In the 1990s, a memorial to the »Victims of Fascism« was set up to commemorate the site of mass shootings close to the Central Russian town of Bryansk - referred to as »Lesnye Sarai« (»forest barns«) - where a German SS unit shot several thousand civilians between October 1941 and summer 1943.

Bryansk, January 18, 2005, Memorial to the Victims of Fascism »Lesnye Sarai«, Soya Dodina

Prior to the Second World War, about 5,000 Jews lived in Bryansk. On October 6, 1941, the German Wehrmacht occupied the town. The Sonderkommando 7b (special unit) of the Einsatzgruppe B (mobile killing squad) arrived in Bryansk already on October 21, 1941. A large part of the Jewish population of Bryansk had been able to flee. There were, however, many Jewish refugees from Ukraine and Belarus still inside the town. Between October 1941 and summer 1943, the Sonderkommando murdered several hundred Jews, Romanies and mentally ill people.

Bryansk, January 18, 2005, Memorial to the Victims of Fascism »Lesnye Sarai«, Soya Dodina

Due to the fact that many victims came from other areas, the exact number of victims in Bryansk is not known. Numerous sources mention mass graves in which the bodies of up to 7,500 people, mainly Jews and Romanies, were discovered.

Bryansk, January 18, 2005, Memorial to the Victims of Fascism »Lesnye Sarai«, Soya Dodina.

After the Second World War, »Lesnye Sarai« was redeveloped into a memorial site. In the 1950s, a memorial was constructed and an additional plaque commemorating the Jewish victims set up. The plaque was removed in the 1980s. In the 1990s, the city council set up a green space and erected a new monument, which is dedicated to all the victims of fascism.

Name

Pamjatnik shertwam faschisma »Lesnye sarai«

Address

ulitsa Duki
241050 Brjansk

Phone

+7 083 241 171 1

E-Mail

tikva@online.bryansk.ru

Open

The monument is accessible at all times.