Murder Story of Yanovichi Jews at the Kuryaki Farm

In mid-August, the Germans rounded up 150-200 Jews. They raided the homes, including our own. Having ascertained that there were no Jews there, they moved on. Then, all of them [the Jews] were assembled in the square. Many of them were handed shovels, and they were led in the direction of the Kuryaki village [sic]. People said that they were being taken there to work. My friend and I decided to see for ourselves where the Jews had been taken to. We walked toward Kuryaki. It was by the side of the road, behind the creek. The site was hard to spot. Furthermore, the grave had been flattened in an attempt to conceal the massacre. They [the Germans] had also spread rumors in the town, claiming that the men were at work and would come back soon. And many people believed them – or, at least, wanted to have some hope.

When the Jews still lived in their homes, the young and strong [Jewish] men were forced to work – in road construction. Out of them, 100-120 people were selected and taken away to work with their shovels. The work lasted for about ten days, and they were shot afterward. On the day of the shooting, they were taken to the square and forced to sit down on the ground in rows. They were then led away in the direction of Liozno, 2-2.5 kilometers from Yanovichi, and shot on the site of the former hamlet of Kuryaki, which had been abandoned during the Collectivization.