Koldichevo
Encyclopedia
Koldichevo was the site of a Nazi concentration camp near Baranovichi
, Belarus
. About 22,000 people, mostly Jews, were killed in the camp between 1942 and 1944.
. A prisoner described it as "a sad collection of concrete buildings and overworked farmland, with dilapidated barns, animal stalls, and tool sheds [...] partitioned with an endless fence of barbed wire to create a makeshift prison."
The camp was used to imprison Soviet prisoners of war, Polish
and Belorussian partisans, and Jews from Gorodishche, Dziatłava
, Novogrudok, Stoŭbcy, and Baranovichi. Few prisoners survived the harsh conditions of the camp.
In March 1944, the surviving population of about 100 Jews, led by Shlomo Kushnir (or Kushner), drilled a hole in the wall of their barracks, cut through the electrical fence surrounding the camp, and escaped into the moonless night. Twenty-four prisoners were recaptured, including Kushnir, who committed suicide. Many of the rest joined up with the Bielski partisans
in the Naliboki forest
.
On June 29, 1944, with Soviet troops approaching as part of Operation Bagration, the Koldichevo camp was liquidated. 2,000 of the remaining prisoners were shot in a pit beneath a mound. Another 300 were evacuated to Germany.
In 1992, Sergis Hutyrczyk, a security guard who had immigrated to the United States in 1954, was identified as a guard from the camp at Koldichevo, accused of lying about his wartime activities and stripped of his U.S. citizenship. He died in 1993.
Baranovichi
Baranovichi , is a city in the Brest Province of western Belarus with a population of 173,000. It is a significant railway junction and home to a state university.-Overview:...
, Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
. About 22,000 people, mostly Jews, were killed in the camp between 1942 and 1944.
History
The Koldichevo concentration camp was built early in the summer of 1942, about 18 km from Baranovichi, in the village of Kałdyčeva, on the road to Novogrudok, in German-occupied West BelarusWest Belarus
West Belarus is the name used in reference to the territory of modern Belarus which belonged to the Second Polish Republic between 1919 and 1939. The area of West Belarus was annexed into the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic following staged elections soon after the Nazi-Soviet Invasion of...
. A prisoner described it as "a sad collection of concrete buildings and overworked farmland, with dilapidated barns, animal stalls, and tool sheds [...] partitioned with an endless fence of barbed wire to create a makeshift prison."
The camp was used to imprison Soviet prisoners of war, Polish
Polish resistance movement in World War II
The Polish resistance movement in World War II, with the Home Army at its forefront, was the largest underground resistance in all of Nazi-occupied Europe, covering both German and Soviet zones of occupation. The Polish defence against the Nazi occupation was an important part of the European...
and Belorussian partisans, and Jews from Gorodishche, Dziatłava
Dziatłava
Dzyatlava is a town in Belarus in the Hrodna voblast, about 165 km southeast of Hrodna. It is a railway station on the line between Baranavičy and Lida. The population is 8,900 ....
, Novogrudok, Stoŭbcy, and Baranovichi. Few prisoners survived the harsh conditions of the camp.
In March 1944, the surviving population of about 100 Jews, led by Shlomo Kushnir (or Kushner), drilled a hole in the wall of their barracks, cut through the electrical fence surrounding the camp, and escaped into the moonless night. Twenty-four prisoners were recaptured, including Kushnir, who committed suicide. Many of the rest joined up with the Bielski partisans
Bielski partisans
The Bielski partisans were an organisation of Jewish partisans who rescued Jews from extermination and fought against the Nazi German occupiers and their collaborators in the vicinity of Nowogródek and Lida in German-occupied Poland...
in the Naliboki forest
Naliboki forest
Naliboki Forest, the Naliboki Pushcha , is a large forest complex in the northwestern Belarus, on the right bank of the Neman River, on the Belarusian Ridge.Naliboki Pushcha is famous for its nature and rich, although tragic, history...
.
On June 29, 1944, with Soviet troops approaching as part of Operation Bagration, the Koldichevo camp was liquidated. 2,000 of the remaining prisoners were shot in a pit beneath a mound. Another 300 were evacuated to Germany.
In 1992, Sergis Hutyrczyk, a security guard who had immigrated to the United States in 1954, was identified as a guard from the camp at Koldichevo, accused of lying about his wartime activities and stripped of his U.S. citizenship. He died in 1993.