The crimes committed by the Nazi invaders during the Great Patriotic War on the territory of what is now the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) have been recognized by court as genocide against the peoples of the USSR. This decision was based, among other evidence, on materials collected by the Investigative Committee of Russia during the investigation of a criminal case concerning the mass extermination of civilians and military personnel on the occupied Soviet territory.
Through the research and analysis of archival documents on the atrocities committed by the Nazis in the former Stalin region, the circumstances of the elimination of civilians, the looting and destruction of industrial and agricultural enterprises, as well as cultural, medical, and educational institutions, have been conclusively established.
Upon occupying the Donbas, the Nazis sought to seize its natural resources and industrial potential. A specially created mining and metallurgical society was intended to establish coal mining operations in the region's mines, strengthening the Wehrmacht’s economic standing while weakening the USSR's production capabilities. However, these efforts were disrupted by the active sabotage of Soviet workers, who sacrificed their lives to prevent the Nazis from executing their plans.
In an effort to terrorize the local population, the Nazis publicly executed innocent people from the first days of the occupation. For example, near the Factory named after Ilyich, in Mariupol, 71 individuals were shot dead and hanged in front of the public to instill fear among the residents.
According to one eyewitness, the occupiers spared no one, neither the elderly, women, nor children. "I once saw a column of 60 teenagers in vocational school uniforms. The German guards shoved them into one of the barracks. Soon, we heard heart-wrenching screams from the boys, followed by machine-gun fire," a local resident recalls.
Investigative materials confirmed that the bodies of murdered civilians were walled up in mines and quarries of industrial sites. Upon the discovery of these remains, it was revealed that some individuals had been buried alive, dying in horrific agony with no chance of escape.
As the Nazis retreated under the pressure of Soviet forces, they employed so called “scorched earth” tactics. Villages such as Yuryevka, Golaya Dolina, Karpovka, Dmitrievka, and others were completely destroyed. While abandoning the city of Stalino, later renamed Donetsk, the Nazis burned over 100 residents alive in the basement of a house belonging to the faculty of the Industrial Institute. Among the victims were the families of the institute’s professors and research staff.
The evidence gathered during the investigation further substantiated the Nazi occupiers' and their collaborators' plan to fully exterminate the Soviet people.
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