Červień or Chervyen ( be, Чэрвень, ; Ігумен – ''Ihumen'' till 1923; russian: Червень ''Cherven''; pl, Czerwień; yi, Humen/Igumen, lt, Červenė), also spelled Cherven, is a

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

ian town in

Minsk Region Minsk Region or Minsk Oblast or Minsk Voblasts ( be, Мі́нская во́бласць, ''Minskaja voblasć'' ; russian: Минская о́бласть, ''Minskaya oblast'') is one of the regions of Belarus. Its administrative center is Minsk ...

. It is the administrative seat of the Chervyen District and, in 2016, had a population of 9,718.

History

On February 1, 1942 the German forces and local policemen surrounded the Cherven ghetto. At the same time, other Jews living outside the ghetto walls, such as in the local hospital, were gathered together. They were ordered to undress to their undergarments and lie on the ground, where they were shot dead. Witnesses put the number of victims at between 1,500-1,750 people. The murder operation was carried out by the Einsatzkommando 8 unit of Einsatzgruppe B, with the help of local policeman. On 25–27 June 1941, the Soviet

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...

carried out a mass execution of political prisoners from

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

in the nearby Tsagelnya forest. Wooden statue ''Mourning Angel'', by sculptor Gennady Matusevich, was erected at the location. Commemorative events are held there every year in June.

Geography

Located 66 km east of

and 45 km west of Berezino, Chervyen lies on a plain in the middle of its raion. It is crossed to the north by the M4 highway Minsk-

Mogilev Mogilev (russian: Могилёв, Mogilyov, ; yi, מאָלעוו, Molev, ) or Mahilyow ( be, Магілёў, Mahilioŭ, ) is a city in eastern Belarus, on the Dnieper River, about from the border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and from the bor ...

. The national road P59 links it with the town of

Smalyavichy Smalyavichy; russian: Смолевичи, Smoleviči; yi, סמאָלאָוויטש / Смоловіч, Smolovich; pl, italic=no, Smolewicze / Смолэвичэ; lt, italic=no, Smaliavičai / Смалявичай is a city in Minsk Region, Be ...

(50 km north) and the Minsk National Airport (65 km north).

Notable people

* Vladimir Isaacovich Fundator (1903-86), metallurgist who invented the technology which made possible the aluminum diesel engine for the T-34 tank, thus facilitating the rapid advance of the Red Army in World War 2; recipient USSR Council of Ministers Prize. * Leivik Halpern (1888-1962), Yiddish poet and literary editor who under the pen name H Leivik wrote The Golem, among other works. * David Nisnevich (1893-1963), composer of Russian and Yiddish folk songs. * Lieutenant Semion Gurevich (1915-1984), distinguished himself by leading a Red Army attack across the Dnieper River in September 1943, for which he received the title Hero of the Soviet Union. * Professor David Movshevitch Golub (1901-2001), distinguished anatomist and embryologist; Academician of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus; recipient Red Banner of Labour. * Professor Feival Movshevitch Golub, brother of David, headed the Department of Surgical Diseases, Samarkand State Medical Institute, Uzbekistan; recipient Honorary Scientist of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic. * Vladimir Adomovich Korol (1912-1980), architect involved in the plans to rebuild Minsk after the destruction of World War 2; received Order of Lenin. * Oleg Novitskiy (b. 1971), Russian cosmonaut. * Valery Shary (b. 1947), Olympic light-heavyweight weightlifting champion.

Gallery

References

External links

Chervyen official website

History of the town

Photos on Radzima.org

Local prison and statues

The murder of the Jews of Chervyen’
during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, at the

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem ( he, יָד וַשֵׁם; literally, "a memorial and a name") is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; honoring Jews who fought against th ...