'Witebsk'
Object numberM2013/026:005
Title'Witebsk'
DescriptionThis is a photograph, probably taken from within the walls of the Vitebsk Ghetto, Belarus in 1941. It depicts the stacked corpses of women who perished amid the squalor and desolate conditions. The emaciated appearance of the dead woman in the foreground lying on barbed wire is indicative of the suffering she and other ghetto inhabitants were forced to endure.
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: 650.00 mm
Language
- German Vitebsk concentration camp
English
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Robert Gillespie