On August 2, 1941 about 600 Jews, the men, the women and the children were collected on the square of Surazh near the building of the local printing house. There the Jewish men were forced to lie on the ground with their faces down while the women and the children were forced to sit in the ground. Then the Jews were put in columns and were forced to march to the murder site located 2,5 - 3 kilometers to the northwest from Surazh Vitebskiy, in the vicinity of the former flax factory. Some later sources describe the murder site as the area in the vicinity of Bolshaya Lyubshchina (today Lyubshchina village) vicinity. At the three large pits had been prepared in advance. According to some testimonies the women and the children were murdered first, while the men were forced to watch the scene. Some of the victims were thrown into the pits still alive. Then the men were shot next to the same pits. Some soviet sources also mention grenades thrown at the Jewish victims and the latter perished from the explosions. The German sources say the grenade explosions were used after the shooting was over in order cover the bodies. The murder operation was finished at 10-11 p.m. It was carried out by staff members of Einsatzkommando 9 from Einsatzgruppe B that arrived at Surazh Vitebskiy after an unsuccessful attempt to liquidate a partisan camp in the vicinity of the town.

More information: Yad Vashem