1943 Liquidation of Pruzhany Ghetto

On January 31, 1943, the Nazis liquidated the ghetto in Pruzhany, Brest Region. The Nazis captured the city on June 23, 1941, and on the first day killed 18 Jews. On July 15, 1941, the Judenrat was established, after which the ghetto was filled in a panic — 10–12 thousand Jews from Pruzhany and surrounding areas.

In the spring of 1942, two underground groups were formed: one led by Aron Goldstein, Yosef Rosen, and Itzhak Shereshevsky, and another by Itzhak Friedberg and Shmaryahu Elman. During a subsequent deportation to Auschwitz, the prisoners launched an armed resistance; about 100 people managed to escape into the Zamoshe Forest.

On December 25, 1942, partisans who had infiltrated the ghetto warned the residents that the Germans planned a mass murder. On December 27, the deportation of prisoners began: some were killed in Berezha and at the Oranchitsy station, others were sent to Auschwitz.

On January 31, 1943, the ghetto was completely liquidated. The number of victims is unconfirmed, but estimates suggest more than 10,000 people. We preserve the memory so that such evil never rises again.

Context

Pruzhany was one of the largest Jewish centers in the occupied territory, where during the Soviet era people had escaped famine and repression.