On February 19, 1942, at 2 PM, the Ukrainian Auxiliary Police began to round up the Jews of the city and herd them toward the aero club of Sumy, which was located next to the city’s central cemetery. On the way to the aero club, the Jews were beaten und humiliated. At 5 PM, the Germans and the Hungarian troops began the execution of the Jews, at a pit that had been dug in advance between the aero club and the cemetery. Once at the aero club, the Jews were forced to undress, and then the Ukrainian policemen began to lead them to the pit, in groups of seven or eight. The Jews had to lie down inside the pit, and were then shot. Toddlers and little children were thrown into the pit alive. The massacre lasted until 9 PM. On the next day, the Ukrainian Auxiliary Police resumed their hunt for the city's surviving Jews. All the Jews they could find were rounded up and taken to the same aero club. As on the previous day, the Jews were divided into groups of seven or eight. They were then led to a second pit near the cemetery and shot dead. The execution began at 4 PM and lasted until midnight. A total of 650 Jews were killed in the course of these two days.

More information: Yad Vashem

On February 6, 1942, the Germans ordered the local Ukrainian Auxiliary Police to round up the Jews of Sumy. Simultaneously, the Germans announced, in Ukrainian and Russian, that the Jews were to assemble at a designated spot, on the pretext of evacuation to the east, where they would work for the Germans. Failure to show up was punishable by death. When the Jews were assembled, the Ukrainian policemen surrounded them. They forced the Jews to march to the quarry of brick factory no. 4. At the quarry, the Jews had to strip down to their underwear. They were then divided into groups of eight and ordered to lie face down on the floor of the pit. Then, German Einsatzgruppe members entered the pit and shot the Jews in the neck at close range with machine guns. The next eight Jews were then forced to lie down atop the bodies of their predecessors, and the massacre continued. By the time it was over, 350 Jews had been shot dead in this manner. After the murder operation, the Ukrainian auxiliary policemen who had guarded the murder site to prevent the Jews from escaping looted the victims' possessions and clothes.

More information: Yad Vashem

Among the Hungarian troops occupying the area, there was a Jewish labor battalion, made up of men who had been conscripted by the Hungarian government to serve in the army. 250 Jews from the 2nd Hungarian Division were shot by Sonderkommando 4a in the area of the city. The shooting took place in late February – early March 1943, and it led to disagreements between the German and the Hungarian commanders.

More information: Yad Vashem

In May and June 1942, German soldiers and Ukrainian auxiliary policemen searched for Jews and Roma in the city of Sumy and the Sumy District. The arrestees were taken to the city prison, where they were held in inhuman conditions and subjected to torture. One night, all of them were escorted from the prison to a pit in the area of the Frunze factory. There, the Germans shot them with machine guns.

More information: Yad Vashem