The shot stars - the tragedy of the Holocaust

The Rakovsky suburb – one of picturesque corners of Minsk, with a set of beautiful lodges of historical building, with cozy small streets and cafe. Since 15th century, together with Belarusians, Tatars and other people, there lived also Jews here. They were wise merchants and usurers. At an excursion you learn about history of their people, about special color and persecutions, leaving which they have found the new homeland in territories Polshy, Lithuania, Belarus. However the Great Patriotic War has deprived of them rest, as well as many other people. – The territory of the Rakovsky suburb became a part of the Extermination camp. Including the guide will tell about him.

Among medieval building of the Rakovsky suburb the interesting house from a red brick has hidden. Often he is called "The house with mezuzy". There is at Jews a tradition to attach the parchment roll containing a part of the text of a prayer of Shmа to an external jamb of a door is and there is "mezuza". In times old there lived in this house eminent wise men and rabbis.

On modern Vitebskaya Street, on that place where the Rakovsky Brovar restaurant flaunts, the Yeshibah once settled down. The monument of architecture of the 18th century has remained well – it is reconstructed only partially. In a Yeshibah with 10 and to 25 years studied the Torah and the Talmud – trained rabbis.

In the house 24 on Rakovskaya Street the chess and checkerboard club is located now. But big arch windows draw to themselves attention – they are very characteristic of the Jewish cult architecture. The appearance isn't deceptive - it is the building of the Jewish synagogue which worked till 1920th years.

Yubileynaya Square have nicknamed "the area of slaves" at the time of the Great Patriotic War. The ghetto including Yubileynaya Square as the center, and about 40 streets and lanes around her became the reason for that. From here people were conducted to death. Now here the picturesque square and Belarus movie theater is located. And reminds a memorial stone of tragic events of military years.

Small white lodge - the only place of rescue of the last prisoners of the Minsk ghetto during the Great Patriotic War. Shortly before elimination of the Minsk ghetto, the skilled stove-setter and the bricklayer Pinkhas has made reliable "cache" under a lodge. There he could cover 26 people. Life in a vault within eight and a half months was heavy and has made a sacrifice – 13 people have survived. What prisoners have faced as their fate was – you learn about it at an excursion.

On Kollektornaya Street only traces of gravestones and not numerous matseyva – the granite tombstones uprooted have remained. After a rain from the earth here bones and traces of gravestones sometimes appear – "black diggers" look for values here. But how the ancient Jewish cemetery has come to desolation? He was razed by order of the Soviet authorities in 1951, for construction of office buildings and the square to the ground. Now the escaped matseyva are transferred to the steles established in memory of the Jews who have died here who have been deported from Western Europe.

The memory of hundreds of thousands of Jews of Belarus and countries of Western Europe which have found the grave on the Belarusian earth represents the memorial «Yama» built on the place of the most terrible March disorder of 1942. The memorial represents a deep hole to which the ladder from 27 figures bound among themselves going for execution conducts. Any concrete image or the person, only faces, shadows in which someone's destiny is reflected...