SHAULICHI

Volkovysk District, Grodno Region
Status: never rebuilt · memorial complex · "younger sister of Khatyn"

The Tragedy

On the morning of 7 July 1943, during a punitive operation, the Nazis shot 366 people, including 120 children, and burned 77 houses. The village did not recover after the massacre, which is why it is often called the "younger sister of Khatyn".

Local accounts also note that the attack was followed by mass grief in nearby villages and that relatives later returned to find only ashes and chimney remains.

366
victims
120
children
77
houses burned

Shaulichi · then and now

Shaulichi before 1943
⚫ Shaulichi before the tragedy — a once‑prosperous village
Shaulichi memorial today
🕊️ Memorial complex with obelisk, symbolic log frames, and a bronze bell

Voices of survivors and witnesses

“Surviving children later recalled fire, gunshots, screaming, and the destruction of their homes during the punitive operation.”
— From the memories of child survivors
“Residents from neighboring settlements later described seeing smoke rising above Shaulichi and learning that the village had been destroyed after the troops withdrew.”
— Witnesses from nearby villages
“It's impossible to forget. I saw how Shaulichi burned… The ashes of this village lie as gray hair on our heads, knock on our hearts. We remember this. We will never forget this.”
— Urshulya Bogolyubova, eyewitness

Aftermath and memory

Memory of the tragedy was first marked in 1954, when the main four‑sided obelisk was installed; the victims’ names are carved on marble plaques.

The memorial was later updated: on the sites of the burned houses, 46 wooden symbolic log frames were added, each with plaques showing house numbers and family names, and a 62‑kilogram bronze bell was placed at the heart of the memorial. Annual remembrance events are still held there.

The village was never rebuilt "Younger sister of Khatyn" 62‑kg bronze bell rings every year
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