This area around Laznya recalls the most terrible episodes in the history of the Jewish people. It was here, after the occupation of the city in July 1941, that a ghetto was created. It covered a vast territory of several blocks. In the ghetto territory there was a post office, a school, a synagogue, a bath and laundry plant, and a power station. The ghetto was surrounded by barbed wire. Russians and Belarusians were resettled into Jewish apartments in the city outside of the ghetto. There were about 5,000 people in the ghetto. Many houses in the ghetto were destroyed. People lived in terribly crowded conditions, with 10-15 families in each house. It was forbidden to leave the territory of the ghetto. In September 1941, the ghetto was moved to the outskirts of the city. Jews from neighboring villages were also driven here. There were already about 8,000 people there. Everyone was placed in 10 barracks. The ghetto was also surrounded by a fence and barbed wire, and was guarded by the police. The Germans came only to rob. This is how it occurred: everyone was driven out into the street, forced to undress, then searched. They took away rings, watches, earrings, chains. Food was provided only once a day. It consisted of flour gruel without salt and 100g of bread. Water was not provided at all. Those who could not work were beaten or killed. Conditions were terrible for the spread of infection. People were dying by the hundreds  from starvation and disease. At first it was possible to escape from the ghetto, but there was nowhere to run. On the morning of November 21, everyone was dragged out, counted and driven to the outskirts of the city.  The column stretched for a kilometer. Those who walked toward the middle of the column heard the shots. It was the beginning of shooting those toward the front of the line. Now there are garages on this territory, in front of the new road leading to Vitebsk. There were holes already dug. Jews were undressed, clothes were thrown into a heap, and people were shot at the pits. The Germans were the ones shooting. Five murderers stood near each pit. One of the surviving witnesses, Mikhail Borisovich Minkovich, says that young children were thrown into the pits alive. The second group was shot on December 11th. The ghetto ceased to exist in August 1942. According to the data of the regional state archive in the city of Polotsk, during the duration of the ghetto, more than 7,000 Jewish civilians were exterminated.