Murder Story of Divnoye Jews at the Put Kommunizma Collective Farm

...After the occupation of the Stavropol Krai, the German-Fascist occupiers carried out savage and bloody reprisals against the peaceful Soviet citizens in the village of Divnoye and other villages of the Apanasenkovsky County. The mass killing was prepared, orchestrated, organized, and carried out by the Gestapo, with the assistance of the police forces. In the village of Divnoye alone, 360 people were tortured and shot dead. 660 people were killed in the county as a whole. All these individuals, including a significant number of children, were doomed to a brutal death. They were forced to dig huge graves for themselves, and the fascist villains would unceremoniously ditch into them not only the bodies of those whom they had shot, but also people who were still alive – thus, after the pit had been filled with sand, the fresh layer of soil over it could be seen moving, and the moans of the people who had been buried alive could still be heard. Over ten days, on September 15-25, 1942, the fascist butchers forced the victims to dig their own graves. On September 20, the mass shooting began. The vast majority of the civilians were shot in the first days. They were brought to the site in 16 trucks. The victims were killed in several stages. As soon as one group of tormented civilians was thrown into the pit, a thin layer of soil would be sprinkled over them, and the next batch of victims would be lined up.... This went on until the pit was filled with blood and bodies. The Commission has determined that some of the victims were naked and barefoot....