Zaskiewicze

The first Jews settled in Zaśkiewicze in the mid-19th Century. By the end of that century, they made up the majority of the town's population. In 1922, in the aftermath of World War I and the ensuing military conflicts, Zaśkiewicze became part of Poland. In 1925, it was home to about 200 Jews. The village was so poor that many Jewish artisans and traders in the interwar period had to barter their goods to the local peasants, instead of selling them for money. In September 1939, World War II broke out, and Zaśkiewicze was annexed to the USSR. On the fifth day of the Soviet-German War – i.e., June 26, 1941 – the village was occupied by the Wehrmacht. The Germans ordered the Jews to wear a patch with the Star of David, required them to perform forced labor, and prohibited them from leaving the village. In October, a ghetto was established in Zaśkiewicze. In 1942, the Zaśkiewicze Ghetto was liquidated. The Germans deported the able-bodied inmates to another ghetto, probably in Oszmiana and/or Smorgonie, and then shot 69 elderly and disabled Jews on the spot. Zaśkiewicze were liberated by the Red Army in July 1944.