Murder Story of Dmitriyevka Jews at the Dmitriyevka Hospital

... Before the temporary occupation by the German-fascist troops … I worked as a doctor.… On October 28, 1941 a rumor spread in Dmitriyevka that a German murder squad had arrived in the village. On the same day, at 6 p. m., the shooting of Jews began 70 meters from my apartment. I saw two German soldiers leading a women who was screaming a lot. I did not recognize her. When I saw that one of the Germans was about to open his holster, I realized that he was going to shoot. I ran into my house and closed the door. From inside the house I heard shooting and screaming. The screaming stopped after the second shot. I did not leave the house the whole evening and night but, while in the house, I could still hear the unbearable screams and the shooting, which continued until 11 p. m. On the next day, October 29, I heard from people who were passing by that Jews had been shot. I do not know their names….

… On orders from police chief Fritz Engel and county head Bezditko, the police summoned the residents of the village of Dmitriyevka to appear right away at the gendarmerie on September 23, 1941 at 2 p.m. Those who came to the commandant’s office were put into jail by an SS murder squad. Those who did not come by themselves were brought by the SS murder squad. I personally saw how Yakov Samoilovich Rogozin and Mikhail Ivanovich Gatman were brought by force of weapons. The following people were summoned to the commandant’s office: Mikhail Ivanovich Gatman, Polina Mikhailovna Gatman … [the names of a number of people are mentioned; some of them appear in the list of murdered Jews from Dmitriyevka County or are identified as Jews in other testimonies below]. Altogether there were 15 of those people mentioned above, plus 30 Georgian prisoners of war. They were all lined up in front of the hospital and, in a kind of competition, the [members of the] SS murder squad vied in shooting with machine guns all the 45 people at 7 p. m. on September 23, 1941. Apart from those who were named, the murder squad grabbed Jewish children, smashed them onto the road, and then threw them into a ditch. I do not know the last names of the children, but I do know that about 56 children were killed. I personally observed this horrible scene….

... 2. Mikhail Ivanovich Gatman, age 35, Jewish, shoemaker 3. Polina Mikhailovna Gatman, age 12, Jewish, pupil [these are 2 of the several Jewish names on the list] … In September 1944 the above listed people were shot dead by an SS murder squad on orders from the German commandant, the county police chief Fritz Digel [sic- for Fritz Engel], and the county head Bezditko …