At a certain point following the outbreak of war, local Lithuanians, together with other Lithuanians who had come over from Kaunas, rounded up 68 male Jews. They either forced the Jews out of their homes or rounded them up in the streets. The group included boys aged 13-14, as well as men from Kovno and Jonava. All the arrestees were locked up in the local jail. From there, these people were taken into the forest near the cemetery in Vandžiogala. There, they were ordered to dig pits and remove their outer garments and shoes. Afterward, the murderers forced them to strip naked and shot them all dead.

More information: Yad Vashem

All the Jewish men, women, and children from the villages of Babtai and Vandžiogala were shot on September 1, 1941, on the banks of the Nevėžis River, 2 kilometers from Babtai and half a kilometer from the Kedainia-Babtai road. A total of 400 Jewish men, women, and children were killed there on that day.

More information: Yad Vashem