Koniuchy massacre
Encyclopedia
The Koniuchy massacre was a massacre
of civilians carried out by a Soviet partisan
unit along with a contingent of Jewish partisans
under their command during the Second World War
in the Polish
village of Koniuchy (now Kaniūkai, Lithuania
) on January 29, 1944.
unit was created to defend the village against repeated Soviet partisans' raids. The village of about 60 households and 300 inhabitants was not fortified but the villagers were armed with a few rifles. On January 29, 1944, the village was attacked by Soviet partisan units under the command of the Central Partisan Command in Moscow
. The raid was carried out by 100–120 partisans from various units including 30 Jewish partisans from the 'Avengers' and 'To Victory" units under the command of Jacob (Yaakov) Prenner. Men, women and children were massacred indiscriminately and most of the households destroyed. According to the findings of the Institute of National Remembrance
(investigation still in progress), at least 38 people were killed and about a dozen injured, although earlier reports stated higher numbers of deaths. Notified about the assault, the 253rd battalion of the Lithuanian Security Police
soon arrived at Koniuchy but did not find any Soviet partisans.
The attack was carried out by the Soviet partisan units 'Death to the Fascists' and 'Margiris' from the Vilnius Brigade of the Lithuanian Partisan Staff and 'Death to the Invaders' of the Kovno Brigade. Following the attack, a message sent from Genrikas Zimanas (Henoch Ziman), head of the 'South' Partisan Brigade, to Antanas Sniečkus
, communist leader and chief of Headquarters of the Lithuanian Partisan Movement, read as follows: "On January 29, a joint group of Vilnius
and Kovno partisans, as well as a special group from General Headquarters burned down the most ardently resistant village of the Eišiškės County, Kaniūkai."
professor Sara Ginaitė, a veteran Jewish partisan fighter, described Koniuchy as having a record of hostility to the partisans and that, in collaboration with the Nazis and the local police, the town had organized an armed group to fight the partisans.
In Poland and Lithuania, the Koniuchy massacre is treated as one of the many war crimes. The Institute of National Remembrance
initiated a formal investigation into the incident on March 3, 2001 at the request of the Canadian Polish Congress. The institute examined a number of archival documents including police reports, encoded messages, military records and personnel files of the Soviet partisans. Requests for legal assistance were then sent to state prosecutors in Belarus
, Lithuania, the Russian Federation and Israel
.
The Lithuanian prosecutor general subsequently opened its own investigation into the massacre. As part of its investigation, Lithuanian prosecutors have sought out elderly Jewish veterans of the partisan movement, including Ginaitė, for questioning. Also under investigation is Yitzhak Arad
, a former IDF
brigadier general, Jewish resistance movement veteran, and former chairman of Yad Vashem
, who served as a member of a commission appointed by Lithuania's president in 2005 to examine past war crimes. Arad became the subject of criticism by Lithuanian right wing groups after his public recommendation for an examination of Lithuania's role in the Holocaust
. An investigation into Arad's wartime activities in Koniuchy was opened by Lithuania's chief prosecutor in the wake of the criticisms of Arad's proposal.
In May 2004, a monument commemorating the event was erected in Kaniūkai with the names of the 34 victims.
Massacre
A massacre is an event with a heavy death toll.Massacre may also refer to:-Entertainment:*Massacre , a DC Comics villain*Massacre , a 1932 drama film starring Richard Barthelmess*Massacre, a 1956 Western starring Dane Clark...
of civilians carried out by a Soviet partisan
Soviet partisans
The Soviet partisans were members of a resistance movement which fought a guerrilla war against the Axis occupation of the Soviet Union during World War II....
unit along with a contingent of Jewish partisans
Jewish partisans
Jewish partisans were fighters in irregular military groups participating in the Jewish resistance movement against Nazi Germany and its collaborators during World War II....
under their command during the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in the Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
village of Koniuchy (now Kaniūkai, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
) on January 29, 1944.
Massacre
A small local self defenceLocal Self-Defence in Lithuania during the Nazi German Occupation (1941–1944)
Local Self-Defence in Lithuania during the Nazi occupation consisted of voluntary units formed from the local population to protect villagers from the raids of the armed Soviet underground...
unit was created to defend the village against repeated Soviet partisans' raids. The village of about 60 households and 300 inhabitants was not fortified but the villagers were armed with a few rifles. On January 29, 1944, the village was attacked by Soviet partisan units under the command of the Central Partisan Command in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. The raid was carried out by 100–120 partisans from various units including 30 Jewish partisans from the 'Avengers' and 'To Victory" units under the command of Jacob (Yaakov) Prenner. Men, women and children were massacred indiscriminately and most of the households destroyed. According to the findings of the Institute of National Remembrance
Institute of National Remembrance
Institute of National Remembrance — Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation is a Polish government-affiliated research institute with lustration prerogatives and prosecution powers founded by specific legislation. It specialises in the legal and historical sciences and...
(investigation still in progress), at least 38 people were killed and about a dozen injured, although earlier reports stated higher numbers of deaths. Notified about the assault, the 253rd battalion of the Lithuanian Security Police
Lithuanian Security Police
The Lithuanian Security Police, also referred to as Saugumas , was a Lithuanian Nazi collaborationist police force that operated from 1941 to 1944. It had a staff of approximately 400 people, 250 of them in Kaunas and around another 130 in Vilnius....
soon arrived at Koniuchy but did not find any Soviet partisans.
The attack was carried out by the Soviet partisan units 'Death to the Fascists' and 'Margiris' from the Vilnius Brigade of the Lithuanian Partisan Staff and 'Death to the Invaders' of the Kovno Brigade. Following the attack, a message sent from Genrikas Zimanas (Henoch Ziman), head of the 'South' Partisan Brigade, to Antanas Sniečkus
Antanas Snieckus
Antanas Sniečkus was First Secretary of the Lithuanian Communist Party from August 1940 to January 22, 1974.- Biography :Antanas Sniečkus was born in 1903, in the village of Būbleliai, near Šakiai. During the First World War, his family fled to Russia where he observed the Russian revolution of 1917...
, communist leader and chief of Headquarters of the Lithuanian Partisan Movement, read as follows: "On January 29, a joint group of Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
and Kovno partisans, as well as a special group from General Headquarters burned down the most ardently resistant village of the Eišiškės County, Kaniūkai."
Evaluations and controversy
There are controversies surrounding the significance of the Koniuchy incident. The events at Koniuchy have been described by Chaim Lazar in Destruction and Resistance (1985) in which he claimed 300 people had been murdered. This number has not been supported by other sources. In Rich Cohen's account of a Jewish partisan unit, which describes the massacre of civilians, Koniuchy is described as a "pro-Nazi" town that was used as a staging ground for German attacks against partisans. In a November 2008 interview with Adam Fuerstenberg, former director of Toronto’s Holocaust Centre, York UniversityYork University
York University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....
professor Sara Ginaitė, a veteran Jewish partisan fighter, described Koniuchy as having a record of hostility to the partisans and that, in collaboration with the Nazis and the local police, the town had organized an armed group to fight the partisans.
In Poland and Lithuania, the Koniuchy massacre is treated as one of the many war crimes. The Institute of National Remembrance
Institute of National Remembrance
Institute of National Remembrance — Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation is a Polish government-affiliated research institute with lustration prerogatives and prosecution powers founded by specific legislation. It specialises in the legal and historical sciences and...
initiated a formal investigation into the incident on March 3, 2001 at the request of the Canadian Polish Congress. The institute examined a number of archival documents including police reports, encoded messages, military records and personnel files of the Soviet partisans. Requests for legal assistance were then sent to state prosecutors in Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, Lithuania, the Russian Federation and Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
.
The Lithuanian prosecutor general subsequently opened its own investigation into the massacre. As part of its investigation, Lithuanian prosecutors have sought out elderly Jewish veterans of the partisan movement, including Ginaitė, for questioning. Also under investigation is Yitzhak Arad
Yitzhak Arad
Yitzhak Arad , is an Israeli historian, retired IDF brigadier general and a former Soviet partisan who has served as director of Yad Vashem from 1972 to 1993...
, a former IDF
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
brigadier general, Jewish resistance movement veteran, and former chairman of Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem is Israel's official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, established in 1953 through the Yad Vashem Law passed by the Knesset, Israel's parliament....
, who served as a member of a commission appointed by Lithuania's president in 2005 to examine past war crimes. Arad became the subject of criticism by Lithuanian right wing groups after his public recommendation for an examination of Lithuania's role in the Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
. An investigation into Arad's wartime activities in Koniuchy was opened by Lithuania's chief prosecutor in the wake of the criticisms of Arad's proposal.
In May 2004, a monument commemorating the event was erected in Kaniūkai with the names of the 34 victims.
Further reading
- Collection of various letters and reports
- Report from IPN on Poland
- Lazar, Chaim. Destruction and Resistance. Shengold Publishers, New York, 1985.
- Kowalski I., 1969: A Secret Press in Nazi Europe: The Story of a Jewish United Organization. Central Guide Publishers, New York