Pirčiupiai is a village in (Valkininkai) eldership,

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. According to the 2001 census, the village had a population of 103 people. At the 2011 census, the population was 75. The village is in the Rudninkai Forest. The Pirčiupis Rivulet flows through the village. The village is known since 16th century, when the

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used it as hunting grounds.

Pirčiupiai massacre

On the morning of June 3, 1944, near Pirčiupiai, Soviet partisans placed mines in the path of two trucks carrying SS men, then fired on the survivors. Only a few Germans escaped the ambush. The Germans sent a punishment squadron and burned alive almost all inhabitants of Pirčiupiai. On that day 119 people (including 49 children under age of 16) were killed and only 9 escaped from the Pirčiupiai massacre. The SS Commander Walter Titel of the 16th SS Police Regiment ordered that the civilians be burnt alive. The bodies were allowed to be buried only after a week on June 11, 1944. The 39 former residents of the village had eventually rebuilt it. In 1960 a monument, called "Mother of Pirčiupiai" was erected to commemorates the event. Its author was awarded the

Lenin Prize The Lenin Prize (, ) was one of the most prestigious awards of the Soviet Union for accomplishments relating to science, literature, arts, architecture, and technology. It was originally created on June 23, 1925, and awarded until 1934. During ...

for it in 1963. The 1981 Lithuanian film '' Faktas'' recreates the events of the day. Several fire site sites are fenced off and have memorial plaques.

References

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Prisiminta Pirčiupių tragedija (Tragedy of Pirčiupiai remembered)

Pirčiupiai massacre

References

See also