'Witebsk'
Object numberM2013/026:004
Title'Witebsk'
DescriptionThis is a photograph, taken in 1941 from within inside Vitebsk Ghetto, Belarus. It depicts the squalid, conditions Jewish citizens were forced to endure amid the debris of a town ravaged by German military offensives. A group of men are loading bodies into a crated wagon. Young children stand by and watch.
Established on the 11th of July 1941, this ghetto would operate for only 3 months, during which many inhabitants were routinely executed or died due to starvation and disease. On the 8th of October 1941, Einsatzgruppe, police battalions and other SS personnel were given orders to liquidate, under the pretence of imminent epidemics. By the 11th of October 1941, approximately 16,000 Jews had perished by either exposure to unbearable conditions or at the hands of Einsatzgruppen killing units.
Vitebsk was one of many towns which fell within the German occupied military administration area, following German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. It was part of a broad initiative to physically annihilate Jews from the Communist states and establish ideal conditions for long-term German rule.
Established on the 11th of July 1941, this ghetto would operate for only 3 months, during which many inhabitants were routinely executed or died due to starvation and disease. On the 8th of October 1941, Einsatzgruppe, police battalions and other SS personnel were given orders to liquidate, under the pretence of imminent epidemics. By the 11th of October 1941, approximately 16,000 Jews had perished by either exposure to unbearable conditions or at the hands of Einsatzgruppen killing units.
Vitebsk was one of many towns which fell within the German occupied military administration area, following German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. It was part of a broad initiative to physically annihilate Jews from the Communist states and establish ideal conditions for long-term German rule.
Production placeBelarus
Production date 1941-07-11 - 1941-10-08
Production periodWorld War II (1939-1945)
Object namephotographs
Materialpaper
Dimensions
- width: 900.00 mm
height: 450.00 mm
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Robert Gillespie