At the beginning of September 1942 a unit of the Security Police and the SD (probably part of the Einsatzkommando based in Łuck) arrived in Beresteczko and, with the help of the Ukrainian auxiliary police, collected at the Racibrowski yard near the town castle, 300 male Jews between the ages of 14 and 65 on the pretext of sending them to work. After being registered by the Germans, the men were forced to dig a large pit, and then the German troops lined them up and took them in groups to the pit, where the Jews were shot to death with pistols. According to one testimony, when panic ensued during the shooting, several dozen Jews managed to escape from the murder site. However, many of them were subsequently caught and killed. During this murder operation Ukrainian auxiliary police guarded the victims in order to prevent them from escaping.

More information: Yad Vashem

On one day in early September 1942, several hundred Gendarmerie (German rural order police) men and Ukrainian auxiliary policemen surrounded the ghetto and also the quarters in which the Jewish craftsmen were living. For three days the Jews were not allowed to leave their homes. During this time the German authorities ordered local non-Jews to dig two large pits north of the town, near the Renczina Machine and Tractor Station, on the way to Smolyawa village. On the fourth day the Jews were taken to the murder site. Upon their arrival there, the adults were made to undress and forced to lie face down in the pits. Then they were shot to death by Sipo and SD units from Łuck and members of the Gendarmerie. The small children were thrown alive into the pits. After the murder the property of the Jews was collected. The Germans kept the more valuable items, while the clothing of the victims was sold to the local population.

More information: Yad Vashem