Pušalotas

Pušalotas first mentioned in 1643. In 1639 the church was built. In 17th – 18th centuries Pušalotas was a center ruled by a vogt. In 1644 Pušalotas got a licence to organize markets. In 1738 Pušalotas had 12 and in 1789 – 26 houses. In the middle of 19th century parish school was operating.

In 19th century pastor J. Jaskevičius supported carriers of banned Lithuanian press (knygnešiai), established secret schools in Lithuanian language, since the education in Lithuanian was banned after the 1863 Uprising.

10 Jewish men and women as well as Soviet activists were murdered in July 1941, in the Jewish cemetery of the city. In the same month local white armbanders shot 18 more Jews in the forest of Šadeikoniai. Another execution of the town's Jews might have taken place in August or September 1941 with 248 killed. The exact date and circumstances of the massacre are not known.[2]

After the Soviet occupation Lithuanian partisans of Algimantas military district were active, namely the Žalioji (The Green) detachment. Soviet occupants in 1940–41 and in 1944–53 deported 35 people to remote areas of Siberia.