Murder story of Dereczyn Jews in the Rodziszki Forest

At Purim, a couple hundred men were taken from Dereczin [sic!] to Slonim for work.… It was bitter cold, and the young Jews were clothed in tattered garments and footwear.… Some of them, after a while, managed to turn back to Dereczin without permission. The Germans found out about this, and, on a specific day in the end of April, they arrested these young people and their families. Whoever was found in their homes was taken off to the police. Without any charges, they were held the entire night and beaten with the intent to kill. On April 30 [1942], they took everyone, about 200 souls, and led them to the large pit near the village of Radziak [sic!]. A few understood what was going to happen and began to run away across the fields. The others, forced by beatings, were thrown into the pit, and then they [the Nazis] opened fire on them with machine guns, and threw hand grenades on them. Dirt was thrown into the pit, but it barely covered the dead and those who were still alive and lay dying.