, i.e. for four months. In February 1942, I returned to my position as the district’s chief agronomist and in December 1943, I was discharged for good.

After the Soviet army arrived, I was put on trial and I received a long prison sentence. After serving my sentence, I returned to my parents’ place of residence: the village of Kultschinki.

Since my work during the German Occupation was not related to the activities of the military police, I had nothing to do with the administration of the military police. I only knew as much about the crimes of the Occupiers as any other resident of Antoniny who did not work for the occupying administration.

I can make the following statements about the preparation for the mass extermination of Soviet citizens and the process of their mass execution by Hitler’s supporters: In the summer of 1942, the regional commissioner of Antoniny, named Scherer, gave the order to set up Jewish ghettos in the towns of Krasilov, Bazaliya and Kulchiny. They put up the printed order in highly frequented places so that all citizens were able to learn about these measures. The order advised all Jews who lived in the area to move to one of the named towns.
In Krasilov, Bazaliya and Kulchiny, they assigned certain parts of town to the Jews, i.e. they set up ghettos. As the population of these towns already consisted mainly of Jews, it was not necessary to accommodate citizens of other nationalities, when they built the ghettos. On the contrary, they disowned the Jews and took away many of their houses when they were put into certain parts of town. These seized houses were torn down in order to build a fence around the ghetto. They also served as building material for other purposes. The Jews lived in the ghetto under very harsh conditions. First, the Germans created a shortage of living space for the ghetto population. For example: Before the war only one family lived in a house. During the Occupation period, about twenty people were forced to share a house. Secondly, they started limiting the Jews’ freedom of movement. Later, they added guards who kept watch at all times in the ghetto, not allowing the Jews to leave the ghetto in order to go into town. The guards were local policemen and citizens. While the Jews, who were not given any food, were previously able to barter and obtain food from citizens living close to the ghetto, this possibility did not exist anymore once there were guards everywhere in the ghetto.

I cannot remember the exact date when the fence was put up or when the guards where ordered to watch the ghetto. I was able to observe from time to time how they put up the ghetto of Kultschiny. I don’t know how this process looked like for other towns and ghettos. I was able to observe the ghetto in Kulchiny because I traveled through Kulchiny, from Antoniny to the village of Kultschinki, to visit my parents from time to time. When I had the opportunity to watch them put up the ghetto in Kulchiny, I noticed that besides the policemen, comprised of Soviet citizens, also German military personnel was on site. I couldn’t exactly tell what they were doing. In my opinion, they were, without a doubt, in charge of building the ghetto. I didn’t know any of the German military personnel who were present when the ghetto was put up. At various times, I was able to see how the Germans and the Soviet policemen rounded up the Jewish population from various villages and escorted them into the ghetto. I also cannot recall the exact date of these events. The order for building the ghetto stated that the German police was in charge of this “work”. The regional commissioner of the Antoniny Gebiet, i.e. Scherer, signed the order.

Also in the summer of 1942 (I cannot recall the exact date), they shot the Jews who were kept in the ghettos of Kulchiny, Krasilov, and Bazaliya, close to the village of Manivtsy, which was about one kilometer away.

The execution site is about three kilometers from the village of Orlintsy. I don’t know exactly how they executed the Jews because I did not witness it. Based on statements by the citizens of Orlintsy, I know that they shot the entire Jewish population who lived in the ghettos, including old people, women and children. They said that the immediate executors were SD men (note of translator Kick: Security Service) from Starokonstantinov who traveled specifically for this task to the region of Manivtsy. I didn’t know – and still don’t know – the names and ranks of these people during the Occupation period. I also don’t know the total number of people who died during the mass execution.

I didn’t know of any other executions of Jewish citizens in Manivtsy or in any of its surrounding villages. I also didn’t know of any mass executions of citizens of other nationalities in the district of Antoniny during the Occupation period. However, there were cases of arrests of people who were the most active members of the Communist Party [Partaktiv]. I don’t know what fate these arrested people were facing.

Question: What can you tell us about the crimes that certain people of the German administration committed?

Answer: I have already testified that the order for building the ghetto came from the district’s commissioner Scherer. All officers of the German administration were reporting to him. He also gave the officers instructions for executing their criminal plans.

During my work for the administration of the German Occupation, I never had anything to do with Scherer himself, i.e. I was reporting to his deputy, named Schweigert. I mainly addressed issues with him that concerned agriculture, f.ex. the delivery of groceries etc. I don’t know of any cases of criminal activities regarding Schweigert. (I am referring to the extermination of citizens, their arrests and abuses). I don’t know Schweigert’s first name or place of birth. He is German, though. In 1942, he was probably about 35 years old. His Russian was not very good. Based on my work with him, I can say that Schweigert was familiar with agriculture already before the war. Presumably, he used to be a farmer. I don’t know of any special training he might have had. He held an officer’s rank during his time in Antoniny. However, I don’t know exactly which rank it was. When the Occupiers fled the country, he managed to get back to the West.

Scherer (I don’t know his first name) is German, born around 1900. He wore a brown officer’s uniform. I don’t know his place of birth. He didn’t speak Russian. In the summer of 1943, he was killed by partisans in one of the villages of the former Bazaliya raion.

I don’t remember any other workers or officers in Hitler’s administration in Antoniny.

Per my request, the investigator read the protocol to me. It was written down true to my words.

Signature: Tomchuk

The hearing was conducted by the chief investigator of the KGB administration in the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR in the Khmelnitsky oblast’.

First Lieutenant Tkatchuk

The correctness of this copy of the protocol is confirmed by:
The assistant of the public prosecutor for the Khmelnitsky oblast’

Supreme Judicial Council
Signature illegible (N. Zarubin)
30. 5. 1973

I ensure the correctness of this translation:
L.S. Waldemar Awakowicz

For the correctness of this certified copy:
Dortmund, October 3, 1973
(Golshinsky)
Judicial clerk
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Note: Translation from German to English by Verena Kick with editorial changes by Barry Chernick

Matrena Antonyuk [Matrene Antonjuk]

Protocol of Witness Hearing
Village of Bolschiye Orlitsy, March 20, 1973
Chief investigator of the KGB administration in the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR in the Khmelnitsky oblast’ and first lieutenant Tkatchuk heard the witness, Matrena Antonyuk, in kolkhoz’ office on behalf of the USSR’s Department of Public Prosecution and in connection with the request of the legal authorities of the Federal Republic of Germany, abiding by the conditions of Paragraphs no. 85, 167 and 170 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Ukrainian SSR.

Witness: Matrena Antonyuk [Matrene Antonjuk], daughter of Guerasim, born 1905 in Bolschiye Orlitsy, Krasilov raion, Khmelnitsky oblast’. She also lives there. She is Ukranian and a citizen of the USSR. She is not a member of the Party. She completed the third grade of elementary school. She is now retired.

In accordance with section IV of Paragraph no. 167 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Ukrainian SSR, the witness’ obligations as outlined in Paragraph no. 70 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Ukrainian SSR have been explained to M.G. Antonjuk. Furthermore, as outlined in Paragraph no. 179 of the penal code of the Ukrainian SSR, she was made aware of her liability in case of a refusal to testify or avoidance of a statement. As outlined in Paragraph no. 178, section 2 of the penal code of the Ukrainian SSR, the consequences in case of making intentionally untrue statements were brought to her attention, as well.
Signature: Antonyuk

The hearing started at 4:00pm and ended at 5:10pm.
Before the hearing, the witness explained that she would like to make the statements in Russian, as she spoke Russian fluently.

Answering the posed questions, the witness M.G. Antonyuk made the following statements:

During the German occupation I lived in the village of Bolschiye [Orlitsy] and I worked for the municipal administration, holding various positions. It was about 200 meters from my house to the kolkhoz’ horse stable. At the beginning of spring 1942 – I cannot state a more exact date – they started to put up the Jewish population in this stable. No Jews lived in our village, but nearby, about 7 kilometers away, there was the small Jewish village of Kulchiny. Some of the people came from this village. I came to this conclusion because I knew some of the Jewish people from Kulchiny, Zindel and Lakhman from before the war. They were collectors of junk goods. I also knew some of these people, but only by their first names. I do not know from where the other people came. I think they were brought to the village in three stages. A total of 300 people were herded together in the village. The stable was neither prepared nor transformed in any way for the Jews to live there. They didn’t even remove the horse manure. There was no fence around the stable, but policemen constantly guarded the stable. It was prohibited for the villagers to get close to the stable, and it was also forbidden for the Jews to leave it.

I don’t know any details about how the Jews lived in such over-crowded conditions, but many had heard of incidents of their abuse. There were instances when people secretly left the stables to go to the village in order to beg for food. That way, we knew that the Jews (note from the translator: instead of “Jews” the witness often describes them as the “herded together ones”) barely received any food.
I did not witness how they forced the Jews to walk in groups of 6 or 8 towards the village of Kulchiny in order to gather firewood. These people had to pull a cart, on which the policemen were sitting. They tore down the Jews’ former houses and had the Jews collect the remains as burning material. Villagers and inhabitants of Kulchiny told me about this. Close to the horse stable, the Jews used the planks and beams they had to drag back to light a fire. They used it for cooking, yet it was unclear to me what they cooked since so little food was given to them. People of various ages and both genders were herded together. There were women and very old people among them. The policemen brought the ones, who were strong enough, to work every day. They had to maintain the road from Antoniny to Starokonstantinov. Our village was next to this road. I didn’t know anything about the working conditions, since I did not have the opportunity to witness the Jews at work. In the summer of 1942 – I cannot remember a more exact date – all Jews were forced to leave the stable and to walk on foot towards Starokonstantinov.
I learned only later on that they were brought to some other horse stable in the village of Manivtsy and that they were shot later somewhere close to the village.
I do not know who gave the order to put up a Jewish ghetto in our village.
I also do not know who oversaw the ghetto in our village. I did not know of any details about the circumstances of the shooting of these Jewish people.
After the removal of the Jews, moving them from our village to the village of Manivtsy, the horse stable remained empty. Later, still during the occupation period, it burned down because it was struck by lightning.

Per my request, the investigator read the protocol to me. It was written down true to my words.
Signature: Antonyuk

The hearing was conducted by the chief investigator of the KGB administration in the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR in the Khmelnitsky oblast’.
First Lieutenant Tkatchuk
The correctness of this copy of the protocol is confirmed by:
The assistant of the public prosecutor for the Khmelnitsky oblast’.
Supreme Judicial Council
Signature illegible (N. Zarubin)
30. 5. 1973
Official Seal: Public Prosecutor’s Office of the USSR
Public Prosecutor of the Khmelnitsky oblast’
I ensure the correctness of this translation:
L.S. Waldemar Awakowicz

For the correctness of this certified copy:
Dortmund, October 3, 1973
(Langer)
Judicial clerk
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Note: Translation from German to English by Verena Kick with editorial changes by Barry Chernick