The story
The first five-digit figure of murdered Jewish victims occurred at Kamenets-Podolsk in South-Western Ukraine, the first in Holocaust history.
Around 23,600 Jews were brutally put to death in August 27/28. 1941.
In July of that year, Hungary deported 14,000 of its Jews to Kamenets-Podolsk, all of whom were murdered by the SS. The other 19,600 were local Jews who were marched ten miles to their place of execution and guarded by a unit of the Ukrainian Militia.
There, they were shot to death by the SS under the leadership of Friedrich Jeckeln. Later, the town was over-taken by Hungarian troops, who were fighting alongside the German Wehrmacht against the Soviet Union. After the war, Jeckeln was tried by a military court, sentenced to death and hanged.
There's more to discover
You have arrived at just one small part of Back to Normandy — a personal project dedicated to preserving stories, images, music and memories of the Second World War.
Every record is a doorway to a larger story. Explore Back to Normandy to discover more, or visit Fred Vogels' personal website to learn about the person and the projects behind it.