On 22 June 1941, with the outbreak of the Soviet–German war, the German army occupied Švenčionis, which was one of the main centers of the Lithuanian Jewish community. Initially, the city was mainly occupied by Jews who participated in communist activities. According to local residents, in the first weeks of the war, Jews from the Švenčionis region were persecuted and killed, and in their residential centers – Švenčionis, Švenčionėliai, Kaltanėnai, Pabradė, Linkmenys – actions were carried out not only against those who participated in communist activities, but also against wealthier, educated people of Jewish origin.
Establishment of the Švenčionis ghetto
The Švenčionis ghetto was established in 1941 by order of the German military commandant of the Švenčionis-Švenčionėliai district. In the towns and larger settlements of the county (Švenčionėliai, Pabradė, Kaltanėnai), Jews gathered in one place, in the county center of Švenčionys - in the northwestern part of the city with the highest Jewish population (there were three synagogues, several Jewish factories).
In a letter dated 16 August 1941, the governors of Vilnius, Švenčionys-Švenčionėliai, Trakai and Alytus counties were instructed that Jewish citizens of the German-occupied territories must wear a special badge and comply with the regulations of the Jewish district (ghetto); the regulations also apply to the so-called half-Jews, i.e. persons with one parent who is Jewish; in a mixed family, a person of Jewish origin is transferred to the Jewish district, while the Jewish regulations do not apply to the Aryan half. This was also stated in the decree of the Provisional Government of Lithuania (in force from 23 June 1941 to 5 August 1941) On the Status of Jews, in which all Jews living in Lithuania were divided into 2 categories: members of communist organizations and other persons who participated in Bolshevik activities, and all persons of Jewish nationality who did not belong to the first category, to be accommodated in specially designated places.
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