Elista

In 1939 the Jewish population of the whole Kalmyk ASSR amounted to 344 people or 0.2 percent of the total population. Most of these Jews were residents of Elista. After war broke out on June 22, 1941 many Jewish refugees from Ukraine and Belorussia came to Elista, as well as to other areas of the Kalmyk Republic. The town was occupied by the Germans on August 12, 1942. All the Jews who remained were registered and ordered to wear arm bands with the Star of David. According to some sources soon after the beginning of the occupation several hundred Jews were shot in a ravine outside Elista. Other sources say that the Jews were imprisoned in one of the city's buildings, where they were kept for ten days under severe conditions. From there the Jews were taken to perform forced labor. In early September 1942 they were shot at a former local dump. The town was liberated by the Red Army on December 31, 1942.