Murder Story of Seytler Jews at the Farmstead Wells in the Seytler Area

- How did they start collecting the Jews? - Some people gave them away. They also were told to come since they were going to be sent somewhere. I don’t think they took each family separately. They took them in big groups. Let’s ask that woman. - We shall do that later. Now, let's talk about what you remember. Who told them to come? Were there posters? - The Gestapo did. They told them to come to register, they were not telling the truth – that people would be shot – they were telling lies. I think that they brought large groups mostly from big Jewish settlements, where it was obvious who they were. They couldn’t have shot them on the spot, I don’t think so. - But how did they summon the people? - The German bosses did. They were in charge. - But how? Did they put up pieces of paper around with the orders? - No. - How, then? - The “policemen” (local people who collaborated with Germans, PJ). Maybe they told them to find the Jews. People had to obey, they were afraid. It worked the same way with the Bulgarians and the Tartars. - Do you remember if the Jews had to wear anything special? - No. - No armbands or anything like that? - No. Maybe in the cities like Kiev, but not here. I just saw a car with them, once. - OK, now let’s go back to the day when you saw that car. - Do you remember which year that was? - It was summer. - The beginning of the war? - No. Well, they came in 1941, so it must’ve been 1942. By 1942 the Jews were all annihilated. I remember that during that summer they were looking for people who would collaborate, and some people did. Others didn’t tell on Jews, especially not on children. - Why do you think it was summer? - Because in the summer they took them away, on this street. - In which direction? - There, to our old cemetery. - That car was taken there? - Yes. - What did this vehicles look like? - Like all German vehicles: it was covered. The Germans came here with motorcycles and covered vehicles. Aunt Stipa said that her father was taken with a car like that to be shot. They called these cars “Black Ravens.” - So you were playing. Who was playing? - Little children who lived here. - You were playing and saw… - There was a scream. It was a little girl who was falling and screaming. The car stopped, they got out and took her. - Did they take the girl? - Yes.... - He was a Gestapo man, with a skull on his armband. At that time this road was not blocked so they drove directly here. - So they drove from the center... - From the police station. - That is where the militia building is now – they drove in the opposite direction. - We didn’t even know that they were shooting people there. - How did you know that the girl was a Tartar? - Because we knew her and her family, they were locals. They lived on Fontannaya Street. We knew they were Crimean Tartars. And as for the Jews... I am not sure they were shooting them right here. They would take them somewhere and then shoot them. - Where do you think this vehicle was going? - It could only go straight. By that time we heard that they were shooting people... - Shooting whom? - All the Jews. So we guessed that they were taken to be executed. Where else could they be taking them? They were taken mostly from the villages though. You should be going to Lomonosovo. - We shall certainly try to go there. - There weren’t that many Jews here. I only knew one family. - Yekaterina Vasilievna, when we first talked to you, you suggested that the car could only be going in one direction, to the wells. Where were the wells? - At the settlement on a hill. It was a Russian settlement, our local people. - Did they live there during the war? - They always lived there. - And now this settlement is not there anymore, right? - Right. - And what is there instead? - Now... - They were looking for a place with many wells so they could throw people into them. There were no trenches there. Actually, there were anti-tank trenches around the village, but they didn’t shoot people there. It all happened right here, at these wells. But I still think that the Jews were sent to Dzhankoy. - But you said that the vehicle with those Crimean Tartars was not going in the direction of Dzhankoy… - No, it could only have been headed. They killed them here. Maybe there was only one family. - You didn’t see how many people there were? - No, we didn’t know anything. First, they shot Jews and, only then, did they get to the Crimean Tartars. It was really a shame, killing all those people. - Let’s go back to the wells. You assume that the girls and all the Crimean Tartars in that vehicle were driven in this direction. - Yes. - Why are you so sure? - Because where else could they have been going… - So the road led only here, right? - Yes. There wasn’t any other possibility. People who used to live in the corner building told us… - Are they still there? - No, they all died. So they told us that they heard shots every night, but they didn’t know which people they were shooting. So no one knew because they took people to executions during the night... -It was a farmstead, where the locals were living. They were apparently expelled during the German time, since a firing range was set up there. Here everyone was shot- peope who were brought from all the villages. There were more than one or two wells, there was a hay storage area further over there, there were wells there, here also there were wells, people were thrown into those wells. Even though we hildren went to play there, we did not see anything sticking out. They did not bury [the bodies], it was an easy job-to kill and to threw them in[to the wells]. In 1944...on the outskirts (I will show you where) people were living who knew everything but were afraid to tell, but afterwards they did tell, apparently, after liberation, they testified before our authorities that at nights shots were heard there. Of course, they were shooting at night.