Murder Story of Berdichev Jews in Sokulino

... Between the twentieth and the thirtieth of October, 1941, searches were conducted for all those secretly living in areas of town forbidden to Jews. Not only Germans, but also police, abetted by volunteer members of the “Black Hundred,” participated in these searches. By the third of November, two thousand people had been herded inside the ancient monastery of the Discalced (Barefooted) Carmelites. The monastery was located on a bluff above the river and was surrounded by a thick, tall fortress wall. The four hundred artisans and technicians (and their families) selected by Reder and Koroliuk during the execution of September 15, 1941 were also taken there. On November third these people were ordered to put their valuables and money within the area of a circle drawn on the ground. A German officer announced that anyone who concealed valuables would not be shot, but would be buried alive. After that, people were led out in groups of 150 to be shot. They were formed into a paired column and loaded on trucks. The men were taken first – about eight hundred persons – then the women and children. Some of those who had been imprisoned in the monastery looked upon death as a relief after their terrible beatings, torments, hunger, thirst and four months of German brigandry. People joined this line of death without attempting to delay the moment of death even for a few hours. That day, two thousand people were shot, among them Dr. Vurnarg, Dr. Baraban, Dr. Liberman, Dr. Blank (a dentist) and the family of Dr. Rubinstein (also a dentist). This executions took place outside of town, in the area of the collective farm, Sakulino [Sokulino] ....