Murder Story of Alytus Jews in the Alytus Prison

… Working as a tailor for the Germans, not far from the prison, I used to see groups of Jews being taken to the forest to be shot. They were taken out in groups of forty, guarded and escorted by twenty armed Lithuanian murderers. Before being taken out from the prison, they were robbed of all their valuables. In addition, the poor desperate Jews were tortured and murderously beaten. They went to the pits hungry and tortured, sick of life, with their heads lowered. After driving out the miserable people to the nearest forest, the automatic shooting began, then horrible screaming, crying and moans. A few shots silenced the moans of the wounded and dying. Those Jews who worked for the Germans knew in advance that the following day the Jews would be taken to be shot, since Soviet prisoners who were taken to dig pits in the forest over the previous days told them. 300 Jews from Alytus were among the murdered; the rest were gathered from the towns of Seirijai, Simnas, Merkine, Butrimonys and other small towns in the region ....

The main witness was Stasis Sadauskas. He lived on Ulanoy Street, not far from the Alytus prison ... He said that the prison was located close to the long row of barracks. The Lithuanian murderers herded all of the Jews from Alytus into the prison, as well as those who had been brought from other towns in Alytus County. There they beat them murderously, tormenting them day and night. Cries of bitter agony could be heard outside the walls of the prison. The tormented Jews received nothing to eat or drink. After several days in prison, the Jews grew so physically and morally weak that they were already half dead when they were taken off to be shot

The town Aran, near Wilna August 12, [19]41, Tuesday: Ten men were kidnapped, according to a list, and shot in Alytus near Kovno. August 17, Sunday: A larger group was also taken to Alytus and shot. September 1, Monday: A third group, about 25 men, were also taken to Alytus and shot. September 5, Friday: A fourth group was taken, two families – Miller Gershon and Kossovski Israel – and a third family (I don’t recall their names), with women and children. They were also sent to Alytus and shot.