Soviet civilians, likely teenagers, executed by retreating German troops in Belarus. According to eyewitness testimony, the victims were taken from the village shortly before the German withdrawal and shot without explanation.
Execution of Soviet Civilians in Belarus, 1944
Belarus, 1944.
This photograph documents one of the many atrocities committed against civilians during the German retreat from Soviet territory. The victims, believed to have been local teenagers, were reportedly taken from their village and executed shortly before German forces withdrew from the area.
According to eyewitness testimony preserved after the war, the victims were selected without explanation and marched outside the village before being shot. The photograph records the aftermath of the execution and serves as evidence of violence directed against civilians during the final stages of the occupation.
"Before leaving, the Nazis took all the teens from the village, marched them outside the outskirts... and shot them. No explanation, no names, nothing."
Mass executions of civilians were carried out in many occupied regions of the Soviet Union throughout the war. During the German withdrawal in 1943–1944, reprisals against local populations accompanied the destruction of infrastructure and settlements. Photographs such as this remain important historical documents preserving evidence of these crimes.
The exact identities and ages of the victims shown here are not known. Based on available eyewitness accounts and the appearance of those depicted, they are believed to have been teenagers from the local community.
Technical Photo Data
- Photographer: Ivan Nartsissov
- Date: 1944
- Location: Belarus, USSR
- Source: victory.rusarchives.ru
Recommended Literature
- The Soviet Union and the Second World War — Evan Mawdsley.
- Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin — Timothy Snyder.
- The Eastern Front 1941–1945: German Troops and the Barbarization of Warfare — Omer Bartov.
- "Nazi massacre Soviet teenagers WWII photos"
- "executed civilians Belarus Nazi retreat photos"
- "Soviet civilian executions WWII Eastern Front photos"