Kosów,⁸³² etc., were all killed. News about these massacres reached Słonim, but
people thought that such action could not occur in a Jewish centre as large as
Słonim. In the evening of 14 October the Jews who maintained contacts with
Germans already had been informed about the forthcoming pogrom. They
had learned about the arrival of a “penal expedition”, about the mobilisation
of the Gestapo, military men and gendarmes, about the appointment of
60 Polish militia men, and about the invitation of Polish workers from Todt⁸³³
to arrive especially for that entertainment.
The next day, 15 October,⁸³⁴ was frosty (minus 15 degrees C) and sunny.
As early as at 6 a.m. the first groups of the “pogromers [destroyers]” appeared
in town. They consisted of two Germans or Lithuanians assisted by Polish
militia men or men from Todt. They began their activities in the centre of
the ghetto, gradually moving to its limits. Each group of “catchers” walked
from flat to flat, removing all Jews and handing them over to the militia
men, who escorted them to the gathering points. Throughout the roundup
the ghetto was surrounded by armed Gestapo functionaries, who shot at
everybody who tried to leave. They also shot incessantly to incite fear. The
roundup lasted until 6 p.m. Lorries departed continuously from the gathering
points, taking the Jews in the direction of the fortification ditches. The execution,
of which the Gestapo functionaries had taken full control, began at the
pits, which were 10 metres wide and 6 metres deep. The Jews were plainly told
what awaited them. A huge bonfire was then lit and everybody was ordered
to undress. Shabby items of clothing were thrown into the fire, while the better
ones were put aside. The Jews had to stand stark naked throughout the
selection even though it was minus 15 degrees. The execution was conducted
in two ways: 1) a few dozen people were arranged in a row by the edge of the
pit, and everybody was shot individually and the dead fell into the pit, or
2) the entire pit was filled with people who were told to lie down on top of
one another. The Gestapo functionaries then threw grenades onto that heap
832 Lachowicze, Mir (Baranowicze County, now in Belarus), Żyrowice, Kosów Poleski (Słonim
County).
833 (Ger.) Organisation Todt – German paramilitary organisation established in 1938 to protect
military objects. It employed both Polish and Jewish workers.
834 The execution of the Jews of Słonim was conducted on 15 November 1941. See Encyclopedia
of Camps and Ghettos, pp. 1273–1277.
