Švenčionėliai
Švenčionėliai (
pronunciation ) (Polish: Nowe Święciany, Yiddish: נײַ־סווענציאַן Nay Sventzion) is a city in Švenčionys district municipality. It is 10 km west of Švenčionys. The river Žeimena flows through Švenčionėliai.
Švenčionėliai | |
|---|---|
City | |
.jpg.webp) Švenčionėliai panorama | |
 Coat of arms | |
  Švenčionėliai Location of Švenčionėliai | |
| Coordinates: 55°10′N 26°0′E | |
| Country |  Lithuania |
| Ethnographic region | Aukštaitija |
| County |  Vilnius County |
| Municipality | Švenčionys district municipality |
| Eldership | Švenčionėliai city eldership |
| Capital of | Švenčionėliai city eldership Švenčioneliai rural eldership |
| First mentioned | End of the 16th century |
| Granted city rights | 1920 |
| Population (2020) | |
| • Total | 4,726 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
History
In 1940, there were around 1000 Jews in Švenčionėliai, i.e. 20 percent of the total population.
After the arrival of the Germans in 1941, local Lithuanians formed an activist group to fight the Red army troops as well as the procommunist Jews. Jewish shops in Švenčionėliai were looted and the accused Jews were shot in the nearby forest in July 1941. Soon after that, a ghetto was established. In September 1941, all the Jews were relocated to barracks in the former Soviet military training camp about 1,5 km from Švenčionėliai. Several thousand Jews, brought from nearby towns and villages (Švenčionys, Ignalina, Daugėliškis, Kaltanėnai, Linkmenys, Pabradė, Adutiškis, Stajėtiškis, Saldutiškis, Labanoras, Mielagėnai, Ceikiniai...), were kept in 8 barracks for about a week.
On 8 October 1941, all the Jews from the barracks were taken in smaller groups and shot in the pit that had been dug. Men were executed first. Women and children were shot afterwards. The killings lasted several days. The precise number of victims is not known but, according to the Soviet archives, it is assumed that around 7000-9000 Jews were executed.[1]
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