Murder story of Miropol Jews in the Miropol Municipal Park

...during a discussion comrades told me that the SD was in Miropol and that, within the next few days, there would be a mass shooting of Jews. I did not take this seriously, but the next morning no one was present to take care of the horses. Therefore, I too went to the military barracks in Miropol. I believe that it was 7:30 in the morning when I arrived there. The Jews, consisting of women, men, and children of all ages, were forced together in one building. Via rumor, I learned that 750 Jews were being held there. Drunken Ukrainian militiamen [policemen] were dancing around the building. They were singing and shouting their “Death Song.” The militiamen were armed with rifles.... I believe that they numbered about 12 to 16.... I remember that each of them had an armband. I heard that the older Jews had been forced to dig a pit on the previous day. It measured 8 x 8 meters and was one and a half meters deep [and located] on a hill in Miropol. Whole families of Jewish origin and, later, groups about of 8 to 10 individuals [individual Jews] were taken under guard to the pit.... I saw with my own eyes that it was only Ukrainian militiamen who were taking the group to the pit with their rifles. The Ukrainian militiamen shot the Jewish people from behind…. I also saw some mothers jumping into the pit with their children and the drunken militiamen shooting them from the edge of the pit. It was terrible. I did not see any SS or SD-men supervising this mass shooting. The Ukrainian militiamen did this by themselves. No German officers were involved in this operation. The militiamen themselves [also] cordoned off the place of the execution. As far as I know, only a Jewish barber, a Jewish cobbler, a Jewish tailor, and a Jewish dentist ... survived, at least on this day of mass shooting. I am sure that these members of the Jewish community were shot to death 8 weeks later.… I am [also] sure that the Ukrainian militiamen shot 750 Jews at that time. After the shooting only a few Jews remained in the Jewish part of Miropol. 750 Jews had lived there previously....

During its stay in Miropol the battalion received the order to shoot the Jews of this place. At a meeting of the battalion Hannibal declared that he would not carry this order. The commander demanded the execution of this order. Afterwards the Jews of Miropol, except the artisans, were shot to death.