Staryya Darohi

Staryya Darohi Belarusian:Старыя Дарогi
Town
Flag Coat of arms
Staryya Darohi
Coordinates: 53°02′22″N 28°15′54″E
Country	Belarus
Region	Minsk Region
Raion	Staryya Darohi District
Population  (2009)
• Total	11,100
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)

Staryya Darohi Belarusian: Старыя Дарогi, romanized: Staryja Darohi, Russian: Старые Дороги, Lithuanian: Staryje Dorogos, Polish: Stare Drogi) is a town in Republic of Belarus, the capital of the Staryya Darohi District of Minsk Region. First documental record: 1524.

History

In 1939, there were more than 1000 Jews living there, making up 28% of the total population. There were 2 synagogues and several Jewish schools.

During World War II, in 1941, Jews were imprisoned in a closed ghetto by Germans, some Jews managed to escape before on their own or by train. There was a fenced and guarded ghetto on Kirov street where there was a Jewish school and several houses. A group of Jews was forced to swim into the river and shot by the Germans when they were in the water, but little is known about this massacre. On January 19, 1942, the Jews were murdered in a mass execution at a place known as Kacharka. They were massacred by an SS detachment, assisted by local police. Other categories of victims like prisoners of war were also shot at this location.

Immediately after World War II, a displaced persons camp called the Red House was located outside the village. Primo Levi describes in his book The Truce during a short period when around 1,400 displaced persons from across Europe lived there with the Red Army.

See also

• FC Starye Dorogi

External links

• Паспорт Стародорожского района (in Belarusian)