Murder Story of Yanovichi Jews in Akryutki

From mid-July – i.e. as soon as they entered the town – the Fascists began to take everybody away to do forced labor. Once, in late July, they singled out 30-40 Jewish men from among the mass of workers. [People] said that they had been taken to Kolyshki to perform some other task. An hour later, we heard the sounds of gunfire, but nobody paid it any mind. Every day, there would be shooting. Only later did we learn that those people had been shot in the vicinity of the town of Okhryutki [sic], one kilometer from Yanovichi.… After the first shooting, the Germans began to round up Jewish men and teenagers on an almost daily basis. All of them would be taken to the place where the first shooting had been carried out, in the direction of Okhryutki. Once, I myself was caught in such a round-up. I was on my way back from the vegetable garden carrying potatoes. I saw a German arranging a group of teenagers of my own age, 13-14, in a row in the middle of the street. He positioned five or six of them and went for the next batch. He then separated the Russians from the Jews. The Jewish teenagers were taken away to be shot, while the Russians were allowed to go home. Of course, many youths claimed to be Russian, and – provided that nobody gave them away – they would be safe for the time being.… Once, I was digging in the remains of our house, hoping to find some of our utensils. A group of about 20 elderly Jews, who had been arrested, passed me by. They were being led in the direction of the town of Okhryutki. Nobody saw these people in our town ever again.