On August 28, 1941, all the Jews of the village of Vilkija were taken from the ghetto there to the Pakarkle Forest, located 2 kilometers south of Vilkija near the village of Jaučakiai and 1 kilometer from the Kaunas-Vilkija road, on the right bank of the Niemen River. All the Jews – 402 men, women, and children – were killed and then buried in pits which had been prepared ahead of time.

More information: Yad Vashem

Even before German forces entered Vilkija on June 26, 1941, Lithuanian nationalists began to persecute people, especially Jews, whom they identified with Soviet rule. Twenty-one Jews were condemned to death. On July 15 they were taken to the village of Jagminiškiai, where they were shot to death and buried.

More information: Yad Vashem