Bodies of Russian civilians of Rostov city tortured by the Nazis on the bank of Don River in the courtyard of the city prison.
From the report of the NKVD for the Rostov region No. 7/17 of March 16, 1943 about the tortured by the Nazis: “Wild tyranny and atrocities of the occupants of the first days were replaced by organized physical destruction of the entire Jewish population, communists, Soviet activists and Soviet patriots … In the city prison alone, February 14, 1943 year – on the day of the liberation of Rostov – 1,154 corpses of citizens of the city, shot and tortured by the Nazis, were found by soldiers of the Red Army. Of the total number of corpses 370 were found in the pit, 303 – in different places in the yard and 346 – among the ruins of the blown up building. Among the victims – 55 minors, 122 women”.
In total during the occupation, the Nazis killed and tortured 40,000 residents in Rostov-on-Don, and 53 thousand more drove to forced labor in Germany.
Location: Rostov on Don city, USSR
Time when the photo was taken: February 1943
Author: Emmanuel Evzerikhin