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Khatyn massacre

SOLVED1943Khatyn, Lahoysk District, Minsk Region, Belarus3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026
Illustrative

Khatyn was a small village of 26 houses and 157 inhabitants in the Lahoysk district of the Minsk region of Belarus. On 22 March 1943, during the German occupation of Byelorussia, almost the entire population of the village was killed in a massacre carried out by Schutzmannschaft Battalion 118 — a unit made up mostly of Ukrainian and other Soviet collaborators — assisted by the SS-Sonderbataillon Dirlewanger. The killings were carried out in retaliation for a partisan attack on German troops earlier that day.

According to the historical record, a Battalion 118 unit sent to repair a damaged telephone line near Kozyri village was ambushed by Soviet partisans, killing four policemen including company commander Hauptmann Hans Woellke. The pursuing platoon, commanded by Vasyl Meleshko, retreated and called for reinforcements from the Dirlewanger unit. While awaiting reinforcements, the policemen detained 40 to 50 people from the Kozyri settlement on suspicion of aiding partisans; while being marched to Plyeshchanitsy, the group panicked and attempted to flee, and 26 were killed near the village of Guba.

Reinforcements from the 1st Company and a Ukrainian Platoon of the Dirlewanger unit, under SS-Sturmbannführer Praefke, together with men under Hryhoriy Vasiura, then attacked Khatyn, where fleeing partisans had taken shelter. After a battle in which 34 partisans were killed and most structures destroyed, the remaining villagers were driven into a shed, which was set on fire. Those who broke out of the burning shed were shot. Approximately 149 people were killed, including 70 to 75 children under the age of 16. The village was subsequently looted and burned.

Eight inhabitants survived, six of whom witnessed the massacre. Survivors included children who hid or escaped and an adult, village smith Yuzif Kaminsky, who was later commemorated in a memorial statue depicting him carrying his dying son.

In the postwar period, several individuals identified as responsible were prosecuted. Bruno Pavel, described as the officer who ordered the massacre, was tried at the Riga Trial in 1946 and executed. Ivan Melnichenko, described as leader of the Dirlewanger unit involved, was shot by NKVD agents in 1946 while resisting arrest. Other collaborators were tried in the Soviet Union in later decades: Vasyl Meleshko was tried and executed in 1975, and Hryhoriy Vasiura, chief of staff of the 118th Battalion, was tried in Minsk in 1986, convicted, sentenced to death, and executed in 1987.

Khatyn was designated the national war memorial of the Byelorussian SSR in 1969 and remains a major memorial site, including a Cemetery of Villages commemorating 185 Belarusian villages destroyed during the war along with their populations.

Key facts

Victims
Sofia Antonovna Yaskevich, Yuzif Kaminsky, Vladimir Antonovich Yaskevich, Anton Iosifovich Baranovsky, Tatyana Vasilyevna Karaban, Viktor Andreevich Zhelobkovich, Sofya Klimovich, Alexander Petrovich Zhelobkovich
Date
1943
Location
Khatyn, Lahoysk District, Minsk Region, Belarus
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 1943-03-22

    Battalion 118 unit ambushed by Soviet partisans near Kozyri; company commander Hans Woellke and three others killed.

  2. 1943-03-22

    Group of 40-50 detained residents from Kozyri panic while being marched to Plyeshchanitsy; 26 killed near Guba.

  3. 1943-03-22

    Schutzmannschaft Battalion 118 and SS-Sonderbataillon Dirlewanger forces attack Khatyn; approximately 149 villagers, including 70-75 children, killed after being burned in a shed or shot.

  4. 1946

    Bruno Pavel prosecuted at the Riga Trial and executed for ordering the massacre.

  5. 1946-02-26

    Ivan Melnichenko, leader of the Dirlewanger unit involved, shot by NKVD agents while resisting arrest.

  6. 1969

    Khatyn named the national war memorial of the Byelorussian SSR.

  7. 1975

    Vasyl Meleshko, platoon commander of the 118th Battalion, tried in Soviet court and executed.

  8. 1986

    Hryhoriy Vasiura, chief of staff of the 118th Battalion, tried in Minsk and found guilty of all charges.

  9. 1987

    Hryhoriy Vasiura executed.

  10. 2004

    Khatyn Memorial renovated.

Best coverage

No approved coverage links are attached yet.

People

  • Sofia Antonovna Yaskevich

    VICTIM

    Survivor who hid in a cellar during the massacre.

  • Yuzif Kaminsky

    VICTIM

    Village smith and the only adult survivor of the massacre; wounded and burned, found his dying son afterward.

  • Vasyl Meleshko

    CONVICTED

    Platoon commander of the 118th Schutzmannschaft Battalion at the time of the massacre; tried in a Soviet court and executed in 1975.

  • Ivan Melnichenko

    CONVICTED

    Leader of the Dirlewanger unit that committed the massacre; shot by NKVD agents in 1946 while resisting arrest (not tried in court).

  • Vladimir Antonovich Yaskevich

    VICTIM

    Survivor who hid in a potato pit near his family home; spared after being noticed by soldiers.

  • Anton Iosifovich Baranovsky

    VICTIM

    Twelve-year-old survivor left for dead with leg wounds; treated by partisans.

  • Tatyana Vasilyevna Karaban

    VICTIM

    Village resident who survived because she was visiting relatives in a neighboring village that day.

  • Viktor Andreevich Zhelobkovich

    VICTIM

    Seven-year-old survivor who survived the shed fire under his mother's body.

  • Bruno Pavel

    CONVICTED

    Officer who ordered the massacre; tried at the Riga Trial in 1946 and executed.

  • Sofya Klimovich

    VICTIM

    Village resident who survived because she was visiting a nearby village that day; later worked at the Memorial.

  • Hryhoriy Vasiura

    CONVICTED

    Chief of staff of the 118th Schutzmannschaft Battalion who took part in the attack on Khatyn; tried in Minsk in 1986, convicted, sentenced to death, and executed in 1987.

  • Alexander Petrovich Zhelobkovich

    VICTIM

    Twelve-year-old survivor who escaped the village on horseback before it was surrounded.

Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.

Places

Khatyn, Lahoysk District, Minsk Region, Belarus

54.3350, 27.9450

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
On 22 March 1943, nearly the entire population of the Belarusian village of Khatyn — around 149 people, including many children — was killed by Schutzmannschaft Battalion 118 and the SS-Sonderbataillon Dirlewanger in reprisal for a partisan attack that killed a German company commander.
Where did the massacre happen?
Khatyn, Lahoysk District, Minsk Region, Belarus.
Who was convicted?
Vasyl Meleshko (Platoon commander of the 118th Schutzmannschaft Battalion at the time of the massacre; tried in a Soviet court and executed in 1975.), Ivan Melnichenko (Leader of the Dirlewanger unit that committed the massacre; shot by NKVD agents in 1946 while resisting arrest (not tried in court).), Bruno Pavel (Officer who ordered the massacre; tried at the Riga Trial in 1946 and executed.), and Hryhoriy Vasiura (Chief of staff of the 118th Schutzmannschaft Battalion who took part in the attack on Khatyn; tried in Minsk in 1986, convicted, sentenced to death, and executed in 1987.).
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved.
More cases in Belarus

Sources

  1. Khatyn massacrewikipedia · Wikipedia · 2026-07-07
  2. Contemporaneous coverage — khatyn.bynews · khatyn.by · 2026-07-07
  3. Contemporaneous coverage — ilhr.orgnews · ilhr.org · 2026-07-07