According to the testimony of one survivor, during the liquidation of the Vitebsk Ghetto Jews were taken to be shot at the Dukhovskiy Ravine, which lies under the hill of the Church of the Holy Spirit in the southern section of the city, on the east bank of the Western Dvina River (nowadays, it is a summer amphitheater at the intersection of Lenin Street and Frunze Avenue).

Related Resources

Written Testimonies

From the testimony of Sofya Sarak, who was born in 1904 and lived in Vitebsk during the war:

…For three days, they took [the Jews] away to be shot at Dukhovskiy Ravine. Some tried to hide in the sewers, but were tracked down with dogs. One woman managed to save herself and her daughter. Afterward, when they [the Germans] were retreating, they doused this ravine with petrol and burned everything….

YVA O.3 / 4720

Dukhovskiy Ravine

ravine

Murder Site

Belorussia (USSR)

55.193;30.194

Photos

The Dukhovskiy Ravine, a murder site of the Jews of Vitebsk. Photographer: Alexander Litin, 2018.

YVA, Photo Collection, 14614592