Tsyelyakhany Ghetto

Tsyelyakhany Ghetto
Location	Ivatsevichy District
Date	July 1941 — August 1941

Tsyelyakhany Ghetto or Telekhany Ghetto (July 1941 — August 1941) was a Jewish ghetto established in July 1941 during the Nazi occupation of Belarus in World War II. It was located in Tsyelyakhany in the Ivatsevichy district of the Brest region. The ghetto served as a place of forced relocation for Jews from Tsyelyakhany and nearby settlements during the Holocaust.

Occupation of Telekhany and the creation of the ghetto

Before World War II, Jews constituted nearly half of Telekhany's population, including Jewish refugees from Poland. German forces captured Telekhany on June 27, 1941, and the occupation lasted until July 10, 1944. In the days leading up to the German arrival, local marauders looted Jewish homes and businesses, resulting in widespread anarchy.

Upon capturing Telekhany, the Germans immediately executed three Jews who attempted to escape. The German commandant's first order mandated that Jews wear a yellow six-pointed star and adhere to demeaning regulations, such as stepping off sidewalks and bowing to Germans. Failure to comply was punishable by death.

The Nazis established a local police force composed mainly of criminal elements, who were notorious for their brutality. Jews were subjected to forced labor and constant humiliation. The Germans also created a Judenrat (Jewish Council) to enforce their orders and demands, appointing Avraham Levin and Moshe Kaplan as its leaders.

From the memoirs of Bogdan Melnik: "Jews walked in fear, with their heads down. They were beaten for no reason. They only responded with groans, hiding their heads from the blows. Only a small group, in which Esterka walked, stood out. She walked with dignity, her head held high. Her slender posture even restrained the accompanying degenerates: no one dared to touch her. Suddenly, an SS officer rode up to this group on a horse. The Jews and the guards stopped dead in their tracks. Only Esterka did not change her pose, on the contrary — she raised her head even higher, looking the fascist in the eyes. The German, unable to withstand her gaze, began to fidget in the saddle, and exclaimed: "Mein Gott, und sie auch!" — "My God, her too!". The SS officer galloped into the group of Jews, they recoiled with a scream, along with the Black Hundreds. But Esterka did not even flinch. The fascist drew his pistol and, aiming point-blank at the girl's forehead, fired. Esterka's head jerked, blood covered her face, and she fell into the road dust. The German whipped his horse and rushed off, madly repeating: "Mein Gott! Mein Gott!" — "My God! My God!"

Destruction of the ghetto

On August 5, 1941, an SS cavalry unit led by SS Obersturmführer Gustav Lombard arrived in Telekhany. Lombard issued an impossible demand for each Jewish household to deliver 100 kilograms of oats and $1,000 by the end of the day. When this demand could not be met, the Germans and local police looted Jewish homes.

On August 7, 1941, SS troops and police forcibly gathered the Jews into barracks, beating and mocking them. The younger and stronger Jews were made to dig trenches, which would serve as mass graves. The Jews were then marched to the Grechishche tract, where they were systematically executed. The victims were forced into the trenches and shot, with children being shot at the edge and pushed into the pits.

Cases of rescue

A few individuals managed to survive the massacre. Israel Chizh pretended to be dead and later escaped from the mass grave. Teacher Rachel Shrupskaya and Itzhak Krechmer also survived and joined partisan resistance groups.

Memory

Approximately 2,000 Jews were killed in Telekhany. For many years, the site of the massacre was neglected, and looters desecrated the graves in search of valuables. Gustav Lombard, who led the SS unit responsible for the killings, was captured by the Soviets but served only ten years in prison. He later lived in West Germany without facing further punishment for his crimes.

Incomplete lists of the murdered Jews of Telekhany and nearby villages have been published. Two monuments have been erected in Telekhany to commemorate the victims of the Jewish genocide. On June 17, 2021, a new monument was unveiled at the site of the murder of 500 Jews, replacing an older memorial.

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