1 Killing site(s)
Emilija J., born in 1932: "My parents used to travel to Linkuva to sell meat. At that time, many Jewish families lived there. Two Jewish men regularly came to our village, Laborai, to trade. One of them, Girša, owned a butcher shop in Linkuva and sold bacon. The other man, whom I affectionately called Uncle Nokumas, had four children. Uncle Nokumas often visited Laborai with small items like needles, which he traded for old rags, or goods such as soap, which he later sold for money.
During the German occupation, in late July or early August of 1941, the Jewish women and children of Linkuva were executed in a nearby forest. Girša survived the war, but his entire family was killed in the massacre." (Testimony N°YIU515LT, interviewed in Daugėlaičiai, on August 16, 2024)
"[…] Around July 23, 1941, I drove V. and five other members of the punitive detachment to the Jewish estate 4 km from Linkuva, where up to 2,000 Jews from Linkuva were gathered and were supposed to be shot. When we got there, V. took ten strong Jews and put them on the truck. After which we went to the ’Dvariūkai’ forest, located 4 km from Linkuva, where the Jews, guarded by 5 members of the punitive detachment, were to dig a pit. V. and I then returned to Linkuva. I parked the truck and went home. The next day I learned from the locals that that day all the Jewish men had been shot in the ’Dvariūkai’ forest.
[…] A few days after the shooting of the Jews in Žeimelis, we shot the Jewish women of Linkuva, who had remained [after the shooting of the Jewish men]. Five or six superiors and P. had got into my truck. The other gunmen went on foot to the Jewish estate where the women were locked up. I drove [the superiors] directly to the pit in the "Okotchouna" [Atkučionai] forest, 1 km from Linkuva. The column of women with children numbered around a thousand. They were brought to the pit all at once. They were made to lie on the ground, where they had to wait their turn to be shot. When it was their turn, they were made to strip down to their underwear, and some were made to strip naked. They were then shot, as usual, in groups of five. After the shooting of the women and children, everyone got into the truck parked next to the pit and we drove back to Linkuva. In the empty Jewish house, plenty of alcohol and food awaited us. All the participants in the shooting got drunk until they passed out, and only returned home after a long party." [Interrogation of Juozas M., Lithuanian policeman, by the Lithuanian KGB, taken on April 18, 1945, in Mourom; RG-26.004M Reel 50 Part 1]
"In the early days of the German occupation of Linkuva - located around 45 km northeast of Schaulen [Šiauliai] - the local Jews were arrested and locked up in the attic of the Jew Girsch(as). There must have been between 150 and 220 Jews. On several occasions, at night, some Jews were shot. After a week’s detention, the survivors were taken to Schaulen prison, where they stayed for a few weeks before being transferred to the ghetto. The women and children were sent back to Linkuva shortly after their arrival in Schaulen. They were then shot in Linkuva. […]" [Final report, p. 37; B162-7256 p.37]
Linkuva is located approximately 50 km (31 mi) northeast of Šiauliai. The first records of its Jewish community date back to the early 18th century, with 872 Jews documented as residents of the town in 1847. Linkuva faced significant hardship in 1883 when a devastating fire destroyed the homes and property of around 150 Jewish families. Over time, the town’s economy recovered, and homes were rebuilt, thanks in part to the support from the surrounding Jewish communities. According to the 1897 Russian Empire census, Linkuva had 1,213 Jewish residents, comprising 61% of the town’s total population.
During the interwar period, as Linkuva became part of an independent Lithuania, the Jewish population declined significantly. By 1923, only 625 Jews remained in the town, accounting for 34% of the total population.
The Jewish community in Linkuva was primarily involved in commerce, the service sector, and artisanal trades, with some engaged in agriculture. By 1931, Jewish enterprises in Linkuva included 23 stores and seven factories, such as a power station, a sawmill, several flour mills, a bakery, and a barber shop. The town also hosted a Jewish Popular Bank (Folksbank), a Bet Midrash, and a "Kloiz" (prayer house). During this time, Jewish residents became more active in the social and cultural life of the town, including participating in Zionist youth movements that supported Jewish settlement in Israel.
The situation changed drastically in 1940 when Lithuania was annexed by the Soviet Union. The nationalization of Jewish businesses led to economic decline in Linkuva, resulting in shortages of goods and rising prices. Community institutions, including Zionist organizations and Hebrew educational structures, were forcibly disbanded, marking the beginning of a challenging period for the Jewish community.
Following the launch of Operation Barbarossa on June 22, 1941, many Jews from Linkuva attempted to flee eastward, but several were killed by Lithuanian activists. Simultaneously, hundreds of Jews from Šiauliai and surrounding areas sought refuge in Linkuva. By the time German troops entered the town on June 28, 1941, approximately 1,000 Jewish residents remained in the town.
In the early days of the German occupation, Lithuanian partisans, known as the "White Armbanders" (reorganized into an auxiliary police squad in early July 1941), began targeting individuals suspected of loyalty to the Soviet regime, with Jews being a primary focus. Up to 70 people, including Jews, were interrogated in the local granary and subsequently murdered in Linkuva. On July 2, 1941, 125 Jews were forcibly taken from Linkuva to Šiauliai. Of these, 57 Jewish men were imprisoned and later executed, while the Jewish women and children were sent back to Linkuva. However, many of them were killed en route by Lithuanian activists near Pakruojis.
The remaining Jews in Linkuva were subsequently confined in the barns of the estate owner, David Davidson. Between July 2 and July 23, 1941, approximately 200 Jewish men were taken to a forest near the village of Dvariukai, where they were forced to dig their own graves before being executed. On July 23, 1941 (although some sources indicate August 5, 1941), the remaining Jewish population—comprising 300 women and children (or, according to other sources, 700 Jews, including men, women, and children)—were subjected to a brutal Aktion. Members of the Gestapo from Šiauliai, assisted by Linkuva’s auxiliary police, carried out the massacre. The victims were marched in a column to the Atkučionai forest, forced to undress, and shot in groups over a pit that had been prepared in advance.
Following the extermination of Linkuva’s Jewish community, the victims’ belongings were sold in the very shops that had once belonged to them. Only a handful of Jews from Linkuva managed to survive the war.
For more information about the killing of Jewish men in Dvariūkai, please follow the corresponding profile.
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