In July-August 1941 some Jewish men, apparently the strong and work-capable ones, from Krasnoarmeysk and other places in its vicinity were collected in the local Soviet authorities' building. They were forced onto trucks on the pretext of being sent to road construction jobs. Instead, they were taken out of town toward Yagodenka village. From there the victims were driven to the area of Lysaya Gora [Bald Hill] near the village of Yagodenka. There two pits had been dug by Soviet POWs, who were then shot near this site. There the Jewish men were murdered, with the old men being thrown into the pit alive. According to some testimonies, policemen first cut of the fingers of Jews who had gold rings or knocked out their gold teeth with gun butts and only then shot the victims. Five men were left alive to bury the bodies. After that, the four were ordered to dig a grave for themselves and were murdered as well. According to some testimonies, prior to that shooting the Germans had collected girls (most of them Jewish) age 12 and above and shot them, at the same location. According to Soviet reports 278 Jews of Krasnoarmeysk and, apparently, from other places were murdered in September 1941. Among the victims were four Jews who were tortured and then hanged. The reports mention Lysaya Gora as the murder site, while later testimonies identify the shooting site more precisely as the Kazany ravine in the vicinity of Yagodenka village. The remaining ghetto inmates, mostly women and children, were shot on December 27, 1941. The victims were taken from the ghetto on the pretext that they would be sent to Palestine. They were then forced into a column, with those who were unable to go on foot being either shot or bayoneted on the spot. Some testimonies report that say local non-Jews robbed the Jews in the column. The Jews were taken to the same murder site and shot by Germans and local policemen with machine-guns. The young children were thrown into the pit alive.

More information: Yad Vashem