Area of former Dzerzhinsk-Stankovo railway line. Photographer: Alexander Litin, 2018.
YVA, Photo Collection, 14615562
Dzerzhinsk Related Murder Sites
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Murder Story of Dzerzhinsk Jews on the Dzerzhinsk-Stankovo Railway Line
Murder Site
Dzerzhinsk-Stankovo Railway Line
Belorussia (USSR)
In March 1942 1,300 Jews, apparently brought from Minsk, were murdered about two kilometers from the Dzerzhinsk railway station, west of Stankovo, 50 meters to the left of the tracks, not far from Ryabinovka village. Brunno Mittmann, head of the local police station, supervised the operation.
The victims were taken to the site in railway cars, carts, and trucks. There were ten pits, already prepared by prisoners of war. The victims were forced to undress, taken up to the pits, and shot to death. The murders were carried out by Finns, Lithuanians, Germans, and members of the local police. After the murder the victims’ clothes were collected and put into a storehouse.
Numerous murders took place at the site from the fall of 1941 until the spring of 1942. It is impossible to determine the exact number of Jews killed since, after the first group was shot, acid was poured over the bodies -- both to destroy them and to create more room for the next group of victims. According to reports of the Extraordinary State Commission, the pits had enough room for [only] 10,541 bodies. However, local testimonies state that between 13,000 and 15,000 people from the area, including many Jews, were murdered there.
The witnesses mention the same number of victims for the town of Ryzhovka, close to Dzerzhinsk. However, this may [be an error and] refer to the same town [i.e., Dzerzhinsk].
Related Resources
Written Testimonies
ChGK Soviet Reports
Bruno Mitman, who served as sergeant major in the cavalry of the district gendarmerie of Minsk during the war years, testified at the Soviet juridical proceedings:
It was in March 1942. A special train with 1,300 Jews, who were later shot, arrived at the Koydanovo [Dzerzhinsk] Station. I do not know where the special train came from. There was only a gendarme post there; that is why my unit carried out the shooting. I personally shot ....
The shootings were carried out two kilometers west of Koydanovo. Among the victims were many children and elderly people, but I find it difficult to give exact numbers. We placed the victims in rows in the pits and then shot them.
YVA O.4 / 250
V. V. Chuyevski, who lived in Kukshevichi village of Dzerzhinsk County, testified:
In March 1942, a train from Minsk arrived at the Koydanovo station. The people were taken there on the pretext of their being sent to work on the construction of the Stankovo railway. The special train had forty cars. All those on the train were later shot.
Raisa Chernoglazova, ed., The Tragedy of the Jews of Belarus Under German Occupation (1941-1944), Minsk, 1997, pp. 163, 166 (in Russian)
Dzerzhinsk-Stankovo Railway Line
railway
Murder Site
Belorussia (USSR)
53.902;27.559
Photos
Area of former Dzerzhinsk-Stankovo railway line. Photographer: Alexander Litin, 2018.
YVA, Photo Collection, 14615562
Sketch of the Dzerzhinsk-Stankovo railway line murder site
GARF, MOSCOW R-7021-87-5 copy YVA M.33 / JM/20009