Murder Story of Kharkov Jews in Drobitskiy Yar

…At 7 AM on January 2, 1942, in the corridor of the barracks where I was staying, a German sentry shouted out an order for everyone to gather their possessions and be outside in ten minutes' time. After piling my things in a bag and stuffing a few pieces of bread into my pocket, I went outside, where some 100-200 people from several barracks had gathered. Next, we were ordered to leave all our bags and belongings on the ground. The German sentries and policemen then formed a tight ring around us and announced that we were being evacuated to Poltava. We marched out onto the Chuguyev-Kharkov highway, but were then directed away from the city, even though the road to Poltava ran through the town. It became obvious that they were not taking us to Poltava, yet our exact destination remained a mystery. Along the way, we saw many Germans who had emerged out of their homes to see us off with laughter and malicious grins. Two kilometers past the last houses of the tractor factory workers’ quarters, they turned us in the direction of a ravine. The whole ravine was strewn with bits of rags and the remains of torn clothing. It became clear why they had brought us there. The ravine was sealed off with a double cordon of sentries. On the lip of the ravine, there stood a truck with machine guns. Terrible scenes erupted when the people realized that they had been brought there to be slaughtered. Dreadful cries filled the air. Some mothers strangled their own children, so as not to hand them over to the executioners. Some went insane. There were cases of people poisoning themselves. Many bid each other farewell, embracing, kissing, exchanging the last supplies they had. Others took their valuables out of their pockets, broke them, trampled them into the snow. They tore up their paper money, slashed their outer garments, and did everything to prevent their possessions from falling into the hands of their killers. Out of the column of standing people, the Germans began to use clubs to drive groups of 50-70 people about a hundred paces forward, and then they forced them to strip to their underwear. The temperature was -20° or -25°. The undressed individuals were driven down to the bottom of the ravine, from where we heard occasional shots and the chattering of machine guns. I was dazed, and failed to notice the screaming behind me. The Germans began to prod the group that I was part of, urging us forward. I moved off, prepared to die in a few minutes' time. But just then, something happened: The Germans brought up the aged and the handicapped to be executed. The belongings of those who had been killed had been loaded onto these trucks, which were now being taken back to the city. I moved along behind one of these vehicles. There were two young Jews in the truck; the Germans had assigned them to do the loading. In a flash, I jumped into the truck and asked the youngsters to cover me. Then they hid themselves, as well. When the truck was full, the German drivers took off with it, and in this way the two boys and I got away from that awful ravine. An hour later, we arrived at the Gestapo post, where we were discovered while the truck was being unloaded.… After the unloading, they locked us in the truck again and took us back to the ravine. On the way there, we managed to remove the window frame without making any noise. I was the first one to jump out of the vehicle. The fall turned out to be a lucky one. I received some serious bruises, but my bones remained intact. I was knocked unconscious by the fall, but someone must have dragged me off the road and revived me. I went to look for my wife (who was not Jewish, and had stayed behind in the city with our adopted daughter), who then hid me with a friend of hers….

…One clear day, during the third week of our stay in the barracks, a policeman [member of the Jewish ghetto police] ran into the barracks and said: “Comrades, who will volunteer to go to work in Poltava, Lubny, and Romny?”… Some 800 people registered as volunteers. I came into the courtyard to see them off. They were loaded onto a vehicle, having been told to load their possessions onto another vehicle. They were not permitted to take anything with them. These poor victims realized where they were being taken after getting onto the vehicle, but by that point it was already too late. The vehicle with the belongings was left behind, while the vehicle with the people departed. Soon, we heard the sounds of gunfire. Still, none of those left behind believed that such a terrible fate lay in store for everyone. On the second day, a “Black Maria” simply drove in, and the women began to be grabbed unceremoniously and torn away from their children/husbands. These women were then taken away, either on foot or in the “Black Maria.” They were not allowed to bring anything with them, and everyone understood that they were being taken away to be shot. The vehicle was crammed with people, who had no room to stand, and were forced to lie atop one another. The crying of the children, who had been torn away from their mothers, was maddening. This went on for several days….

…In January, the German command ordered all the camp [ghetto] inmates to be rounded up and sent to work. The elderly and sick had to be transported by vehicle, while the healthy ones were dispatched on foot. The children and youths were assigned to separate groups. No knew where they were being taken. There was a stir in the barracks. Treading upon dead bodies, the people dragged their remaining possessions into the courtyard and deposited them at the designated spot. The hour of departure was approaching, yet no vehicle arrived. A new group of armed soldiers showed up, bringing mortars and machine guns. The sight filled the inmates with foreboding. Finally, the people were ordered to get outside. In one of the barracks, there was a child of about nine years. He could not get up, since his arms and legs were paralyzed. His mother, who was reeling with hunger, turned in desperation to an officer: - Leave him here. You can see for yourself. The woman began to cry. The officer then drew his revolver and shot the son before his mother’s eyes. Then, the massacre of the people began. All the adult inmates were shot with machine guns; the youths were annihilated with mortar fire. The little children were thrown into a deep pit and buried alive. In this way, the German command brutally annihilated 15,000 Jewish residents of Kharkov and the surrounding villages….

…This camp [ghetto] was located behind the Machine Tool Plant. Barracks had been built there; they were of such length, and their roofs looked like this. Through an acquaintance, we found our grandfather. He approached, and I asked: “Where is grandmother Manya?”. He said: “Grandmother is lying over there on the wooden bunk, covered up. She cannot get up.” “Where are the aunts?” - “They have registered”.… There, in the camp, the Germans immediately asked: Who wants [to register] for work, for resettlement? And they registered for the resettlement, despite the protests of grandfather, who declared: “I will not go anywhere.” They decided to go first, and grandfather would join them afterward. As we learned later, the goal of this "resettlement" was to take them several kilometers away and shoot them at Drobitskiy Yar….