Murder story of Swieciany Jews in the Baranowo Forest

In 1941, when the Germans took over Święciany, I was a young twelve-year-old boy. [Exactly] at this time, I experienced the first massacre in my life. They escorted more than 100 Jews out of the town and shot them all. It is difficult, very difficult, to adequately convey how it affected me. No sooner had I recovered from the first blow than the second blow came. One day, I was placed in a long row with other [detainees], and I watched the Germans grab four Russian prisoners and hang them before our eyes, in the middle of the street.… Two weeks later, there was a rumor that all the Jews of Święciany would be taken to the 'Poligon'. I heard the chairman of the Yidn-Rat [sic], Moyshe Gurvitch, say; "Jews, it's burning [s'brent]. A big fire is approaching. Whoever can save himself, must save himself."

One evening, we heard that they would register the Jewish men. No one could understand the purpose of this registration. Some said that [the Germans] were looking for Communists. This alarmed everyone. [My brother] Abrashe was afraid to sleep at home, so he went to sleep in the field. However, early in the morning, when he came back from the field, we saw Lithuanian policemen going in our direction. Abrashe managed to escape through a window…. We would later learn that all the Jews who had been detained on that day never came back. These were the first 100 Jewish victims in Święciany.