Murder Story of Minsk Jews at the Kolodishchi Military Barracks

September 15, 1967 From the indictment of the former head of the Chemical and Biological Department at a criminal technological institute, Albert Widmann: In September 1941, [Arthur] Nebe – who, since the start of the Russian campaign, had served in the east as commander of Einsatzgruppe B in the rear of Army Group Center – ordered the defendant to come to Minsk with 250 kg of explosives and gas hoses.… On Saturday evening, after a two days' journey, the defendant arrived in Minsk with his men. There, on the same evening, Nebe informed him that the euthanasia [program] would be extended to occupied Russia, but that he could not expect his soldiers to shoot incurable mental patients. Himmler had instructed him to find another killing method for the mentally ill.… The next day, Nebe took the defendant to a mental hospital in Minsk, where they inspected the various wards, accompanied by two or three Russian male and female physicians. Then, Nebe informed the defendant that the physicians had already selected suitable patients. In late afternoon of the same day, the defendant, together with S. and the two drivers N. and Baur, drove in two cars, which had been brought from Berlin, to a location about 15 km east of Minsk, along the road branching off from the railway. After a few hundred meters, they arrived at a forest clearing where there were two wooden dugouts sized about 3x6 meters, situated approximately 20-30 meters apart. Nebe was either already there, or else he arrived shortly thereafter, with several vehicles carrying several people, including police officer W. J. from Einsatzkommando 8, who had been assigned to this operation and brought there by two SD members, and four or five Jewish prisoners. Afterward, the men unloaded about 10 boxes, each containing 25 kg of explosives, with detonators attached to them and connected to the charges. Under the defendant's supervision, S., N., and the prisoners distributed the explosives between the two bunkers, attaching the detonators and connecting them to the charges. Then, S. placed an electric charger about 200 m from the bunkers, putting it in a depression hidden from the dugout by an embankment. The defendant, Dr. Widmann, followed him shortly afterwards and took position nearby, remaining within sight of S., so as to be able to convey to him the prearranged signal for the charge to be activated, which was to be given by Nebe. In the meantime, at least 24 mentally ill persons were brought to the site in two groups, with at least 12 in each group. They were accompanied by one or two nurses, and were transported in a grey van that resembled an ambulance. When they [the mentally ill people] had been taken from the truck, they were accompanied by the nurses up to a certain point, from which they were taken by the SS men, who led them to the bunkers, which had been rigged with explosives, and forced them inside. When the reinforced doors [of the bunkers] were closed, Nebe ordered all those present to withdraw. Then, he signaled to the defendant, Dr. Widmann, to activate the charges, and the latter passed the signal on to S. When S. – who, apparently, had not been aware of the plans of Nebe and the defendant – heard the noise of the engines and the sound of voices in the gathering darkness, he had a bad premonition. Therefore, he decided to press the charge lever, which activated the electrical dynamo, very slowly, so as not to produce sufficient power to trigger the charge. When the defendant noticed that the charge had not been activated at his signal, he ran forward, checked the resistance of the charger, and, having determined that everything was in order, quickly pressed the charger lever, triggering an explosion inside the bunker, which was accompanied by a relatively muted sound of detonation. Then, he went to inspect the bunkers, after having met up with Nebe and the others. Here, they found out that not all of the mentally ill who had been placed in the dugout were dead. Rather, they heard moans coming from inside the bunker, and five or six mental patients, who were covered with blood, ran or crawled out of the structure, crying or whimpering, and pressing their hands to their faces. They were then returned to the bunker, and an additional 100 kg of explosives were quickly placed on the structure's roof and detonated via a fuse. Immediately, a deathly silence descended on the utterly destroyed bunker. Body parts lay strewn around or hung from the surrounding trees. Then, Nebe, the defendant, and the other participants drove back to Minsk, giving no further thought to what they had just done….