Vinnytsia massacre

The Vinnytsia massacre was a mass execution of between 9,000 and 11,000 people in the Ukrainian town of Vinnytsia by the Soviet secret police NKVD during the Great Purge or Yezhovshchina in 1937–1938. Mass graves in Vinnytsia were discovered during Nazi Germany's occupation of Ukraine in 1943. The investigation of the site first conducted by the international Katyn Commission coincided with the discovery of a similar mass murder site of Polish prisoners of war in Katyn. Nazi Germany utilized this evidence of Communist terror to discredit the Soviet Union internationally. It became one of the more renowned sites of the politically motivated NKVD massacres among many in Ukraine.

Most of the victims buried at Vinnytsia were killed using a .22 calibre bullet fired into the back of the neck. Due to the small calibre of the bullet, most victims were shot twice, and at least 78 of them were shot three times; 395 of the victims found there had their skulls broken in addition to traces of gunshot trauma. Almost all men whose remains were excavated had their hands tied. Older women were dressed in some form of clothing, whereas younger victims were buried naked.

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