Vetka

Jewish settlement in Vetka was first noted in regard to the second half of the eighteenth century. During the early Soviet period a Yiddish school operated in Vetka. Most of Vetka's Jews were either artisans or worked on the local kolkhoz. In 1939 944 Jews were living in Vetka. Germans troops occupied Vetka on August 18, 1941. In September 1941 all the town's Jews were ordered to register and to wear a yellow patch. Until December 2 local Jews were forced to carry out heavy labor under difficult conditions. On December 2, 1941, most of Vetka's Jews were killed at the "agroservis" (agricultural service base} near the town. Some more Jews were killed on 21 August 1942 on the banks of the Sosh River. Some children were taken to Gomel. The Red Army liberated Vetka on September 28, 1943.