Murder Story of Vetka Jews at the Agricultural Service Station in the Vetka Area

Horrible crimes were committed in the town of Vetka. There, during the years 1941-1942 there were carried out three mass murders of Jews, Gypsies, Russians, Belarusians, and others. The German official named Vasilii Samsonov, head of the Vetka District during the German occupation, stated [the following] during his interrogation: in November 1941 the commander office [the headquarters] from Gomel ordered that a list be compiled of the Jews who were in Vetka. The list was ready at the end of November 1941. On December 1, six men from the Gomel office of the SD [Security Service] arrived at the commander office of Vetka. The commander of the town was informed that on December 2, 1941 at 8 a.m. are the Jews, regardless of age of state of health, would have to appear; at the same time the order was given that whoever did not register would be killed on the spot. On the following day, December 2, 1941, there began the registration that ended at 9 [a.m.]; everyone who showed up was forced into a stable under guard and their keys [to their apartments] were taken. On the same day here began the looting of the Jewish apartments. All the contents were loaded onto trunks and taken to Gomel. Thus, 8 trucks with Jewish property, in the evening of December 3, 1941, reached police officer named Mak in the office of the police chief, who said to him to collect all the policemen of Vetka and, on December 3, 1941 the German beasts began the physical annihilation of the Jews. All the Jews were lined up and taken to the Agroservice. From there they were taken in groups of ten to a ravine. They [the Germans] forced them to lie down and shot them with submachine-guns. That is the way that on December 3, 1941 old people, women, and children, a total of 360 people were murdered. Among those killed were 9 prisoners of war who had been captured by the Germans and shot to death.