Švenčionys,Svintsyan orŚwięciany Ghetto was aJewish ghetto in Nazi-occupiedŠvenčionys (pre-warSecond Polish Republic, post-warLithuanian SSR). It operated from July 1941 to April 1943. At its peak, the ghetto housed some 1,500 prisoners. It was located in what today is a city park; the location is marked by a woodenmenorah carved by Juozapas Jakštas (first in early 1990s, second in 2011).[1]
Before the war, Švenčionys had about 9,000 residents of whom a third were Jewish.[2] The ghetto was established soon after theNazi Germany attacked Soviet Russia on June 22, 1941. At the end of September 1941, about 1,000 or 2,000 of Švenčionys Jews were moved to barracks of former military training grounds nearŠvenčionėliai. Jews from other nearby settlements were gathered there as well. These Jews were massacred on October 9–10 by Nazis and Lithuanians from theYpatingasis būrys. TheJäger Report reported a total of 3,726 deaths (1,169 men, 1,840 women, 717 children).[2]
The ghetto in Švenčionys continued to function. It was surrounded by abarbed wire fence and guarded by armed guards. The territory was divided to four quarters, each having its own Jewish commandant. Additionally, the ghetto had a five-memberJudenrat (council). According to a census of August 1942, the ghetto had 566 Jews, including 353 working men and women.[2]
Younger inmates began procuring weapons and establishing contacts with theSoviet partisans active in the region (now eastern Lithuania and western Belarus). A number of Jews escaped and joinedJewish partisans. Nazi officials were forced to strengthen security measures. The first step was liquidating small ghettos in various towns. About 1,000 Jews from the ghetto inVidzy (modern Belarus) were moved to Švenčionys. Due to crammed and unsanitary conditions, atyphus epidemic broke out among the inmates. The epidemic was contained with the help from a group of Jewish doctors sent from theVilnius Ghetto.[2]
At the end of 1942, three other small ghettos operated in the area:Michališki [be] (Astravyets District),Soly [be] (Smarhon' District), andAshmyany.[3] Due to increased partisan activities, it was decided to liquidate the four ghettos in spring 1943. To minimize resistance, Jewish policemen from Vilnius Ghetto were brought in to facilitate the operation.[3] About 2,700 able-bodied Jews were transferred toVilnius Ghetto or work camps inŽiežmariai,Žasliai, orKena.[2] On April 4, the remaining Jews boarded onto a freight train inŠvenčionėliai. They were told that they would be transported toKaunas Ghetto. Instead, the train stopped atPaneriai. Five train cars were redirected to a work camp inBezdonys, two other cars with members of the Judenrat were taken to Vilnius Ghetto.[4] Few others managed to escape, but the vast majority were shot by German and Lithuanian policemen. According to Nazi sources, about 4,000 Jews were killed on April 5 at Paneriai.[3]
55°08′04″N26°09′28″E / 55.13444°N 26.15778°E /55.13444; 26.15778