Arzgir

Arzgir County was part of the Ordzhonikidze Kray, which was outside the tsarist Pale of Settlement. Only three Jews lived in the village in 1939. However, with the German invasion of the USSR on June 22, 1941, the Ordzhonikidze Kray became a destination of civilian evacuation or flight, including of many Jews from Soviet Ukraine, Belorussia, and Bessarabia. With the offensive of the German military at the end of June 1942, the Wehrmacht started the invasion of the North Caucasus. The Wehrmacht occupied Arzgir on August 2, 1942. When the Germans started to register the people who had sought refuge in Arzgir, they found approximately 700 refugees, mainly from Bessarabia. The Germans separated the Jews and non-Jews during the registration. The local police force offered its help so the registration took place at the local police station. The occupiers ordered that:.... "3. All the Kikes, of both genders, should be recognized by armbands with a Star of David on them, on both sleeves. They are obligated to be dressed, under the supervision of the community leader, for labor. 4. All the Kikes are obligated to hand over their [radio-]receivers and radio devices to the community leader." On October 1, 1942 the local police forces collected 150 Jews from the surrounding area of Arzgir. They were held in the local police station and then taken to a ravine 1.5 kilometers north of the village and shot to death. Between the end of September and the beginning of October 1942, the Germans and their collaborators ordered the Jewish evacuees to appear at the Arzgir police station with their valuables and other possessions. The 525 Jews who showed up were taken to the same ravine and shot to death. The Red Army liberated Arzgir on January 21, 1943.