Rozanka

The small settlement of Różanka became a Jewish town only in the 1880s, following the so-called May Laws of 1882, which heralded the expulsion of Jews from the agricultural villages of western Russia. In 1897, Różanka was home to 543 Jews, who comprised 69.9 percent of the total population. In the interwar period, Różanka was part of the Polish Republic. At the time, the town had several Zionist circles (Hehalutz, Hehalutz Hatzair, and others), which attracted the local youths. However, an attempt to open a Hebrew school of the "Tarbut" network failed because of resistance on the part of the more Orthodox members of the community. In September 1939, the town was annexed by the USSR, and soon became part of the Belarusian SSR. On June 25, 1941, the fourth day of the Soviet-German war, the Germans dropped seven paratroopers over Różanka. Several hours later, the Soviets returned, located the German paratroopers, and killed them. On June 28, the Germans retook the town. The locals pointed out the Jews who had revealed the hiding place of the German paratroopers to the Soviets. The Germans arrested seven Jews, took them out of town, tortured them, and killed them. On the same day, the occupying unit searched the town for Jewish males. The Germans found 70 men, took them to the town of Podbobra (1.5 km south of Różanka), and locked them in a barn. Several hours later, they took the Jewish men into the forest, forced them to dig pits, and shot them. The German paratroopers were buried with full honors, and their grave bore the inscription: "Here, the Jews killed our German soldiers." The remaining Jewish men hid away. The commander of the new occupying force, which had arrived to relieve the unit previously stationed in Różanka, announced an "amnesty" for the local Jewish men, promising that they would be sent to forced labor. On Rosh Hashanah (September 1941), the Feldgendarmerie and the SS showed up in the town. Many Jews fled, but some of them were caught and killed. In October 1941, the head of the Feldgendarmerie assembled the Jews in the market square and, while they were sitting there, he conducted a search in their homes, with the searchers helping themselves to the Jews' property. In the square, the Nazis killed Rabbi Yosef Lis and several prominent members of the community. The rest of the Jews were ordered to hand over their money and valuables and go home. Several days later, the Jews of Różanka were sent to the Szczuczyn Ghetto, where they shared the fate of the local Jews. Różanka was liberated by the Red Army in July 1944.