Upon Beckmann's orders, some 50-100 Jews who had been caught hiding (after the killing of the first group of Jewish fugitives near the village of Kolonia) were taken to the Gendarmerie building. From there, some of them were led in groups to the Jewish cemetery of Stepań, where they were shot dead. According to the ChGK testimony, the shooters were Ukrainian auxiliary policemen.
Related Resources
ChGK Soviet Reports
Alexander Khait, who was born in 1928 in Stepań and lived there during the war years, testifies:
…Afterward [i.e., after the killing of the "hidden" Jews near the village of Kolonia], raids were organized to find the remaining [hidden] Jews. Upon Beckmann's orders and with his direct involvement, the policemen shot… some 100 Jews throughout this period. All [sic for some] of them were either shot on the spot or taken to the Gendarmerie building, from which they were led to the [Jewish] cemetery and shot dead upon the orders of Beckmann and Franz.…
…Some [Jews who had managed to escape from the ghetto or from the convoys to the villages of Korczewie and Kolonia] were shot by [Ukrainian] policemen at the Jewish cemetery of the town of Stepań, upon the orders of the abovementioned individuals [i.e., Beckmann, Franz, Enchke, and Gempel].…
…Afterward [i.e., after the massacre of Jews near the village of Kolonia], raids were organized to locate the Jews who were still hiding. Over this period, upon the orders of Beckmann and with his direct participation…, a total of about 100 Jews were shot dead, one by one. All of them were either shot on the spot [at the hiding place] or taken to the Gendarmerie building, from which they were led to the [Jewish] cemetery and shot dead upon the orders of Beckmann and Franz.…
Prokhor Mishanin, who was born in 1889 and lived in Stepań during the war years, testifies:
…[After the shooting of Jews near the village of Kolonia]…, Gendarmerie chief Beckmann, his deputy Franz, Gempel, and some other [Ukrainian] policemen organized large raids [in search of Jews] throughout the town of Stepań. Any Jewish residents caught [hiding] would be locked up in the Gendarmerie building, and in most cases [these Jews] would be taken to the [Jewish] cemetery and shot dead there.…