Murder Story of Grodno Jews at the 2nd Fort in Grodno

My farmstead lies 3/4 of a kilometer from the forts … the closest is Fort No. 2. On the first days when the Germans arrived they shot seven Red Army men, who [whose bodies] are lying in the same grave. Later they brought to the fort women, old people, and young men (there were also children), in vehicles to a ravine near the fort.… [In January 1943] I participated in the clearing of the road, there was a heavy frost. They brought the innocent civilians in three big trucks, and there were also two cars that followed. These people were unloaded and, right after this, sub-machine-guns firing began; then there were single shots. Heart-rending screams were heard, especially those of women. On that day one of those men who had been taken to the shooting site escaped. He did not have a hat, wore a light jacket, and was barefoot. [I know that] he was wounded because [I saw that] he left behind him a trail of blood. He was perhaps 35 years old. He was pursued but he escaped. I heard that he later died since he was both suffering from frostbite and was wounded. I do not know who he was.… A German who had chased him reprimanded me for not having stopped this escapee when he had run close by me.… After the shooting of this group, I proceeded to the fort with some other people and I saw a large heap of dead people. We looked at three or four of them: they were Jews. Beside them, their clothing was piled up, but most of the people had been killed wearing their clothes. They were shot in the head. This sight was so terrible that I sobered up completely in one moment; I had been somewhat drunk at the time….