1 Killing site(s)
"[…] Furthermore, members of Rokiškis punitive squad arrested about 1,000 Soviet party activists in June-August, 1941. They were kept in prison and guarded by the insurgents. About 600 of them were sent to be shot to Kupiškis and forests of Steponys [today Steponiai] and Vyžuonos." [Criminal report on punitive squad that operated in Rokiškis in June-August, 1941, compiled on May 20, 1951, p. 150; War Crimes Investigation and Trial Records From the Former Lithuanian KGB Archives RG-26.004 Reel# 36 File P9157 BB]
Vyžuonos is a small village near Rokiškis, the district center, situated approximately 98 km (61 mi) northeast of Panevėžys. There is no information available about the Jews of Vyžuonos. Meanwhile, a significant Jewish community thrived in Rokiškis, where they began to settle from the second half of the 18th century. On the eve of the Second World War, the Jewish community in the Rokiškis district numbered several thousand residents.
Vyžuonos was occupied by German troops on June 27, 1941. Shortly afterward, Lithuanian activists, known as "White Armbanders," began persecuting and executing anyone considered loyal to the Soviet regime, including former Soviet officials, Communists, and members of the Communist Youth. After being held for some time in the Rokiškis prison, groups of victims were taken to the nearby forest on the outskirts of Vyžuonos village to be executed. According to sources, in July 1941, 67 Jews from the Rokiškis district were shot in Vyžuonos forest. A monument was erected at the execution site to commemorate the victims.
For more information about the killing of Jews from Rokiškis area please follow the corresponding profile.
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