Murder Story of Skirmantovo Jews in a Shed in Skirmantovo

…When a group of 30 Jewish escapees from the Minsk Ghetto reached the village of Skirmantovo, they were suddenly rounded up by SS soldiers. The Jews, together with 163 local residents, were herded into a shed and burned alive. The village itself (38 houses) was burned down, as well. Thus, on August 29, 1943, 162 (out of 170) peaceful inhabitants of the village of Skirmantovo perished, together with 30 Jews.

In his article "An Encounter in Minsk", Leizer Katsovich recorded testimonies about the fate of Jews from the Minsk Ghetto, as part of the information-gathering campaign carried out by the JAC in 1944-1946 for the "The Black Book": 50. An Encounter in Minsk .... As was mentioned above, the Germans would murder those who sheltered Jews with particular brutality. Thus, the whole village of Skirmuntovo [sic] of the Koydanov [sic] County, where the Germans had found 10 Jews, was liquidated. This village had served as a transit point on the way to the partisans. The locals hid the Jews in large sheds. Every night, dozens of Jews from the [Minsk] Ghetto would arrive. The Germans learned about this and rounded up the village. The 10 Jews discovered by the Germans in the shed were killed on the spot. Then, all the local residents – more than 280 people – were herded into the shed, which was set on fire from all sides.