1 Killing site(s)
Maria I., born in 1927: " I saw columns of Jews passing through the village while they were heading toward Bohdanivka. Policemen were escorting them, and they beat these poor people. There were also Germans with them. Just thinking about it makes my heart tighten. They were human beings, children just like ours. The columns passed during the daytime over several days. I saw three of them, I think. They were large columns of men, women, and children. There were many babies in their arms. One family managed to hand over their baby, Liza, to our neighbors who raised her like their own daughter.
During the war, some Jews were also settled in our village. Among them were about ten tailors who made clothes for the villagers. In our house lived a young Jewish woman from Odesa, Pradia, who made clothes for us using my mother’s old garments. When all the Jews were taken away and shot, these tailors still remained in the village." (Testimony N°YIU489U, interviewed in Vynohradnyi Sad, on July 17, 2007)
The village of Vynohradnyi Sad is a small rural settlement located in the Mykolaiv region, approximately 25 km (16 mi) northwest of Voznesensk. It was established in the late 19th or early 20th century as part of the agricultural colonization of southern Ukraine. No historical sources confirm the presence of a permanent Jewish community in the village before the Second World War.
Vynohradnyi Sad was occupied by German troops in August 1941 and subsequently placed under Romanian administration.
According to local witnesses, several columns of Jews passed through the village and were directed toward Bohdanivka, located approximately 9 km (5 mi) to the north. Maria I., born in 1927 and interviewed by Yahad-In Unum, reported having seen at least three such columns composed of men, women, children, and infants, escorted under armed guard by policemen and German soldiers. The columns were described as long, and villagers were strictly forbidden to approach the deportees or provide them with food. Nevertheless, some individuals managed to throw small quantities of food into the columns, and, in one instance, a Jewish family succeeded, taking advantage of a momentary lapse in surveillance, in passing their baby girl to the witness’s neighbors, who raised her like their own daughter.
In addition, a small group of Jews, including some from Odesa, settled in a building in Vynohradnyi Sad during the war. This group included individuals with various skills, notably tailors who worked for local residents and were sometimes housed in their homes during the period of their employment. A young Jewish woman from Odesa, named Pradia, stayed with Maria’s family under such circumstances. According to Maria, most of the Jews from this group were later taken away and shot, while approximately ten Jews remained in the village and survived the war.
During the research conducted in Vynohradnyi Sad, the Yahad-In Unum team, with the help of a local resident, identified the burial place of several Jews, located in a well on the outskirts of the village. It is, however, not known if these victims were part of the columns escorted through the area toward Bohdanivka, or if they were the Jews who settled in Vynohradnyi Sad during the war. As of today, the site remains unprotected.
For more information about the killing of Jews in Bohdanivka please follow the corresponding profile.
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