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Lithuanian Partisans (1941)
Lithuanian partisans is a generic term used during World War II by Nazi officials and quoted in books by modern historians to describe Lithuanian anti-communist fighters, thus collaborators with the Nazis during the first months of the German occupation of Lithuania during World War II. A part of the Lithuanian partisans who fought against the Red Army during the June Uprising, were later organized into various auxiliary units by German Nazis. A minority of the units assisted and actively participated in mass executions of the Lithuanian Jews mostly in June–August 1941. The term "Lithuanian partisans" might apply to several different and unrelated groups during 1941 and later: * A group led by Nazi agent Algirdas Klimaitis and active in Kaunas at the end of June 1941 * Tautinio Darbo Apsaugos Batalionas (TDA) was formed in Kaunas as basis for independent Lithuanian army, but soon transformed into a Nazi auxiliary unit participating in executions of the Jews at the Seventh and Nin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries. The major participants in the war threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and deploying the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the deadliest conflict in human history; it resulted in 70 to 85 million fatalities, mostly among civilians. Tens of millions died due to genocides (including the Holocaust), starvation, ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ninth Fort
The Ninth Fort ( lt, Devintas Fortas) is a stronghold in the northern part of Šilainiai elderate, Kaunas, Lithuania. It is a part of the Kaunas Fortress, which was constructed in the late 19th century. During the occupation of Kaunas and the rest of Lithuania by the Soviet Union, the fort was used as a prison and way-station for prisoners being transported to labour camps. After the occupation of Lithuania by Nazi Germany, the fort was used as a place of execution for Jews, captured Soviets, and others. History At the end of the 19th century the city of Kaunas was fortified and by 1890 was encircled by eight forts and nine gun batteries. Construction of the Ninth Fort (its numerical designation having become its name) began in 1902 and was completed on the eve of World War I. From 1924 on, the Ninth Fort was used as the Kaunas City prison. During the years of Soviet occupation, 1940–1941, the Ninth Fort was used by the NKVD to house political prisoners pending transfer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1941 In Lithuania
Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar Euthanasia Centre in Germany, in the first phase of mass killings under the Action T4 program here. * January 1 – Thailand's Prime Minister Plaek Phibunsongkhram decrees January 1 as the official start of the Thai solar calendar new year (thus the previous year that began April 1 had only 9 months). * January 3 – A decree (''Normalschrifterlass'') promulgated in Germany by Martin Bormann, on behalf of Adolf Hitler, requires replacement of blackletter typefaces by Antiqua. * January 4 – The short subject ''Elmer's Pet Rabbit'' is released, marking the second appearance of Bugs Bunny, and also the first to have his name on a title card. * January 5 – WWII: Battle of Bardia in Libya: Australian and British troops defeat I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ponary Massacre
, location = Paneriai (Ponary), Vilnius (Wilno), Reichskommissariat Ostland , coordinates = , date = July 1941 – August 1944 , incident_type = Shootings by automatic and semi-automatic weapons, genocide , perpetrators = SS Einsatzgruppe Lithuanian Nazi collaborators , ghetto = Vilnius Ghetto , victims = ~100,000 in total (Polish Jews: 70,000; Poles: 20,000; Soviets/Russians: 8,000) , documentation = Nuremberg Trials The Ponary massacre, or Paneriai massacre ( lt, Panerių žudynės, pl, zbrodnia w Ponarach), was the mass murder of up to 100,000 people, mostly Jews, Poles, and Russians, by German '' SD'' and '' SS'' and their Lithuanian collaborators, including '' Ypatingasis būrys'' killing squads, during World War II and the Holocaust in the ''Generalbezirk Litauen'' of ''Reichskommissariat Ostland''. The murders took place between July 1941 and August 1944 near the railway station at Ponary (now Paneriai), a suburb of today's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vilnius
Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urban area, which stretches beyond the city limits, is estimated at 718,507 (as of 2020), while according to the Vilnius territorial health insurance fund, there were 753,875 permanent inhabitants as of November 2022 in Vilnius city and Vilnius district municipalities combined. Vilnius is situated in southeastern Lithuania and is the second-largest city in the Baltic states, but according to the Bank of Latvia is expected to become the largest before 2025. It is the seat of Lithuania's national government and the Vilnius District Municipality. Vilnius is known for the architecture in its Old Town, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. The city was noted for its multicultural population already in the time of the Polish–Lithuanian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ypatingasis Būrys
''Ypatingasis būrys'' (''Special Squad'') or Special SD and German Security Police Squad ( lt, Vokiečių Saugumo policijos ir SD ypatingasis būrys, pl, Specjalny Oddział SD i Niemieckiej Policji Bezpieczeństwa, also colloquially ''strzelcy ponarscy'' (" Ponary riflemen" in Polish) was formed by the German occupational government and was subordinate to Einsatzkommando 9 and later to Sicherheitsdienst (SD) and Sicherheitspolizei (Sipo). The unit was subordinated to German police, and had no official autonomy. History The name of the Vilnian Special Squad ( lt, Ypatingasis būrys) was first mentioned in documents dated 15 July 1941. The Special Squad (YB) began as police units formed after Lithuania was occupied by Germany in 1941. Bubnys notes that it is difficult to answer two questions: how many members YB had and how many people they killed. Bubnys argues that the number of 100,000 victims attributed to the organization is inflated. Composition and size of the unit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lithuanian Police Battalions
The Lithuanian Auxiliary Police Battalions were Schutzmannschaft battalions formed during the German occupation of Lithuania between 1941 and 1944, with the first battalions originating from the most reliable freedom fighters that were disbanded following the anti-Soviet Lithuanian June Uprising in 1941. Lithuanian activists hoped that these units would be the basis of the reestablished Lithuanian Army and commanded by the Lithuanian Provisional Government. Instead, these units were placed under the orders of the SS- und Polizeiführer in Lithuania. The battalions were charged with internal security duties and engaged in anti-partisan operations in the Wehrmacht's rear areas, e.g. Ukraine, Belarus, Poland and Northwest Russia. Some battalions partook in the Holocaust, most notably the 12th and the 13th battalions, which started as the Lithuanian TDA Battalions. These two battalions are estimated to have been responsible for an estimated 78,000 Jewish deaths in Lithuania and B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rollkommando Hamann
''Rollkommando'' Hamann ( lt, skrajojantis būrys) was a small mobile unit that committed mass murders of Lithuanian Jews in the countryside in July–October 1941, with an estimated death toll of at least 60,000 Jews. The unit was also responsible for many murders in Latvia from July through August, 1941. At the end of 1941 the destruction of Lithuanian Jewry was effectively accomplished by Hamann's unit in the countryside, by the Ypatingasis būrys in the Ponary massacre, and by the Tautinio Darbo Apsaugos Batalionas (TDA) in the Ninth Fort in Kaunas. In about six months an estimated 80% of all Lithuanian Jews were killed. The remaining few were spared for use as a labor force and concentrated in urban ghettos, mainly the Vilna and Kaunas Ghettos. Organization The group consisted of 8–10 Germans from ''Einsatzkommando 3'', commanded by SS-''Obersturmführer'' Joachim Hamann, and several dozen Lithuanians from the 3rd company of the TDA, commanded by Bronius Norkus. The unit h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seventh Fort
The Seventh Fort or VII Fort is a defensive fortification built in Žaliakalnis district of Kaunas, Lithuania, during implementation of the first phase of the construction of the Kaunas Fortress. It is located near the Hospital of Lithuanian University of Health Sciences. This Fort became the last brick fortification of Kaunas Fortress. The Seventh Fort is close to the central defenses and it is located in the rear of Kaunas Fortress. The first owner of fort was the 11th company of Kaunas Fortress Artillery ( Imperial Russian Army). In 1915, German Army occupied the Fort without resistance. The Seventh Fort is one of the best surviving examples of a two-rampart fort, showing the typical design of a 19th-century Russian brick fort. Many authentic elements survive, such as iron window frames, ammunition warehouse gate fragments. During the Fort's restoration, a number of authentic interior details (interior decoration, paving, fittings of ammunition storage doors and gate) were ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anti-communism
Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when the United States and the Soviet Union engaged in an intense rivalry. Anti-communism has been an element of movements which hold many different political positions, including conservatism, fascism, liberalism, nationalism, social democracy, libertarianism, or the anti-Stalinist left. Anti-communism has also been expressed in philosophy, by several religious groups, and in literature. Some well-known proponents of anti-communism are former communists. Anti-communism has also been prominent among movements resisting communist governance. The first organization which was specifically dedicated to opposing communism was the Russian White movement which fought in the Russian Civil War starting in 1918 against the recently established Bolshevik government. The White ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tautinio Darbo Apsaugos Batalionas
The Lithuanian TDA Battalions ( lt, Tautinio darbo apsaugos batalionas) or TDA, were paramilitary units organized in June–August 1941 by the Provisional Government of Lithuania at the onset of Operation Barbarossa. Members of the TDA were known by many names such as Lithuanian auxiliaries, policemen, white-armbands, nationalists, rebels, partisans, or resistance fighters. TDA was intended as basis for the future independent Lithuanian Army, but soon it was taken over by Nazi officials and reorganized into the Lithuanian Auxiliary Police Battalions (Lithuanian version of ''Schutzmannschaft''). The original TDA eventually became the 12th and the 13th Police Battalions. These two units took an active role in the Holocaust, mass killings of the Jews in Lithuania and Belarus. Based on the Jäger Report, members of TDA murdered about 26,000 Jews between July and December 1941. Formation As Nazi Germany declared war on the Soviet Union and invaded Lithuania, the Provisional Government of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Algirdas Klimaitis
Algirdas Klimaitis (1910 in Kaunas – 29 August 1988 in Hamburg) was a Lithuanian paramilitary commander, infamous for his role in the Kaunas pogrom in June 1941. It is likely that Klimaitis was an officer in the Lithuanian Army. During the pre-war years he was editor of the tabloid (Ten Cents). His attitudes shifted to anti-communism and anti-semitism. He joined the Voldemarininkai movement. When Nazi Germany occupied Lithuania in June 1941, at the start of Operation Barbarossa, Klimaitis formed a military unit of roughly 600 members, which was not subordinate to the Lithuanian Activist Front or the Provisional Government of Lithuania, and engaged in firefights with the Soviet army for the control of Kaunas. On the evening of 23 June, most of the city was in the hands of the insurgents. On the night of 25–26 June, Kaunas pogrom led by Klimaitis' unit was instigated by Franz Walter Stahlecker, commanding officer of Einsatzgruppe A. By 28 June 1941, according to Stahle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
