Murder story of Krolevets Jews in the Gayevoye Provalye Ravine

After the occupation of Krolevets, the Germans and their local collaborators ordered the Jews to perform hard and dirty labor. Even as they were doing these jobs, the Jews were beaten and tortured, and occasionally even murdered, in the streets of the town. On November 3, the Jews were required to wear a white armband on their left arm, and the SS ordered them to assemble for a registration at the local police station on November 26, 1941. They also had to bring their valuables along with them. On the designated day, seventy-three Jews – including whole families, elderly people, and children – showed up at the police station. They were robbed of their possessions by the Germans and the local Ukrainian auxiliary policemen. At 9 AM, the Ukrainian policemen took the Jews away. They led them to the Gayevoye Provalye ravine on the outskirts of the town. There, they forced the Jews to strip naked. The Jews had to remain in this condition for thirty minutes, and were then shot dead by SS men. The shooters used machine guns to kill the adults and the elderly. The children were either thrown into the pit alive, or killed with bayonets before being thrown into the ravine. Afterward, all the Jews' clothes and possessions were looted by the SS and the local policemen.