Yessentuki

In 1939, the town of Yessentuki was home to approximately 16,000 people – including 581 Jews, who made up about 3.6 percent of the total population. Following the German invasion of the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, the Stavropol Krai came to house a large number of evacuees from the western regions of the USSR, including many Jewish people. Some of them came to Yessentuki. The Wehrmacht occupied Yessentuki on August 11, 1942. One month later, Einsatzgruppe D, which had been following in the footsteps of the Wehrmacht, reached the Stavropol Krai and arrived in Yessentuki. Four days after the onset of the occupation, the Germans forced the Jews to set up a Jewish council. The Jews had to be registered and wear a white Star of David on their chests. Jews were required to perform forced labor, mainly roadwork and cleaning. Elderly, sick, and even disabled individuals were forced to clean and build roads. On September 10, 1942, approximately 2000 Jews were loaded into vehicles and driven to the glass factory in the town of Mineralnyye Vody, where they were murdered in an anti-tank trench next to the glass factory. The Germans spared the lives of 11 highly skilled Jewish professionals who were working for them. These professionals were killed in Pyatigorsk shortly before the end of the occupation, between January 5-8, 1943. The Red Army liberated Yessentuki on January 11, 1943.