Murder Story of Imeni Yurkina Sovkhoz Jews at the Imeni Yurkina Sovkhoz Well

March 22, 1962 From the Interrogation of Max S., former member of Sonderkommando 10a: … I still remember that particular day when part of the squad had to carry out the shooting of about 200 men, women, and children at a well located far out of town. The people [Jews] were first rounded up and then brought to either the well or to a stack of hay or straw that was nearby. I myself came to the execution place together with S., who picked me up in his jeep. Behind the stack I saw a large number of Jews (men, women, and children), most of whom were naked or were wearing little clothing. At the time of my arrival the shooting action as such was already under way. Each time about 5 people were taken from behind the hay or straw stack, placed next to the well, and then shot from close range. As far as I remember, they were shooting with rifles. The people who were shot fell into the well. Some of the Jews, however, jumped down the well before the shots were fired. When I stood near the well with S., he said that I should also take part, that I should take a rifle from one of the men. That was H. as I still remember clearly. So I took his rifle and I myself shot once – on the order and under the supervision of S. Since for S. the whole matter had apparently lasted too long, he left and took me with him. Therefore, I did not have to shoot much….

From the interrogation of Alexander Gottfried H., former member of Sonderkommando 10a: ... The last clear recollection I have of one such [anti-]Jewish operation is of one that took place in the steppe area at an empty well. The well was about half an hour from the town. When you say to me that this operation took place near Berislav, you might be right although I do not remember the name anymore. As was already mentioned, the well was extremely deep, in my opinion more than 8 meters deep. I do not know how the Jews who were to be executed were assembled in the locality itself. I was only part of a guard unit and, together with others, I had to take the Jews to the well. The Jews taken to the well, and they probably numbered about 200 men and women, had to sit on the ground about 50 meters from the well, with their backs to the well. These Jews then had to completely undress, and each time a group of 5 to 6 was taken to the edge of the well. There they had to kneel down at the edge of the well with their faces toward the well and then they were shot, as far as can I remember, from submachine-guns in the back of the head. If the people who were shot did not fall into the well on their own, they were pushed into the well by two Jews with rods. Afterwards, another group was brought. I personally killed one Jew who tried to flee, by a round from my submachine gun. As far as I remember, only members of the urban police [the Schutzpolizei] did the shooting. I myself was assigned to guard the Jews sitting at the collection point. Those Jews could not possibly see the carrying out of the execution; however, they heard the shots and, since they too were forced to undress, they knew what awaited them. At this execution I remember one young Jewish woman jumping into the well alive before the shot was fired. In fact, the shooting took place without any order to fire. I remember another incident during this execution, when a Jewish man about 30 years old put up some resistance at the edge of the well by grasping the barrel of the submachine-gun of one of the shooters. In the ensuing brawl he would have fallen into the well, together with the shooter, if it had not been for another shooter, who hit the Jew on the head with his submachine-gun. After the end of this execution, an SD officer threw hand grenades into the well...

January 28, 1965 From the interrogation of former policeman Richard T.: Another incident I remember relates to a large-scale shooting at a well in the area of Kakhovka. It took place at the brink of a crater 6-7 meters or more across, in the steppe. There was a dry well there. Some crop had been collected near the well.... We urban policemen [Schutzpolizisten] were taken to the well by a personnel carrier. Not a single settled place could be seen from this well. Nor was there any barn in the vicinity. The victims, there were several hundred of them or, perhaps even one thousand men and women, were brought by truck. I cannot now remember whether there were any children. The people brought there had to lie down or kneel down in a hole made by the rain about 100 meters from the well and also had to put down their outer garments there. Each time about 10 people were placed at the edge of the well and shot from behind by an execution squad of an equal number of members, including me. After the shots were fired, the people fell headfirst into the well. Sometimes some [of the victims] jumped in alive - out of fear. The shooting squads were replaced several times. Because of the psychological stress to which I too was exposed by the shooting today I cannot recall by any means how often I stood by the grave and how often I had to move away. It is quite possible to assume that these shootings did not proceed as calmly as we can discuss them today. Both women and men screamed and cried. To some extent there were also attempts to escape. Those forcing the Jews to the grave also shouted loudly. If the victims did not do as they were told, there were also beaten. I remember especially one red-haired SD man who always had a piece of cable with him and when the action did not proceed as it should, he hit people with it…. The shooting squad at this well consisted of urban policemen [Schutzpolizisten], members of the Waffen SS and of the SD. We urban policemen shot rifles and the SD members submachine-guns and pistols. In any case, everyone had his own weapon. The required ammunition was supplied from the available caissons. The sight at the execution site was horrible. There was a great deal of blood at the edge of the well and there were probably also fragments of brain on the ground. The victims who were next in line had to step in this. From there they could not see what was in store for them but they could hear the shots and the cries from where they were…. When some of the victims did not fall into the well on their own, those following them had to throw them in. I cannot remember rods being used for this…. The shooting lasted until the last victim was at the bottom of the well, early in the afternoon…. It was mostly the commanders who fired control shots into the victims who had not been mortally wounded….