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Obj. ID: 9392
  Memorials
  Holocaust Memorial II at the Killing Site in Orsha, Belarus, 1968

© Vladimir Levin, Photographer: Levin, Vladimir, 2010

Memorial name: 

No official name. 

Who/What is Commemorated?

 Jewish adults of Orsha, killed on November 26-27, 1941.

Description

The monument is erected at the killing site and mass grave, near the old Jewish cemetery. It is shaped like a stele with additional lower protruding parts from each side of the slab. The monument stands on a three-stepped base which, as well as the stele, bears a Russian ethnically neutral inscription. The stele's territory also includes another memorial in the form of a massive boulder bearing a plaque with a Belarusian ethnically neutral inscription. The year of its erection is unknown. 

Inscription

 On the stele, in Russian

Здесь
похоронены
советские
граждане
погибшие
от рук
немецко-
фашистских
захватчиков
26-27.IX-1941 г.

Translation Here / are buried / Soviet / citizens / who died / at the hands / of the German- / fascist / invaders / on November 26-27, 1941.

On the stele's base, in Russian

Вечная светлая память
безвинно погибшим
от рук наших врагов
Никогда о вас не забуду
мои родные
От сына дорогой матери
дорогому брату
дорогим сестрам
и племянникам

Translation: Eternal bright memory / to the innocently murdered / at the hands of our victims / I will never forget you / my beloved / From son to dear mother / dear brother / dear sisters / and nephews. 

On the boulder's plaque, in Belarusian

На гэтым
месцы
пахаваны
ахвяры ВОВ
1941-1944

Translation: In this / place / the victims of GPW [Great Patriotic War] / 1941-1944. 

Commissioned by

Victims' relatives.

Summary and Remarks
Remarks
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Name/Title
Holocaust Memorial II at the Killing Site in Orsha | Unknown
Object Detail
Monument Setting
Date
1968
Active dates
Reconstruction dates
Artist/ Maker
Historical Origin
Unknown
Community type
Unknown |
Congregation
Unknown
Site
Unknown
School/Style
Unknown|
Period
Period Detail
Collection
Unknown |
Documentation / Research project
Unknown
Iconographical Subject
Unknown |
Textual Content
Languages of inscription
Material / Technique
Granite
Material Stucture
Material Decoration
Material Bonding
Material Inscription
Material Additions
Material Cloth
Material Lining
Tesserae Arrangement
Density
Colors
Construction material
Measurements
Height
Length
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Condition
Extant
Documented by CJA
Surveyed by CJA
Present Usage
Present Usage Details
Condition of Building Fabric
Architectural Significance type
Historical significance: Event/Period
Historical significance: Collective Memory/Folklore
Historical significance: Person
Architectural Significance: Style
Architectural Significance: Artistic Decoration
Urban significance
Significance Rating
0
Ornamentation
Custom
Contents
Codicology
Scribes
Script
Number of Lines
Ruling
Pricking
Quires
Catchwords
Hebrew Numeration
Blank Leaves
Direction/Location
Façade (main)
Endivances
Location of Torah Ark
Location of Apse
Location of Niche
Location of Reader's Desk
Location of Platform
Temp: Architecture Axis
Arrangement of Seats
Location of Women's Section
Direction Prayer
Direction Toward Jerusalem
Coin
Coin Series
Coin Ruler
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Denomination
Signature
Colophon
Scribal Notes
Watermark
Hallmark
Group
Group
Group
Group
Group
Trade Mark
Binding
Decoration Program
Suggested Reconsdivuction
History/Provenance

The fascists entered Orsha on July 16, 1941 [Al'tman, 698]. When the occupation regime in the town had been firmly established, there was a flurry of anti-Jewish decrees. In September 1941, the Germans created a ghetto [jewishgen.org]. The Jews of Orsha were killed in several Aktions [Al'tman, 698-700].

The first monument to the Jewish victims from Orsha was erected presumably in the 1950s near the Jewish cemetery, at the killing site and mass grave of 2,900 Jewish children. In 2014, it was replaced by a new one. These children were killed on November 26-27, 1941, during the liquidation of the ghetto. Their parents were killed 150 meters from that place [izvezda.by]. On their mass grave, the two monuments under discussion were set. Today they are the place of commemorative ceremonies. 

Main Surveys & Excavations
Sources

"Holocaust in Belorussia,"  jewishgen.org, https://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/belarus/bel178.html (accessed March 24, 2025)

Il'ya, Al'tman (ed.), Kholokost na territorii SSSR (Moskva: ROSSPEN, 2011), pp.698-700.

Marat, Botvinnik, Pam'atniki Genotsida Evreev Belarusi (Minsk: Belaruskaia navuka, 2000), pp.176-177.

"Pam'atnyi znak evreiskim d'et'am iz Orshanskogo getto," izvezda.by, https://izvezda.by/ru/monuments-ru/getElement/6077/ (accessed March 20, 2025)
Type
Documenter
Dr. Vladimir Levin | 2010
Author of description
Liza Schwartz | 2025
Architectural Drawings
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Computer Reconstruction
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Section Head
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Language Editor
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Donor
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Negative/Photo. No.
The following information on this monument will be completed: