2 Execution site(s)
Volodymyr P., born in 1929: “They passed by the central street towards the barracks, where they rested for a while before being taken further by the Romanian guards.
YIU: Were they big groups to cross? -Yes, they were many. Some entire families were deported. There were children and elderly people among them. I guess the entire families were rounded-up.” (Witness n°2828U, interviewed in Porohy, on October 27, 2020)
"During the German-Romanian occupation that lasted from 1941 to March 17, 1944, 136 civilians were shot in the town of Iampol, namely: [follows a list of Jewish names]."[Act n°16 drawn up by Soviet Extraordinary Commission (ChGK) in 1944; GARF: 7021-54-1267/ Source: USHMM, RG22-002M]
"Shortly after my arrival in our new quarters, I was informed by Ohlendorf, by messengers or by radio, that there were around 10,000 Jews near EK 11 in Moguilev-Podolsk who had been brought by the Romanians across the Dniester, but the bridge nearby had been demolished. These Jews were to be transported on foot (some 30 km) to Iampol. Ohlendorf’s order was to secure and execute the return across the bridge to Romania in Iampol.
The EK 11 was to be mobilized immediately to follow the troops. As I recall, I drove with three cars and a dozen men, including the deputy chief, over a distance of several hundred kilometers back to Iampol. As far as I remember, as deputy directors, there were H**R and H***T. I can’t recall any other names at the moment. As soon as I arrived, I went to the bridge and found a F*** as bridge commander [...]. We got to know each other again, and I presented him with the order I had received. The sergeant solved the difficulties of day and night traffic on the bridge, which had been used until then, by opening another bridge 500 m downstream for traffic to the front and having the approach roads redirected. He told me that the diversion couldn’t take place before midnight, as I remember it was early in the morning that I could make the necessary arrangements with the bridge commander. As there was still no sign of Jews marching towards me, I drove a few kilometers along the Mogilev -[Podolsky] road, which runs along the high bank.
The large convoy bound for Iampol arrived unguarded. The convoy moved almost without a break. As I couldn’t take anything at the time because of the bridge, I told the column to assemble in front of the bridge. I, myself, went out with my colleague from the road to a small village on the riverbank to take up temporary quarters." [Deposition made by Gustav Adolf N., born in 1902, an Einsatzkommando 12-member, in Düsseldorf, on April 9, 1962; BArch B162-1149. p.212-215, Bl. 1014-1016]
Iampil, part of the historical Podolia region, is located 120km (73mi) south of Vinnytsia, on the border with Moldova. According to historical information, Jews first settled in Iampil in the 16th century. Iampil was always considered a big trade center. The majority of the Jewish community made their living from small-scale trade. Other Jews were involved in handicrafts or viticulture. According to the 1802 census, 1,850 Jews lived in the town, and in 1897, their number increased to 2,823. The community had four synagogues and a cemetery. On the eve of the war, 1,753 Jews lived in the town, making up 24% of the total population.
Iampil was occupied by German forces on July 17, 1941, who were stationed there for a week. According tohistorical sources, between mid-July and mid-August 1941, 4,425 Jews had been killed between Hotyn and Iampil by the Einsatzgruppe D. From September 1941, Iampil was taken over by Romanian authority and became part of Transnistria. At this time, a ghetto was created in the center of the town. By the end of January 1942, 35,276 local Jews and deportees were living in Iampil. Besides the ghetto, a transit camp for thousands of Jews brought from Bukovina and Bessarabia was established in the town, in the former barracks of Soviet border guards. Usually, the columns of deportees would stop in Iampol for a couple of days and then set off again to the east, towards the Buh. According toYahad’s research, an unknown number of Jews were shot on their way, mainly elderly and sick people unfit to walk. Their bodies were buried either at the closest cemetery, or by the road where they were shot. Most of the Jews from the ghetto and the transit camp were gradually placed in various villages; only 600 local Jews, mainly artisans, and 500 deported Jews remained in the ghetto. All the Jews were marked with yellow armbands. In August 1942 and August 1943, Romanian gendarmes shot 41 Jews and 17 others. By September 01, 1943, only 504 Jews remained in Bukovina and Bessarabia. In February 1944, 33 Jews were shot in Iampil.
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