Yama Memorial in Minsk

There is a memorial in the contemporary capital of Belarus that reminds of the sad history of Jewish people — the Rakov Suburb. This is where one could have the chance to see the oldest streets of Minsk. Unfortunately, a large-scale reconstruction of the 1960-1970s altered the face of the city, with a 16^th century gothic synagogue pulled down. At the time of WWII the Rakov Suburb used to be home to the Jewish ghetto.

For Jewish people visiting Minsk there is a must-go site in the city. It’s the Yama Memorial (Death Pit) — the bottom of ravine where the Nazi kept Jewish prisoners from Belarus and some West European states, including from Germany’s Bremen and Hamburg.

The marble obelisk at the place of torture and death of 85 thousand Jews of Minsk, 10 thousand Jewish people from all over Belarus and another 35 thousand Jews deported from all over Europe, was built back in 1946. It was USSR’s first monument to Holocaust victims.

The memorial produced a very deep impression on visitors. A steep stairway leading to the bottom of the dismal ravine, where masses of people used to stand in a death queue.