Mazyr Ghetto

Mazyr Ghetto (also spelled Mozyr or Mozyr') was a Jewish ghetto that existed from autumn 1941 to February 1942 as a place of forced resettlement of the Jews of the city of Mazyr and nearby settlements during the persecution and extermination of Jews under the occupation of Belarus by the forces of Nazi Germany during World War II.

According to the 1939 census, 6,307 Jews lived in Mazyr, constituting 36.09% of the city's total population.^[1]

During the two months from the start of the war until the day of occupation, only part of Mazyr's Jewish population managed to leave the city. Many Jews failed to evacuate, mainly people with large families, the sick, the elderly, and women; some Jewish men were conscripted into the Red Army.^[2]

Mazyr was under German occupation from 22 August 1941 to 14 January 1944.^[3] German soldiers who entered the city broke into Jewish homes, looted them, and killed their inhabitants; the bodies of executed Jews lay in the streets.^[4]

In order to identify and isolate Jews, the occupation authorities first conducted registration of Mazyr’s Jewish population, recording all persons who had Jews in their lineage up to the third generation inclusive. Jews who had converted to Christianity before the war were registered on an equal basis with others. After obtaining complete information on the Jewish population, the occupiers demanded the immediate surrender of money and valuables.

Jews were ordered to wear identifying marks on their clothing.

The Nazis sought not only to implement a program of extermination but also to humiliate their victims. In Mazyr, elderly Jews were rounded up and forced to perform meaningless labor. This continued until people collapsed from exhaustion. The exhausted elderly were then killed, and removal of the bodies was forbidden for three days. In another case, a German soldier forced two Jews to clean motorcycles and then ordered them to dance continuously for an hour.

The occupation authorities established an administrative body in Mazyr ostensibly to manage the Jewish population — the Judenrat. In reality, the Jewish council was created to carry out the orders of the occupiers and to serve as an intermediary between the Nazis and the Jews, further isolating Jews from the rest of the population.

According to the list dated 17 December 1941, the Judenrat of Mazyr included: Leizer Getselovich Gofshtey (b. 1863), Natan Abramovich Lelchuk (b. 1908), Eisha Izrailevich Koifman (b. 1891), Iosif Yankelevich Berdichevsky (b. 1890), Yankel Nisanovich Katsman (b. 1876), Itsko Nokhimovich Narovlyansky (b. 1902), Iosif Leibovich Radomyselsky (b. 1876), Khatskel Ioselevich Shekhtman (b. 1876), Abram-Nisel Girshovich Gerfer (b. 1869), Abram Movshevich Mindlin (b. 1897), Boris Abramovich Belkin (b. 1875), Meer Elevich Ravikovich (b. 1894).

As part of the Nazi Final Solution, ghettos were established in almost all cities and settlements in Belarus where Jews lived. In Mazyr, in autumn 1941, an order was issued for the immediate resettlement of the Jewish population into a ghetto. Within one day, Jews were driven to Romashov Rov Street. Gendarmes, local auxiliary police, and Slovak soldiers actively participated in expelling Jews from their homes.

Jews from the Yelsk, Mazyr, Narovlya, and Yurovichi districts were also brought to the ghetto on Romashov Rov Street. Roma families were likewise rounded up and placed near the ghetto on Saeta Street.

Jews were housed in extreme overcrowding — 15–20 people per house. The Mazyr ghetto was of the “closed” type: it was fenced, guarded, and leaving it was forbidden. Between 1,500 and 2,200 prisoners were held in the ghetto.

The prisoners, who constantly suffered from hunger, were forced into hard physical labor amid abuse and violence. Basic hygiene, medical care, and medicines were entirely absent.

Another ghetto existed in Mazyr on Kimborovskaya Street. Little is known about it; it likely existed briefly as a collection point before executions. Its inhabitants were presumably murdered in September 1941.

The first major “action” was carried out on 27–28 September 1941 by a punitive detachment led by city commandant Gebietskommissar Halle. Jews were murdered in the streets; most victims were driven in groups of 30–40 to the cemetery, forced to dig graves, and shot. Some committed suicide by hanging, poisoning themselves, or drowning in the Pripyat River. About 1,000 people were shot at the Jewish cemetery over two days.

During the next “action,” about 700 Jews were drowned in the Pripyat River. In August 1941 a group of Jews was driven into the river and drowned; in autumn 1941, 250 elderly people, women, and children were drowned. In December, holes were cut in the ice, and Jews were forced to jump in.

The third “action” took place on 6–7 January 1942. Near the village of Bobry (now part of Mazyr), more than 1,000 Jews were murdered in a quarry. Prisoners were first taken to prison and the next day escorted in groups of 100–150 to the execution site. Women and children were pushed into the pit alive.

In February 1942, during the fourth “action,” the Mazyr ghetto was completely destroyed. The last prisoners were driven to a freshly dug ravine at Romashov Rov. About 1,150 people were murdered in the final massacre.

Active participation in the extermination was taken by the head of the city gendarmerie, Tietze, and the head of the SD, Rosenberg.

The total number of Jewish victims in Mazyr is estimated at approximately 3,850–4,000.

On 31 August 1941, several Jewish families (21 people) gathered in house No. 19 on Pushkin Street, poured kerosene over it, and burned themselves alive. By lot, the task fell to 19-year-old Sosha Gofshteyn, who lit the fire and perished together with the others. They chose death unbroken, recalling the defenders of Masada.

Many Jews who managed to escape the ghetto later fought in Belarusian partisans.