Murder story of Artemovsk Jews in the Alabaster Mines near Artemovsk

On January 7, 1942, the German authorities issued an order requiring all of the town's Jews to assemble at the former NKVD building, which was located in the area of the municipal garden. The Jews were ordered to bring up to 10 kg of luggage per person, as well as enough food for eight days. On January 9, 1942, when the Jews came to the municipal garden, they were ordered to enter the building on the pretext of registration. Instead, they were locked in the basement and held there for several days with no water. On January 11, 1942, the Jews were taken in trucks to the alabaster mines of the Artemovsk alabaster processing plant. They were forced to enter a disused adit of one of the mines, and the entrance was sealed with a brick wall. The victims suffocated to death inside the mine. Soviet documents estimate the number of victims at about 3,000, while German reports give the lower figure of approximately 1,200 victims among the Jews of Artemovsk.