Jewish group in Vitsebsk collecting money for a Ghetto victims memorial

The City Jewish Community in Vitsebsk have launched a fundraising action aiming to install a memorial sign on the site where local Jews were executed by Nazi during the WWII. In the summer and fall of 1941, Nazi carried out mass executions of the local Jewish population. The killings routinely took place in the so called Ilauski Pit at the outskirts of Vitsebsk.

Only in 1990s, memorial stones were installed on the local Ghetto and execution sites. Previously, relatives and friends of those killed were not allowed to write on the memorial signs that the victims were Jews.

A new memorial is being designed by Leanid Levin, the author of the impressive WWII memorial Khatyn near Minsk. Donations from the members of the public is the only source of funding for the project.