- Summary
- "More than five centuries of Jewish life in Lithuania was abruptly ended when Lithuanian Jews were slaughtered en masse in the second half of 1941. The testimonies published here tell of the destruction of Jewish life in Lithuania. Perpetrators of the massacre, most of them Lithuanians, acted with enthusiasm and in many cases without help or supervision from the invading Germans. The testimonies are not pleasant to read. They tell of the horrors and evils inflicted on Lithuanian Jews. Many echo the same pattern of degradation and slaughter: Lithuanians first attacked Jews morally and spiritually, imposing assorted humiliating labours, torture and other evils; then began their physical annihilation. Armed bands of self-described "partisans" took control of Lithuanian towns as soon as the occupying Soviets left. Often, even before the Germans arrived, these bands started to terrorise and abuse the Jewish population: Partisans and others broke into Jewish homes and brazenly looted Jewish property. Jailings, torture, and summary executions began shortly afterward. First to be killed were Jews with Soviet connections; later, any perceived or invented offence could mean execution, or a Jew could be killed for no reason at all. Jews' non-moveable possessions were claimed by their Lithuanian neighbors, particularly the partisans and their families. Eventually, the Jews were taken to pits dug in nearby forests to be shot. Amid the chaos of this organized slaughter, many were buried alive in the pits. At times partisans broke small children on their knees or bashed their heads on trees before throwing them, half dead, into a pit. From the 121 testimonies published here, it is clear that the slaughter of the Jews was widely known." -- From Amazon.com.
- Other Title
- Testimonies of Lithuanian Life.
- Format
- Book
- Author/Creator
- Koniuchowsky, Leyb, 1910-2003, interviewer, author.
- Published
- [Australia?] : [publisher not identified], 2020
- Locale
- Lithuania
- Contents
-
Volume One. The Lithuanian slaughter of its Jews
Volume Two. Testimonies of Lithuanian Life / by Leyb Koniuchowsky.
- Other Authors/Editors
- Koniuchowsky, Leyb, 1910-2003.
Sandler, David Solly, compiler.
Boyarin, Jonathan, translator.
- Notes
-
"All references are from the book Lite: Volume I. published in yiddish in New York in 1951." -- Page 11 of Volume One.
"Testimonies of Lithuanian Life - a sequel to: The Lithuanian slaughter of its Jews" -- Page 2 of Volume Two.
Volume One. The Lithuanian slaughter of its Jews -- Volume Two. Testimonies of Lithuanian Life / by Leyb Koniuchowsky.
Translated from the Yiddish.
