Mass Execution of Jews at Borissow 18 Oct 1941

[David Thompson]

This document is taken from those collected in Document: 3047-PS; Description: File notes on conference in Fuehrer's train on 12 September 1939; report on execution of Jews in Borrisow; and entries from diary of Admiral Canaris. (USA 80) (Referred to but not offered in evidence.). It can be found in Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression vol. V, US Government Printing Office, District of Columbia: 1946, pp. 772-776.

The abbreviation "Komm.", used in the text, means "kommissarische," or "acting" mayor.

[Item 4]

[Report received by General Lahousen in his official capacity as a German intelligence officer.]

Copy

24 October 1941 Report on the execution of Jews in Borrisow.

From Friday 17 October to Monday 20 October I had official business in Borrisow. Upon arrival there on Friday I was informed by the head of the Russian security police there, Ehof, who had been installed in this post some time ago by the SD, that on the night from Sunday to Monday all Jews of Borrisow were to be shot. To my astounded question, that it would be impossible to dispatch 8000 persons into Eternity in the course of a single night in a fairly orderly manner, he replied that it was not the first time that he did this and he would be able to finish the job with his men; he was no longer a layman at this. On this occasion I also learned, that about 1500 Jews were to be spared temporarily, since they were specialists, such as cobblers, tailors, blacksmiths, locksmiths, in other words artisans who were urgently needed for building up the country. The said Ehof at this time presented me with an invitation, signed by him, to the "Celebration of the German Police" which was to take place in a Borrisow restaurant on Sunday 19 October at two o'clock.

I had known Ehof in my Borrisow days. He was at one time made Komm. [Communist?] mayor of Zembin, a town about 25 kilometers from Borrisow, by some army high command. Before the outbreak of the war he was, as a Volga German, employed as a teacher for the German language in the Russian School in Zembin.

Although the shootings of Jews were to be kept secret, they were already known in the Ghetto early on Saturday. I gave my own boots for repair to a Jewish cobbler who lived on the street leading to the airport. There I learned that a delegation was on its way to the mayor, Dr. Stankewitsch, and the Chief of the Russian Security Police, Ehof, in order to obtain a temporary reprieve of these executions so that they might present a petition to the general. However, the cobbler could not tell me which general was meant.

He only told me that the Jews consider it altogether impossible that Adolf Hitler or the general could have given the order to

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shoot these 6500 Jews. I learned further that the mayor, Dr. Stankewitsch, had promised them to speak to the general about it and that he added that he himself could only say that the conduct of the Jews residing in his official district had been exemplary in every respect. By "conduct" he meant the order in the Ghetto, the performing of the work imposed on the Jews, the raising of 300,000 Rubles in taxes imposed on them a few weeks ago, the turning in of gold, silver, etc., which they fulfilled completely.

On Saturday I visited the already mentioned "Celebration of the German Police", not so much in order to drink beer or liquor there, but because I know beforehand to what an unworthy extent this celebration would develop, in other words, to look the affair over.

Of the so-called prominent citizens there were present : a commissioner of the SD—a squire [Ordensjunker] Burg Vogelsang —with his wife, a lieutenant of the GFP, the mayor, Dr. Stankewitsch, the Chief of the Russian Security Police, Ehof.

In addition there were present the assistant chief of the Russian Security Police, Kowalewski, a large number of Security Policemen and their wives, fiancees, or girl friends, a number of German non-corns, and men, and a lot of people.

There was a lot of talk and still more drinking. I started a conversation with the above mentioned Kowalewski -- an old policeman of the time of the Czars. He is a very sympathetic, quiet, and discreet man of 62, and he informed me among other things that this celebration was to be ended by 9 o'clock because a "welikoje deld", a big affair, was scheduled for tomorrow. K asked me to go home with him after the celebration because he had the urge to speak his mind. After reprimanding a few members of our Wehrmacht for disorderly conduct and because no one could expect me to witness these disgusting excesses any longer, I left this place at about 5 o'clock in the afternoon and returned about 8 o'clock in order to pick up K and to accompany him to his home. I spent two hours with K in lively conversation, we exchanged reminiscences of Czarist days, of the time of the White Russian battles against Bolshevism, and then we also talked of present conditions. The point of view of K, who is a great admirer of everything German, especially of Adolf Hitler and the German Wehrmacht, coincided wholly with mine ; a man who really has his heart in it.

After leaving K, I returned to my quarters and talked to my Russian landlord until bedtime. Here I learned among other things that a few days previously "Buessing Hall" had burned down and the next night "Opel Hall'', and in addition another

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hall in which the kitchen, etc., of a German Wehrmacht unit was stationed. Of course we also talked of the impending shooting of Jews, for this was also known to the civilian population. My hosts said verbatim, and this was probably the attitude of all non-Jews living in Borrisow on that evening: "Pustj oni pogibaj bajut : oni mnogo plochogo nam nadelali!" In German : "Let them perish ; they did us a lot of harm !"

This is what happened on the following morning : The shootings were begun at 3 am. First the men were brought out. They were driven to the place of execution in Russian cars, escorted by men of the Russian Security police of Borrisow who were detailed for this purpose. Because there were not enough of these men, however, reinforcements were brought from the neighboring Russian Security Police offices, such as Zembin, etc. They were provided with the well-known red and white armband and armed with rifles or automatic pistols. On the Polotzkaja Uliza road leading to the airport I saw these cars, at considerable intervals, loaded with women and children. These cars were guarded by men of the Russian Security Police. On the roof sat among others a Russian policeman with an automatic pistol in readiness. The women and children of all ages in these' cars cried and whimpered and screamed for help as soon as they saw a German Wehrmacht member. In this manner one car followed the other during the whole day in the direction of the place of execution, which was located in the woods near the former staff headquarters of the army group "Center". Besides, since there were apparently not sufficient cars and the time was drawing short, groups of women and children were constantly being herded. down the already mentioned road, partly with iron rods. On the periphery of the Ghetto, that is on this same street, groups of Jewish women and children, even babies in their mother's arms, were standing ready to be picked up. In the distance the noise of rifles could be heard all day, the women and children cried and screamed, cars raced through the streets and the Ghetto and kept bringing new victims—all before the eyes of the civilian population and the German military personnel that happened to come along.

A blockade may have been intended but could not be carried out because the other side of the street as well as the side streets were inhabited by non-Jews. The eyes of the latter expressed either complete apathy or horror, because the scenes which took place in the streets were ghastly ! The non-Jews may have believed on the evening preceding the executions that the Jews deserved their fate, but on the following morning their sentiment

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was: "Who ordered such a thing? How is it possible to kill off 6500 Jews all at once? Now it is the Jews' turn, when will it be ours? What did these poor Jews do? All they did was work ! The really guilty ones are surely in safely!" The executions continued all day Monday ! Late in the evening the shooting could not only be heard from the woods but also spread to the Ghetto and nearly all the streets of the city since, in order to escape their fate, many Jews had broken out of the Ghetto and tried somehow to- save themselves. On that evening and during that night it was not advisable even for a member of the Wehrmacht to venture on the streets, in order to avoid the danger of being killed or at least wounded by the Russian policemen, due to a generally prevalent nervousness. About 10 o'clock in the evening a fire was raging in the city and mild shooting was going on. A few houses were burning in the Ghetto and in the vicinity of the Ghetto—the cause is not known to me.

It must be added that German soldiers were summoned toward evening to blockade the Ghetto and to prevent the Jews escaping. As I learned from a noncommissioned officer, a few Jews were, said to have been caught and turned over to the Russian Security Police for execution. The shooting continued throughout the night. On Tuesday, about 8 o'clock in the morning, I was again a witness of the same occurrences as on the previous day. By no means all the Jews had been shot. Many escorted Russian cars returned from the woods. Piled high on these cars was the clothing of the victims. Thus everybody could see what was going on. The clothing was brought to city warehouses. At many places in the Ghetto and along the street already described groups of Jews cowered, awaiting their executing.

As I heard, some Jews are said to have committed suicide in the nearby Beresina. The most gruesome scenes are said to have taken place in the Ghetto during this operation. According to report all specialists were shot, at least the majority of them. That may be so, for, escorted by two Russian policemen, I entered the homes of a tailor and a cobbler on the main street ; the barbed wire had been torn down and I found the house abandoned. It is hard to describe the appearance of these homes ! In order to obtain details of the executions, I struck up a conversation with these two Russian Security men, and I was told the following:

A few days earlier Russian prisoners of war had dug in the woods some huge mass graves about 100 meters long, 5 meters wide, and 3-meters deep. According to the reports of these eye-witnesses, the executions were performed as follows:

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The first delinquents, about 20 men, were made to jump into the pits after taking off all but their underwear. They were then shot from above ! Of course these dead and half-dead people were lying pell-mell. The next victims had to line them up so as to gain as much space as possible. Then it continued as above. When the bottom row of the mass grave was full, the Jews had to put a layer of sand over the bodies and had to trample upon both sand and bodies. The most horrible scenes are said to have taken place in these two mass graves ! Shortly before my departure for the front I met two German soldiers, a private first class and a corporal, who, for curiosity's sake, had witnessed these executions from very close by. They fully confirmed the information sought by me. They added that the Russian policemen were given a great deal of liquor, otherwise they would hardly have been able to perform their difficult task ! The population of Borrisow is of the opinion that the Russian Security men would enrich themselves with the valuables left behind by the Jews, such as gold, silver, furs, cloth, leather, etc., as they were said to have done during previous executions. These security men, moreover, are said to consist largely of old Communists, but nobody dares to report them because they are feared. The population generally desires the occupation of all important posts by German nationals !

Signed:
Soennecken
Master sergeant and interpreter for the Russian language with Intelligence Command B

Postscript: There is a rumor in Borrisow that the now vacant houses of the Jews shall be prepared for Jews from Germany, who in turn shall be liquidated in the same manner as were the Jews of Borrisow.

[michael mills]

The most important item in Soennecken's report is the fact that the Russian inhabitants of Borisov desired the death of the Jews, because of the harm that the latter had done to them.

By harm done by the Jews is probably meant the belief of the Russian population that the Jews were responsible for the Soviet tyranny that they had experienced.

It could be that the negative attitude of the local Russians toward the Jews, and their expressed sentiment that the Jews deserved death for the harm they had caused, was a major factor in the decision of the German occupation authorities to kill the Jews of Borisov apart from a group of workers.

When the Russian population witnessed the rounding up and slaughter of their Jewish neighbours, whom they believed deserved death, they began to feel fear that the same fate could befall them. According to German reports, that was a very common reaction by local populations in occupied Poland and the Soviet Union. German commentators referred to a need to reassure the non-Jewish population that the same fate would not befall them, in order to prevent mass panic.

The fact that the local non-Jews were terrified when they witnessed the way in which the slaughter of the Jews was carried out does not negate the fact that throughout the areas of Eastern Europe occupied by the German forces the local populations hated the Jewish minority, blamed it for Bolshevism, and desired its radical removal.

It was that general hatred for the Jewish population that provided the context in which a general massacre of the Jews could occur.

[David Thompson]

Michael -- You said:

The fact that the local non-Jews were terrified when they witnessed the way in which the slaughter of the Jews was carried out does not negate the fact that throughout the areas of Eastern Europe occupied by the German forces the local populations hated the Jewish minority, blamed it for Bolshevism, and desired its radical removal.

It was that general hatred for the Jewish population that provided the context in which a general massacre of the Jews could occur.

I think you may be reading too much into this. Reports like this are based on the statements of local boot-lickers to their Nazi overlords. Without more solid information, I am reluctant to conclude that the statements quoted from the collaborationist element of the local population amount to anything more than the bigoted and envious outbursts of a small and servile fraction of the population, eager to serve their new, foreign masters.

And of course, their fear that they too might be shot into a ditch (or starved to death, or enslaved) by the Nazis has the feature of realism, given the content of the 90 or so documents posted on the "Nazi occupation policies for the USSR" thread at:

http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=61454

[Deterance]

David,

I had difficult understanding your last post. You seem to be ignoring the centuries of sporadic anti semetic violence in Eastern Europe. As Michael pointed out, this anti semetism was endemic to the areas and set the atmosphere in which large scale massacares of Jews could take place.

Is it a coincidence that large scale massacares of Jews occured in the East and not in the West; though the West was occupied first? The fact is that the massacares needed the active cooperation of the local population. In the West, this active cooperation was far more weak.

Lets say the NAZIS invaded USA and began to murder black Americans. Where would societal hatreds and prejudices lead to large scale massacares assisted by willing locals....Conneticut or rural Alabama?

John

[David Thompson]

Deterance -- There have been centuries of sporadic, anti-semitic violence in eastern Europe. The extent to which the violence can be attributed to a general anti-semitism afflicting the entire local population, or to instead to foreign troops, criminals and provocateurs hired by one or another unscrupulous master, is the point of my post.

While there were local elements who assisted in these massacres, the Germans themselves complained how difficult it was to get the locals to murder large numbers of Jews on their own. See the report of Walter Stahlecker, commander of Einsatzgruppe A, at:

http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic. ... 402#540402

Furthermore, it is no novelty to find that officials of a puppet regime tell their masters (in this case, the Nazis) what they want to hear. Nor would it be any surprise that these hirelings of the Nazis socialized with like-minded elements of the population, and not their patriotic fellow citizens who resented the foreigners and loathed the collaborators.

As for finding some collaborative elements in the local population, it helps if the tyrant pays well, puts a small faction of bullies in positions of power, and generously provides means of oppression. This says more about human nature, however, than it does about the feelings of an entire subject population.

You also asked:

Lets say the NAZIS invaded USA and began to murder black Americans. Where would societal hatreds and prejudices lead to large scale massacares assisted by willing locals....Conneticut or rural Alabama?

In my experience the societal hatreds and prejudices in the cities of the North and Midwestern United States were much more pronounced and attended with much more violence than they were in the South, motion picture films and television dramas notwithstanding.

[Deterance]

1. The extent to which the violence can be attributed to a general anti-semitism afflicting the entire local population, or to instead to foreign troops, criminals and provocateurs hired by one or another unscrupulous master, is the point of my post.

2. In my experience the societal hatreds and prejudices in the cities of the North and Midwestern United States were much more pronounced and attended with much more violence than they were in the South.

In regards to point 2, the endemic antisemitsm of the general population set the atmosphere in which large scale, open massacares could occur.

Sure, most of the population was not willing to actually kill thousands of Jews after their initial pogroms had cooled down. Most humans will not directly kill other defenceless people. This true of any population. NAZI expectations were not realistic. But a large number of people in the east were willing to participate directly and indrectly in the killings.

Survivors accounts are rife with reports of endemic semitism hindering their survival. It is clear that the Germans had the tacit support of the population. The holocaust, as implemented, need this support. Did support exist in the West? Yes, but in far lesser numbers and with less enthusiasm.

In regards to point 2, the higher degree of rascism in the deep south is historical fact and not Hollywood. Though there was violent rascism in the North as evident by the Boston Bus riots (anti Intergration), the level of violent rascism was no where near the leavel of the south.

- Segregation was institutionalized in the South, not the North,
-Human vivesection occurred in Alabama, not Hartford for a reason. (local indifference)
-The vast magority of lynchings occurred in the South
-Anti black Pogroms occurred in the south (Florida, Oklahoma)
-Bombings, burnings of Black churches occurred far more frequently in the South
-Truly violent factions of the KKK (Not the Midwest Social club version) were far more active in the deep south.

The analogy is accurate. A NAZI holocaust against blacks would have led to the same death rates between North and South as in East verse West Europe.

[David Thompson]

Deterance -- I appreciate your comments on point one, although for the reasons I gave above, I'm skeptical about attributing the acts or thoughts of some individuals to everyone else who lived in the area. Further speculation on point two is, in my opinion, off-topic for this section of the forum. In any event, I hope my comments helped explain what I had written about the Borissow killings in response to Michael's observations.

[Deterance]

I'm skeptical about attributing the acts or thoughts of some individuals to everyone else who lived in the area.

I agree, not everyone in the East was an anti semite. But I do think the level of antisemistism had reached a "critical mass" where magority of the local population was in categories 2-4.

Category 1 Those willing to systematicaly commit mass murder as SS auxillaries and some HIWI units.
Category 2 Those willing to indirectly participate in the murders (Guard Ghettos, round up victims for transport) etc.
Category 3 Those willing to assist in a secondary role (inform on Jews, provide Germans withs lists of names, state records etc)
Category 4 Those willing to assist by ommission (failure to help Jews, Failure to warn Jews etc. etc.)

Unfortunatly it is impossible to determine the number of people in categories 2-4, but I believe that each category is exponetially (ten times) larger than the preceeding category.

I dont have any evidence for this though.

[David Thompson]

Deterance -- Those are interesting points, especially the classification. Since my last post, I re-read Yevgeny Yevtushenko's poem "Babii Yar," posted at: http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic. ... 889#560889

There are recurrent passages in the poem about anti-semitism which track some of your observations. I don't know whether or not you enjoy poetry, but you may find it of interest.

[White Rose]

Hi Deterance,

[...]You seem to be ignoring the centuries of sporadic anti semetic violence in Eastern Europe. As Michael pointed out, this anti semetism was endemic to the areas and set the atmosphere in which large scale massacares of Jews could take place.

Is it a coincidence that large scale massacares of Jews occured in the East and not in the West; though the West was occupied first? The fact is that the massacares needed the active cooperation of the local population. In the West, this active cooperation was far more weak.

Lets say the NAZIS invaded USA and began to murder black Americans. Where would societal hatreds and prejudices lead to large scale massacares assisted by willing locals....Conneticut or rural Alabama?

There is only one thing that your glossing over (maybe it's between the lines, and if so, pardon me), but there is one other thing to consider in the West/East persecution of the Jews. In the east, large portions of the Jewish community were still religious, looked markedly different from the "native" population and weren't integrated with the general community.

So, while there may have been latent anti-semitism in the community, I do think the Nazi's had an easier time due to physical appearances .

As for the invasion of the USA, there are racists in every nook and cranny of the nation. Do you honestly believe that the Nazis, even today, would have much trouble building a base of bloodthirsty racists in a city like New York, for example? Sure, they'd need the presence of the Gestapo and the SS to cow honest everyday civilians, but unfortunatly killing squads don't have to be large to be effective.