3 Sitio(s) de ejecución
Janina C., born in 1933: "When our town was occupied by the Germans, Jews could no longer work freely. After the first Jews were shot, the others were herded into one street in Kaltanėnai. The non-Jewish inhabitants had to leave this street and occupy the Jewish houses that remained empty outside this territory. Thus an open ghetto was created in the town. As my family's house was situated on the edge of the same street, we could stay there without moving elsewhere. Ghetto inmates had to wear the distinctive yellow star symbols on their backs. I remember them walking freely within the ghetto territory, but despite the absence of the fence, they were not allowed to leave it." (Testimony N°YIU70LT, interviewed in Kaltanėnai, on April 7, 2014)
Kaltanėnai is situated approximately 86 km (53,4 mi) northeast of Vilnius and about 20 km (12,4 mi) northwest of Švenčionys. The town's origins can be traced back to the 15th century when Kaltanėnai manor was first mention in written sources. In 1920, the town was transferred under Polish rule where it remained until 1939. On the eve of the WWII, many Jews lived in the town alongside Poles, Lithuanians and Russians. Local Jews were primarily engaged in commerce, service sector and artisanal work. They owned and operated many of the town's businesses. There was a Jewish synagogue.
Kaltanėnai was occupied by German forces at the end of June – beginning of July 1941. A Lithuanian partisan squad of white armbanders was created in the town. In the first days of the occupation, the white armbanders started to persecute Soviet activists, Communists and Jews. In July 1941, several groups of Jews, including men, women and children, were executed in three mass graves, each containing about 10 Jewish victims. The first pit is located in the forest on the outskirts of the town, the second one near the Catholic cemetery and the third one on the edge of the pine forest, near the road to Molėtai. According to some sources, 26 Jews in total were killed in Kaltanėnai during this period.
After a brief period of military administration, when the town transitioned to German civil administration, an order stipulating the confinement of the Jewish residents within ghettos was issued. Around September 1941, the remaining Jews of Kaltanėnai were compelled to relocate to a designated street in town. The non-Jewish inhabitants who had previously lived on the street had to move to the Jewish houses outside the territory. Thus, an open ghetto was created in Kaltanėnai. Ghetto inmates, at least 80 people, had to wear distinctive yellow star symbols on their backs. They could walk freely within the ghetto territory, but they were not allowed to leave it despite the absence of a fence.
The ghetto was liquidated over the course of an Aktion, carried out in late September 1941, when the ghetto detainees were relocated to barracks in the former Soviet military training camp near Švenčionys, about 1,5 km from Švenčionėliai. From October 8-10, 1941, most of them were executed along with thousands of other Jews assembled there.
For more information about the killing of Jews in Švenčionėliai please follow the corresponding profile.
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