Krasne

The Jewish presence in Krasne dates to the late 19th century. In 1922, Krasne was home to 319 Jews, who made up 31.45% of the total population. By 1937, the Jewish population had risen to 480. In September 1939, with the arrival of the Red Army in the area following the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, Krasne became part of Soviet Belarus. The Germans occupied Krasne in late June 1941. They immediately established an open ghetto in the town. Local Jews were required to wear a yellow star; their movements were restricted, and they had to perform forced labor. The German administration also established a Judenrat. In 1942, the Germans forced the Jews from the surrounding countryside to move into the ghetto. Since the ghetto was an open one, its inmates were able to trade with local non-Jews. However, they could leave the ghetto only at night, in secret. The Jews had to work on construction sites and at the German military vehicle pool near Krasne. In March 1943, 2,340 Jews were shot dead in a shed, and their bodies were burned. Only a few Jewish specialists who had worked for the Germans, and a few other Jews, managed to escape and join the partisans. The Red Army liberated Krasne in late summer 1944.