A memorial in the old Jewish quarter of Hrodna marks the site of the Grodno Ghetto, established by the Nazi occupation in 1941. The ghetto concentrated the city's Jewish population — roughly half of Hrodna's pre-war inhabitants — before their systematic deportation and murder in 1942 and 1943. The memorial is a modest but significant site, and the surrounding streets of the old town were once the centre of a community that had lived in the city for centuries.
Walking the old town with this history in mind changes the experience considerably. The buildings that survive, the squares, the streets — all were shared spaces before 1941. For anyone interested in Jewish history or the history of Eastern Europe under Nazi occupation, the memorial and the wider Jewish heritage of the city are worth seeking out. The State Archive holds records from the period; the local museum has some exhibits on the subject.