Murder Story of Chkalovo Jews at the Orphanage in Chkalovo

… During the temporary occupation by German troops of the territory of Chkalovo County… I worked in an orphanage located 1 kilometer from my house. I performed various types of unskilled labor in the orphanage. In 1941, after German troops occupied the area, an SS murder squad arrived at the orphanage and immediately started to collect, first, all the Jews from the entire area, including nearby villages, and, then, [Communist] Party members and Soviet activists, and incarcerated them in a cellar. On the following day they were robbed of their best clothes; then these people, including old people, women, and children, were taken [in groups] of four people to a pit situated about 200 meters from the orphanage and were shot there from submachine-guns…

… In September 1941 an SS murder squad arrived at the orphanage and immediately started to collect the Jews from all over Chkalovo County and imprison them in a cellar and the building of the orphanage. After several days, these Jews, consisting of men, women, and children, were shot in a trench not far from the orphanage. The clothing that remained was taken away by German in 9 carts. I myself heard the submachine-gun shots early in the morning, but could not see [the shooting] itself since the Germans did let anyone approach. Nevertheless, I am sure that they [the Jews] were shot. Approximately one thousand people were shot, I myself I saw the bodies; they were buried by prisoners of war and, later, kolkhoz members also were forced [to bury some of them]….

… Thus, in September 1941 an SS murder squad arrived in the village of Chkalovo…. After that, the Jews - old people, men, women, and children - started to be driven to the orphanage. They were taken in covered trucks and carts. They were held in a cellar and in the orphanage building. Jews were collected from various settlements. After being held for about 7-8 days, the Jews were taken early in the morning to a place not far from the orphanage, about 200 meters away, and shot from submachine-guns at a pit. During the shooting no one was allowed to approach closer than 1 kilometer from the site, but I was not far from the orphanage and heard the shots well. In the morning, when I went to the orphanage, the Jews were no longer there. In that way about 1,000 Jews were shot to death....

… What is especially ingrained in my memory is the shooting of Soviet activists and Jews not far from the orphanage of Chkalovo village. A prison was set up there [in the orphanage building], where 117 arrested innocent civilians - Soviet activists and Jews were held.… I both saw and heard how, about 200 meters from the orphanage, the shooting of the innocent Soviet civilians, Soviet activists, and Jews, including men, women, and children, was carried out in a ravine. They were shot by submachine-gun fire and their bodies were buried. In that way a total of about thousand people were shot….