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Murder story of Vandziogala Jews in the Borekas Forest
Murder Site
Borekas Forest
Lithuania
At a certain point following the outbreak of war, local Lithuanians, together with other Lithuanians who had come over from Kaunas, rounded up 68 male Jews. They either forced the Jews out of their homes or rounded them up in the streets. The group included boys aged 13-14, as well as men from Kovno and Jonava. All the arrestees were locked up in the local jail. From there, these people were taken into the forest near the cemetery in Vandžiogala. There, they were ordered to dig pits and remove their outer garments and shoes. Afterward, the murderers forced them to strip naked and shot them all dead.
Related Resources
Written Accounts
Abe Lison, who was born in Vandziogalai in 1905, testifies:
Sometime later, the Lithuanian murderers from the village, together with the Lithuanian murderers who had arrived from Kovno, rounded up 68 male Jews. The killers snatched them from their homes, or arrested them in the streets. The group included boys aged 13-14, as well as men from Kovno and Jonava. All the arrestees were taken to the jail. From there, these innocent people were conducted into the forest near the cemetery of Vandžiiogala. There, they were forced to dig pits and take off their outer garments and shoes. Then, after ordering their victims to strip naked, the killers shot them all dead.
YVA O.71 / 143
Borekas Forest
forest
Murder Site
Lithuania
55.118;23.962