Slovechne (Slovechno, Slaveshna, Claweczno) | Zhytomyr

/ Ambience ©Victoria Bahr/Yahad-in Unum The abandoned Jewish cemetery with a couple of tombstones ©Victoria Bahr/Yahad-in Unum Maria K., born in 1930: “Faina did not evacuate because she could not leave her handicapped parents behind. She was taken along with others to the school and then shot. Meanwhile, her parents were shot on the spot, close to the house”. ©Victoria Bahr/YIU The execution site of about 50-60 Jews murdered in 1941 ©Victoria Bahr/Yahad-in Unum

Execution of Jews in Slovechne

2 Execution site(s)

Kind of place before:
Swampland
Memorials:
No
Period of occupation:
1941-1943
Number of victims:
50-60

Witness interview

Maria K., born in 1930, remembers: “During a pogrom that took place before the war, my mother hid two Jewish girls. The father of these little girls had brought them to my mother and begged her to ‘adopt’ them, to pass them off as her own children”. (Testimony n°1619, interviewed in Slovechne, on April 19th, 2013)

Soviet archives

“Several acts, mainly concerning small isolated shootings (Jews, Soviet activists), in various villages of the district. It is also mentioned that some Jewish families were taken to Slovechne to be shot.” [Act drawn up by the State Extraordinary Commission, RG 22.002M:7021-60-311]

German archives

“In 1941, 50-60 Jews were murdered in the vicinity. In 1942, 400 inhabitants were shot.” [Closure report drawn up in 1971; B162-7318]

Historical note

Slovechne is located 160km north of Zhytomyr. According to local witness, before the war there were mostly Ukrainians and Jews lived in the village. There may have been a few Romanians. The Jews lived in the center. They were traders and possessed several businesses. The Jewish and Ukrainian children went to the same school. There was no synagogue, but there was a Jewish cemetery. Before the war, several pogroms took place in the village. Slovechne was occupied in July of 1941. By that time, the adults and the youngest Jews managed to evacuate while others enlisted in the army.

Holocaust by bullets in figures

Little is known about the executions in Slovechne. According to the archives, there were two executions: one in 1941, and another one in 1942. The executions were conducted by the SS Punitive Detachment.  During the first execution, 50-60 Jews were killed. According to the witness, the execution was conducted July 1941. The second execution was conducted against the 400 residents, but there is no any information if there were Jews among the victims. 

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