Zmievsky beam in Rostov-on-Don (photo)

On the territory of the Russian Federation there are many places reminiscent of the tragic pages of the Great Patriotic War. One of them is the Zmievsky Balka in Rostov-on-Don. Here, in the summer of 1942, about 27,000 civilians were killed by the Hitlerites, more than half of which were the Jewish population of the city. The beam became the largest place of extermination of people of this nationality on the Russian lands for the entire period of the war. In 1975, in its place, a memorial complex was opened, reminding humanity of the atrocities of the Nazi occupiers in the occupied territories.

Events preceding the tragedy

After the attack on the Soviet Union, the German invaders managed to advance into the interior of the country in a relatively short time. The first time they approached Rostov-on-Don in November 1941, but 11 days later, under the onslaught of the Red Army men, they had to surrender their positions. Repeatedly the Germans launched an offensive on the city in the summer of 1942, as a result of which on July 24 they managed to capture it. Immediately afterwards, the fascists ordered the registration of all local Jews who turned 14 years old. For recognition they were forced to wear on clothes identification marks in the form of a hexagram (the six-pointed star of David).

Preparation for the extermination of the Jewish people in Rostov-on-Don was carried out by the aizantzgruppe (death squadron) "D" headed by Commander-in-Chief V. Birkamp. The mass executions were directed by Obersturmbannführer K. Christman. The place of extermination of Jews was chosen Zmievskaya Balka. Digging deep ditches in it forced the captured Soviet fascists to be captured. After the end of the work they were shot and thrown into pits they had dug out.

Destruction of the Jewish population

On August 8, the Nazis distributed an order through the city, according to which Jews of both sexes and all ages were instructed to appear by the morning of 11th on collection points, from where they would have to be moved to a separate district of the city. Also, the appointed places should have arrived members of Jewish families, even if they were representatives of other nationalities. Those who dared not come, threatened to be shot. In total, there were 6 collection points, the main one of them was located at the intersection of Bolshaya Sadovaya Street with Budionovsky Prospekt. Now there is a city conservatory.

On the appointed day, thousands of Jews passed through the streets of Rostov: old men, women, and children. At the collection points, a check was made on the lists, and then people were sorted out. Those who could not move independently were put in trucks, the rest were built in columns of several hundred people. Crowds of Jews, surrounded by submachine gunners and dogs, led to the Zmievsky beam, where they were already waiting for freshly dug pits. Disabled people, wounded and old people were taken in cargo vans-gas vans poisoned from inside with spent carbon dioxide.

People knew perfectly well that they were going to their deaths, but they had no chance of escaping from the hands of the fascists. At the place of execution of adults, the Jews were brought to the dug out and opened fire. The bodies of the dead were dumped in pits. The children were sacrificed in another way: they were greased with a quick-acting poison. Residents of nearby villages heard automatic fire from the side of the beam throughout the night and the next day. According to historical documents, there were killed 13.6-15 thousand Jews and members of their families. Later, the Nazis began to shoot in this place Soviet prisoners of war, underground, Komsomol members, people with mental illnesses, prisoners, violators of order. The bodies of the murdered Gypsies, Kurds, Assyrians and Armenians were also dropped here. In total, the Zmievsky gully in Rostov-on-Don became a grave for 27 thousand people.

Opening of the memorial complex

The inhabitants of the city never forgot about the tragedy of 1942 and honored the memory of the people who died in it. Exactly 30 years after the defeat of Hitler's Germany, on May 9, 1975, on the site of the mass execution of the Jewish population, the memorial complex "Zmievskaya Balka" was solemnly opened, a photo of which can be seen in this article. It was created by the architects N. Nersesyants and R. Muradyan, sculptors E. Lopko and B. Lopko, N. Avedikov. The memorial consisted of a sculptural composition, the Funeral Hall, the Alley of Sorrow, the observation deck, the eternal fire, the pylons and the green spaces that fit organically into the landscape.

Description of the sculptural composition

The monument "Zmievskaya Balka" is made of gray concrete. It is a monumental sculptural composition, standing on the ground without a pedestal. In its center is depicted a woman mother, who threw up her arms in despair. On one side of it is a frightened child, and on the other - an elderly man on his knees with arms tied in front of him. Near the old man there are figures of two more people, one of whom tries to raise himself from his last strength on his hands, and the second, in horror, covered his face.

The further fate of the complex

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the memorial "Zmievskaya Balka" began to gradually deteriorate. Restorative work here was conducted only in 2009. Today, the memorable place has become one of the main attractions of Rostov-on-Don. Here come to honor the memory of the victims of the fascists, both local residents and tourists from other cities and countries.

Inscription on a commemorative plaque

In 2004, a memorial plaque was erected on the Zmievsky Balk, the text of which stated that more than 27,000 representatives of Jewish nationality rest on the site of the memorial, and it is the largest Holocaust site in the country. After 5 years, the inscription was modified, removing the mention of Jews from it. It was motivated by the fact that people of different nationalities were buried in a common grave . The updated plate contained information about the burial in the beam of 27 thousand civilians and prisoners of war of the Soviet Army.

In 2013, under the pressure of public organizations defending the rights of Jews, it was decided to change the text again. Today, the inscription on the commemorative plaque looks more compromising. Its essence boils down to the fact that on the territory of the memorial in 1942 the Hitlerites destroyed more than 27 thousand people of the peaceful population of Rostov and the Red Army. Among them were representatives of different nationalities. The monument is the site of the most numerous in Russia of the extermination of Jews during the entire period of the war.