Dukhovshchina

In 1897 the Jewish population of Dukhovshchina consisted of 23 families. Around 1900 the Jews obtained annual permission to arrange temporary prayer premises for the period of their fall holidays. In 1939 there were 102 Jews in Dukhovshchina. The town was occupied by the Germans on July 15, 1941. At the beginning of the occupation the Jews of Dukhovshchina was taken from their houses to the area of the local linen factory. Later they were moved to the buildings of the brick factory that were located opposite the linen factory. There they suffered from starvation, abuse, and forced labor. Some sources date the murder operation against the Jews to the summer 1942: the Jewish population was shot to death at the quarry of the local brick factory.

Dukhovshchina was liberated by the Red Army on September 19, 1943.