Murder story of Zofjówka Jews in the Kiwerce Forest

… When we had just woken up [after spending the night in the town's synagogue] and went out to wash ourselves…. We were fired at right away from every direction.… A cordon of Ukrainian [auxiliary policemen] surrounded the town…. A bullet hit my ear. We realized there was nowhere to escape to. Suddenly we saw a pit in a [nearby] field - where the [local] non-Jews stored potatoes. We jumped into the pit. Not a minute had passed when we heard the shout in Ukrainian: "Get out of there, or I will throw in a hand grenade."… We – Abram [his friend] and I - got out, and we were immediately beaten with [rifle] butts on the head and the whole body. We were bleeding.… The Ukrainian [policemen] ordered us to move toward the courtyard of the synagogue. [While going there] we saw the killed and wounded [Jews] scattered around the field. The wounded screamed, asking for help. But no one paid any attention to them. When we reached the courtyard of the synagogue, we saw a pile, like a pile of hay, of wounded and killed, one on top of the other. We were ordered to stay inside the yard. Meanwhile, the Ukrainians ordered those [the Jews who were still] praying in the synagogue to get out, but no one left. Lots of Germans [i.e. Gendarmerie men] arrived. One of them who was riding a horse and carried a weapon ordered 50 Jews to go to the square near the synagogue. I looked around and saw that all my acquaintances … were standing in this group outside the courtyard [of the synagogue]. I was standing in the yard. I wanted… to join them. [People] began beating me, saying that I was still a boy, that my turn to die would come eventually , [therefore, they said]: Don't move!" During those bitter moments I thought that at least… people would know where I was buried. I thought that I had to reach them [his acquaintances].[By climbing] over the heads and shoulders of others, I jumped inside the synagogue and, via a window. I then jumped out and joined the convoy…. We were taken about 300 meters from the synagogue, where there were big diesel trucks covered with canvas. Some trucks contained those [Jews] who had tried to escape; others contained digging equipment.… We were given shovels and told to move forward. There were about 50 of us. We proceeded about another 100 meters along a dirt road and were told to dig in a corn field [sic, for the Kiewerce Forest]. We were ordered to take off all our clothes and to remain only in our underwear and with one shoe, on our right foot. We threw off our clothes, remaining half naked, and we began to dig.…