1 Execution site(s)
Mykhailo G., born in 1930: "In the summer of 1941, a group of about 50 Jews was taken to the outskirts of Mshanets by four German soldiers. Then, several local residents were requisitioned with their shovels to dig a pit near the forest. As soon as the pit was ready, the victims were ordered to undress in groups of two before being shot on the edge of the pit by two Germans shooters." (Testimony N°YIU184U, interviewed in Mshanets, on August 12, 2005)
Mshanets is located about 47 km (29mi) southeast of Ternopil. The town was founded in the mid-16th century. In 1772, it was transferred to the Austrian Empire, and from 1867 it became part of Austro-Hungarian Empire. In 1918-1919, Mshanets became part of the Western Ukrainian Republic before being taken over by Poland. In 1939, following the outbreak of the war, the village was incorporated into the Ukrainian Social Soviet Republic as a result of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. There is no information available about Jewish residents of Mshanets. Although, on the eve of the war, circa. 1,500 Jews lived in the town of Terebovlia, located about 11 km (7mi) northwest.
Mshanets was occupied by German troops on July 3, 1941. After a brief period of military administration, the village was taken over by German civil administration in September 1941, as part of the Galicia district of the General Government. According to Yahad - In Unum field research results, in the summer of 1941, a group of about 50 Jews from nearby villages were led to the outskirts of Mshanets by four Germans. Several local residents were then requisitioned to dig a mass grave near the ravine and the “Blaishchyna" forest. As soon as the pit was ready, the victims were ordered to strip naked in groups of two and stand on the edge of the pit, where they were subsequently shot by German shooters who took turns two by two and fired with rifles. A German in charge, with an eyepatch over his eye, refused to shoot. Once the execution was over, the mass grave was filled in by the requisitioned locals. There is no memorial to mark the mass grave.
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