During the investigation of the criminal case on the genocide of the population of Belarus during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, the Beshenkovichi District Prosecutor's Office, based on a received appeal, studied the circumstances of the extermination of civilians in the village of Ostrovno

During the investigation of the criminal case on the genocide of the population of Belarus during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, the district prosecutor's office, based on a received appeal, studied the circumstances of the extermination of civilians in the village of Ostrovno, in particular, the necessary investigative actions were carried out: the applicant was interrogated as a witness, a "draft letter" (the applicant's mother's materials) was seized and examined, a request was sent to the State Educational Institution "Beshenkovichi District Historical and Local Lore Museum" (to establish the availability of archival documents and other information), and computer information was examined based on the received response.

The circumstances established by the district prosecutor's office indicate that terror against local residents began almost from the very first days of the village's occupation.

Thus, orders were posted on the walls of houses and on poles, stating that the Jews of Ostrovno village were obliged to leave their homes and move to the ghetto. Several houses in the specified settlement were allocated for it. However, the allocated houses were not designed for such a number of people. Guards from among the policemen were placed near these houses. As subsequent events show, the Jews were deceived; they were told that they were being gathered together to be relocated somewhere, to be sent to work.

In September 1941 (presumably on the eve of the Jewish New Year - Rosh Hashanah), terrible events occurred: all the Jews from the ghetto were gathered near a shop, cars were driven up, their sides were opened, and they were forced into the back. In the area of the Jewish cemetery of Ostrovno village, they were dealt with - shot. Local residents heard women's and children's screams. After the execution, "the earth moved" at the place of extermination.

Not all local residents were indifferent to the extermination of their fellow villagers; they provided them with assistance (hid them), in particular, the witness's relative, Matryona Ivanovna Semashko, helped save a Jewish girl.

Today, a monument stands at the site of the extermination of civilians, and the site itself is recognized as a burial place for war victims, assigned No. 5763.

The investigation of the criminal case continues.

In the photo: the witness's relative, Matryona Ivanovna Semashko, provided from the family archive.

Assistant Prosecutor

Beshenkovichi District

Lawyer 2nd class S.A. Kiryanov