In the Gomel region, Jews were the second largest group of people after Belarusians. According to 1939, about 40.8 thousand Jews lived in Gomel, which made up 29.9% of the townspeople. By the beginning of the occupation in August 1941, the number of Jews in Gomel had increased to 44 thousand due to refugees from the territories occupied by the Nazis.

At the time of the capture of the city by German troops, 80 thousand inhabitants were able to leave it, among whom there were many Jews. In August 1941, the Nazis captured Gomel. It left no more than 4 thousand Jews.

The occupation authorities began by registering the Jewish population, introducing restrictions and distinctive signs, as well as prohibitions on contacts with the non-Jewish population.

In September 1941, the Nazis set about organizing a ghetto. In the Gomel region, the ghettos did not play an economic role. The Nazis saw them as a place to isolate and gather Jews before extermination. Therefore, the prisoners did not receive food and medical care. The Gomel ghetto was the largest in the region. Jews from neighboring settlements got here.

In Gomel, the invaders created four ghettos on a territorial basis. The main ghetto was in the Monastyrek district. There were about 800 people. There was a ghetto on Novo-Lyubenskaya Street, which contained about 500 people. Jews from Loev also got here. A small ghetto was in the Novo-Belitsa area. In September 1941, the Nazis transferred 200 of its prisoners to the Monastyrek Ghetto, leaving specialists. Another ghetto was located along Bykhovskaya Street.

All the ghettos were closed. It is known about the practice of German soldiers and local police officers to enter the ghetto in order to select things from prisoners. The prisoners were used for free street cleaning and fuel preparation.

Nazis carried out executions of Jews immediately after the occupation of the city. In August 1941, 10 people were shot on charges of organizing a sabotage. A month later, more than 50 people were shot for trying to hide Jewish nationality and impersonate the Russians.

The invaders began the liquidation of the ghetto in November 1941. Ghetto prisoners were shot in several places: on the territory of the Gomel MTS, on the 9th kilometer of the Gomel-Chernigov highway, in the forest between the villages of Leshchinets and Davydovka, and near the village of Kabanovka. According to official data from Soviet sources, only in the area of ​​the Gomel MTS were found 6 thousand corpses of Jews.

In December 1943, the Nazis carried out aktions to hide the traces of crimes.

According to historians, at least 10 thousand Jews died in Gomel.