Soviet Union

A Subjugated Monster​

A Mass Murder Campaign

Holocaust in the Soviet Union counts at least two million Jews and other categories of people murdered by Germans in Soviet territories. Prior to World War 2, the Soviet Union also included countries like Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
 
Germany launched a war of extermination against the Soviet Union in the summer of 1941. At that point, Germany no longer focused on incarcerating Jews and forcing them to work. Instead, it became a mass murder campaign. Some see this invasion as the official beginning of World War 2.
 
Many of the Jews in the Soviet Union relocated from Germany, as the aggression towards them became more obvious. Most Soviet Jews killed in the Holocaust were murdered during the first year of the conflict. It was a different form of Holocaust, as people were killed in mass shootings.
 
As a response, between 300,000 and 500,000 Jews joined the Soviet army during World War 2.

Holocaust Museum of Corfu
Holocaust Museum of Corfu
Items

Discover The Soviet Union

Roller Skates​

Holocaust Museum of Corfu

Numerous leaders of the Zionist movement originated from Jelgava. The Latvian city was captured by Nazi forces on the 29th of June, 1941. The massacres started right away, with most undesirables getting murdered within a month. These roller skates were recovered by Giedrius from an abandoned Jewish house and given to his children. They were kept as war relics.

· Donated by Nojus Kairys

Dreidel​

Holocaust Museum of Corfu

This dreidel was found in the remains of a synagogue in Tartu. The Estonian city hosted two synagogues. It’s unclear which synagogue the cup was recovered from, but both were destroyed by fire during the war. Local Christians preserved some of the items found in Jewish homes. This dreidel was kept by Airi in a box. Her family found it after she passed away.

· Donated by the Jääger family

Matryoshka Dolls​

Holocaust Museum of Corfu

Around 16,000 Belarusian Jews lived in the Vitebsk Ghetto. Most of them were killed after Nazis claimed that the ghetto became a health hazard. Many bodies were disposed of in the Vitba river. These matryoshka dolls were found in a house in the ghetto, left empty after its liquidation. Some houses were given to locals. Some of them preserved such personal belongings.

· Donated anonymously

Many More Items​

Holocaust Museum of Corfu

Our collection has countless other items to display. We are currently in the process of saving donations to open a physical museum, so we can display the entire collection. Any donation through the button below will be greatly appreciated and can help us preserve the memory of the Holocaust alive. Thank you.

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Rebecca Aaron was the last Holocaust survivor in Corfu. May her memory be a blessing.
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