The article examines issues related to the history of the Soviet people during the Nazi occupation. Using the example of the occupation regime in Kabardino-Balkaria (August 1942 – January 1943), the forms and methods of mass extermination of Soviet people, both civilians and prisoners of war, are explored. The history of the Great Patriotic War was and remains the greatest tragedy of the 20th century. The particularly affected the territories occupied during the war. Mass murders of civilians, women, children and old people became routine planned actions of the fascists. The task of preserving historical memory is urgent. This is due to the ongoing attempts to falsify the history of the Second World War and the Great Patriotic War by hushing up or distorting the truth about the victims suffered by the Soviet people. Forgetting the historical memory of the atrocities of the Nazi invaders could cause irreparable harm to the national consciousness of Russian society and the loss of the ability to recognize such threats to modern Russia. This is especially true for young people who, given the time distance from the events of the Great Patriotic War, do not feel the suffering endured by the Soviet people as acutely. The subject of the analysis was the materials of the Extraordinary State Commission of Kabardino- Balkaria for the investigation of the atrocities of the fascist occupiers. The commission`s activities laid the foundation for further research into the history of the genocide, its scale and consequences. Before the occupation, the republic made a large contribution to helping the front, providing it with human and industrial resources. During the occupation, the peoples of Kabardino-Balkaria courageously accepted their fate, finding themselves in a huge group of innocent people who fell into the millstones of the fascist punitive machine. We are still investigating the consequences of these events and the names of the murderers and traitors; they have no statute of limitations.