1 Execution site(s)
Iosif A., born in 1929: "Y.U.: Were the Jews led to the executions place on foot or in vehicles?
Witness: They were taken there on foot. The column had rows of four people and was escorted by guards with dogs.
Y.U.: Were there only men in the column or women and children as well?
Witness: Men, women, children - all of them. They were carrying babies in their arms.
Y.U.: Were they also carrying their belongings?
Witness: No, they’d left their belongings in that building.
Y.U.: How long was the column?
Witness: There were 4 people per row and 40 people in the whole column. That means it could have been about 20 meters long.
Y.U.: But you said 600 Jews were killed…
Witness: They brought them to be executed in groups of 40 people."(Witness N°53, interviewed in Gojus, on April 2, 2014)
"Under the German administration in Lithuania, during the first days after the arrival of the German army, my brother Rubin Kushel, Asher Pruskin and Asher Levin were arrested in the Laibiškės settlement and shot in the village of Tabariškės, near the barn on the property. Later, Jewish families were arrested and shot at Jašiūnai station. Among the victims there were: 1. Kossia Glaikh; 2. Noah Glaikh; 3. Liba Glaikh; […] 100. Dvora Burvin; 101. Simyon Burvin; 102. (illegible name) Burvin." [Deposition of Khaim K., Jewish farmer from Laibiškės, born in 1922, taken on April 11, 1945]
In the first half of the 19th century, Jašiūnai manor became a cultural center frequently visited by scholars and writers. A small industry, partly owned by Jews, started developing in the town at the same time: brass works, sawmill, smithy, resin and turpentine factories, and others. There was a synagogue in Jašiūnai containing 800 books in the Jewish language. 612 people lived in Jašiūnai in 1929. According to the witnesses interviewed by Yahad, before WWII, the majority of the population of the town was Jewish.
Witnesses testified to Yahad that communists became the first target of German invaders, but the persecution of Jews started shortly thereafter. They were assembled in a building in the Jašiūnai manor and locked in there. Later on, the Jews of Jašiūnai were shot, together with those from other villages, on September 25, 1941 by the Vilnius Special Squad. According to the Jäger Report, 575 Jews were murdered that day: 215 men, 229 women and 131 children. Witnesses added that three Roma people were shot and buried together with the Jews.
Do you have additional information regarding a village that you would like to share with Yahad ?
Please contact us at contact@yahadinunum.org
or by calling Yahad – In Unum at +33 (0) 1 53 20 13 17