• Memorial to the Victims of the Bogdanovka Extermination Camp
A memorial in the Ukrainian village of Bogdanovka (Ukrainian: Bohdanivka), which is located about 170 km from Odessa, honours the approximately 54,000 Jews who were murdered there between 1941 and 1942.
Image: Bogdanovka, 1944, One of the pigsties into which Jewish prisoners were crowded, Tsentralniy derzhavniy kinofotofonarkhiv Ukraini im. H. S. Pshenychnoho (TsDKFFA), Kyiv-110
Bogdanovka, 1944, One of the pigsties into which Jewish prisoners were crowded, Tsentralniy derzhavniy kinofotofonarkhiv Ukraini im. H. S. Pshenychnoho (TsDKFFA), Kyiv-110

Image: Bogdanovka, 2012, Memorial, Stiftung Denkmal
Bogdanovka, 2012, Memorial, Stiftung Denkmal
Following the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, Germany's ally Romania occupied part of Ukraine. The occupied territory spanned between the rivers Dniester and Bug and was referred to as Transnistria. The administrative seat of Transnistria was established in Odessa, which at the time was home to over 200,000 Jews. The Romanian authorities brutally forced the Jews from the region into ghettos and forced labour camps. Thousands were immediately shot. In July 1941, the Romanian authorities began expelling Jews from Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina to Transnistria, where Jews had to conduct forced labour in ghettos and in camps. In addition, there were three death camps in Transnistria. One of the camps - the largest of the three - was established by the Romanian authorities in Bogdanovka in 1941 on the premises of one of the largest pig farms in the Soviet Union. Already in November 1941, about 11,000 Jews were held at the pigsties originally meant for 7,000 animals. The number of Jewish prisoners at Bogdanovka grew rapidly: already in December there were about 48,000 prisoners in the pigsties. Fast-spreading illnesses and extremely cold temperatures led to a high death rate: each day, up to 500 Jews died. The sanitary conditions at Bogdanovka were inhumane. Furthermore, the Romanian camp authorities permitted only very little food to be transported to the camp: as a result, only the wealthiest could trade valuables for food. At the end of December, between 4,000 and 5,000 old and sick Jews were chased together in several sties, which were subsequently set on fire. The people inside were burned alive. About 30,000 Jews were shot at pits outside of the camp by Romanian constabulary and local ethnic German and Ukrainian helpers. 200 Jewish men had to bury the bodies of the victims in mass graves; 150 of these men were murdered in February 1942. About 50 Jews survived the Bogdanovka camp.
Image: Bogdanovka, 1944, One of the pigsties into which Jewish prisoners were crowded, Tsentralniy derzhavniy kinofotofonarkhiv Ukraini im. H. S. Pshenychnoho (TsDKFFA), Kyiv-110
Bogdanovka, 1944, One of the pigsties into which Jewish prisoners were crowded, Tsentralniy derzhavniy kinofotofonarkhiv Ukraini im. H. S. Pshenychnoho (TsDKFFA), Kyiv-110

Image: Bogdanovka, 2012, Memorial, Stiftung Denkmal
Bogdanovka, 2012, Memorial, Stiftung Denkmal
Most of the Jews who perished at Bogdanovka came from Odessa and the surrounding areas. About 48,000 were murdered. Many thousands more came from Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina. In total, approximately 54,000 people died at Bogdanovka. About 30,000 Jews were shot at pits near the camp. Thousands died of diseases and the inhumane conditions at the camp.
Image: Bogdanovka, 1944, Exhumation of the victims after the end of the occupation, Derzhavniy arkhiv odeskoj oblasti
Bogdanovka, 1944, Exhumation of the victims after the end of the occupation, Derzhavniy arkhiv odeskoj oblasti

Image: Bogdanovka, 2008, A witness points out the way to the execution site, Ron Vossler
Bogdanovka, 2008, A witness points out the way to the execution site, Ron Vossler
Although Bogdanovka was one of the central sites of the Holocaust in Transnistria, the history of this ghetto and death camp remains relatively unknown to the public - both in Ukraine and in Romania. Only a small monument close to the remote village commemorates the victims. The inscription reads: »Buried here are more than 54,600 Jews (the elderly, women and children) - victims of the Nazi genocide. We remember you!«
Image: Bogdanovka, 2012, A survivor speaks at a memorial ceremony, Stiftung Denkmal
Bogdanovka, 2012, A survivor speaks at a memorial ceremony, Stiftung Denkmal

Image: Bogdanovka, 2012, Ruins of one of the pigsties on the left, Stiftung Denkmal
Bogdanovka, 2012, Ruins of one of the pigsties on the left, Stiftung Denkmal
Name
Pamjatnik schertwam nazistkogo genozida
Open
The memorial is always accessible.