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Ghetto in Kalinkavičy

Kalinkavičy is the center of the eponymous district of the Gomel region of Belarus. The settlement has been mentioned in sources since the 16th century. Since the 17th century, it has been known about the presence of a Jewish population in the city. By 1897, Jews accounted for 100%, 1.3 thousand of the population of Kalinkavičy. By 1939, 3.3 thousand Jews lived in the city, who made up 34.6% of the population.

According to the calculations of historians, with the beginning of the war, more than 70% of the Jewish population of Kalinkavičy were drafted into the Red Army or evacuated. The Nazis occupied the settlement in August 1941. It became part of the Zhytomyr district, which was part of the Reichskommissariat Ukraine.

Single shootings followed only in September. Prior to that, Jews were allowed to stay in their own homes and go out into the streets with insignia.

As in other settlements, the occupiers tried to register the Jewish population. The order of the district commissar Mozyr has preserved, explaining that in Kalinkavičy everyone should be considered a Jew who has at least one Jewish parent.

Three weeks after the occupation, the Nazis began to relocate the Jewish population to a separate neighborhood. The burgomaster of Kalinkavičy received the order on its creation from the Gebiitskommissar of the Polesia District. The Jews were moved to Dachnaya Street. In length, it was no more than 400 m. According to local historians, up to 40 people lived in each of the houses. A barrier separated from the rest of the ghetto. Jews were allowed to leave the ghetto, exchange things for food at the local bazaar.

As the researchers note, ghettos did not exist on the territory of Belarus for a long time. They served as a collection point for Jews before the execution. The ghetto in Kalinkavičy lasted no more than a week. Already on September 21, 1941, under the pretext of resettlement, Jews from Dachnaya Street were moved to the area of ​​the railway station. The next day, the Nazis transported the prisoners by trucks to the area of ​​the Dudichi railway crossing. It is located 1.5 km from Kalinkavičy. An aktion of destruction took place here.

As the Extraordinary State Commission established after the war, the victims were brought to a pit 150 m long, 1.5 m deep and 2.5 m wide and placed on the edge. Some of the Jews were killed by blows to the head with heavy objects. Some were buried in the pit being still alive.

In total, more than 800 people were killed in the Dudichi area. In the post-war years, a memorial sign appeared at the place of execution.