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Yama

Yama is a Holocaust memorial at the corner of Melnikayte and Zaslavskaya streets in Minsk, Belarus. It marks the site where, on 2 March 1942, Nazi German forces shot about 5,000 Jewish residents of the nearby Minsk Ghetto. The original obelisk was created in 1947 by the Soviet Union, and a bronze sculpture titled The Last Way was added in 2000. Created by Leonid Levin and Elsa Pollak, the sculpture shows a group of victims descending the steps of the pit. The memorial also includes figures of a violinist, children, and a pregnant woman, and annual funeral assemblies are held there on 2 March.

The Pit memorial with textured stone slabs and small plaques set in a grassy area.
The Pit memorial in Minsk, shown with its textured stone slabs and engraved plaques.
© · CC0
The Pit monument, a tall grey stone memorial with inscriptions and a carved emblem at the top, stands on a grassy hill with wreaths and flower baskets at its base.
The Pit monument rises from a grassy hill, with wreaths and flower baskets placed at its base.
September 2009 © · CC BY-SA 2.0
The Pit monument on a grassy mound with wreaths and flowers at its base.
The Pit monument in Minsk, surrounded by wreaths and flowers.
May 2016 © · CC BY-SA 4.0
A man in a suit bends down to place a small stone at The Pit memorial, with red flowers and other stones at the base.
A visitor places a stone at The Pit memorial, where flowers and stones rest at the monument’s base.
August 2019 © Office of U.S. National Security Advisor · Public domain
The Pit monument sign with Cyrillic text standing in a grassy area near trees.
The Pit monument sign stands on posts in a grassy area with trees behind it.
April 2009 © · Public domain

Identification

NameYama
Alternate nameMemorial "Yama"
TypeMemorial monument

Historical context

Commemorated eventThe shooting of about 5,000 prisoners of the Minsk Ghetto by Nazi German forces on 2 March 1942
CommemoratesVictims of the Holocaust, especially the Jews of the Minsk Ghetto
Site significanceLocated at the site where about 5,000 Jews from the nearby Minsk Ghetto were shot on 2 March 1942
Earlier memorialA granite obelisk was erected in 1947
Historical significanceThe first monument to Holocaust victims in the USSR on which an inscription in Yiddish was permitted

Creator

Inscription authorHaim Maltinsky
SculptorsAlexander Finsky; Elsa Pollak
ArchitectLeonid Levin

Discovery and provenance

Installed2000
Construction period8 years
Decision to create larger memorialIn the 1990s

Physical characteristics

LocationCorner of Melnikayte and Zaslavskaya streets, Minsk, Belarus
Location within memorialAlong the stairs leading down to the center of the memorial
Associated memorialYama Memorial
Associated projectAlley of the Righteous Among the Nations nearby

Materials

MaterialBronze

Technique

Construction methodBuilt entirely by hand; no machinery or excavations were used

Appearance

Proposed figures in original designA violinist, children, and a pregnant woman
Original design characterInitially planned to be more specific and still rather abstract, with collective images
Final styleMore expressive and without overt national character
SubjectA group of doomed martyrs descending to the bottom of a pit

Iconography and meaning

Inscription noteThe two translations are not exact
Nearby featuresA deep pit lined with slabs, an obelisk at the bottom, and a round paved black-cobblestone площадка in front of the obelisk; 17 steps lead down to it
Inscription languagesRussian and Yiddish
Inscription textTo the shining memory of the bright days of five thousand Jews who perished at the hands of sworn enemies of humanity, German-fascist butchers, on 2 March 1942.

Location and ownership

Annual commemoration date2 March
Annual commemorationsMourning memorial meetings are held at the memorial site every year on 2 March
Initiators of remembrance eventsThe Union of Belarusian Jewish Organizations and Communities
Related eventsDays of Remembrance of the Holocaust are held in Minsk
Additional activitiesInternational round tables are organized to study the tragedy of the Jews of Belarus

History and restoration

VandalismThe memorial has been vandalized several times
Reconstruction detailsThe work was done manually; no machines were used and no excavations were carried out

Other

Planned future featureTrees with plaques bearing the names of people who saved Jews during the German occupation are to be planted nearby