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In
1976, in the local newspaper of Pakruojis, Auksine Varpa, the following article
appeared:
A
summary:
Jonas Vilutis, Vaitekunas,
Petras Beletskas,
Dinevitsjius, Simonaitis,
Kazimiras Jasjukaitis, Gediminas Ginteris,
Bronjus Pakalnis and others from Linkuva, gathered
at the “Staff-office”.
From there, they took a truck and drove to Pakruojis. The truck was
escorted by a police car which was in front of them. The head of police
Petraitis was seated in the police car. In
Pakruojis, the men of Linkuva were already waiting. They were welcomed
by the leader of the so-called white-banders,
Petras Pozelas: “Thank you so much for assisting us”,
The thin, long line moved forward and reached Morkakalnis. “Hurry,
hurry”!, shouted Jonas Vilutis. Suddenly, a woman with a child in her
arms, started to run. Antanas Cemolunskas ran
after them and fired. The woman fell on the ground.
Cemokunskas kicked the crying child with his
iron boots and cut his throat.
The group had to undress and to sit down. A small number of people was
taken to the trench. Fire gun, shouting, cries. Vaitekunas and
Jozas Simonaitis stood at the end of the trench and
shot the Jews who were just wounded and not dead. The German officers
fulfilled the final task in shooting all who weren’t dead at the end of
the execution.
The killers enjoyed their “work” very much and they had a lot of fun
while dividing the clothes amongst them. ( remember: I’m talking about
the Jewish women, children and elderly men who were shot at this time).
When
the killers returned in Pakruojis, they started to drink. Amongst the
white-banders, Pozelas, Ignas Tatsjunas, Petras
Beletskas, and Vaitekunas held speeches: “ They had served the Germans
in a worthy manner”.
Later, Jozas Beitoras, Bronnos Pakalnis went to
the front, joining the Germans. Cemolunskas joined the “punishment-batallion”,
the SD, and fought with the Germans against the partisans in Belarus,
where they burned down houses in the country side and murdered a lot of
innocent people. During one of the fights with the partisans,
Cemolunskas was killed.
In 1944, when the Russian had almost reached Linkuva, the Germans didn’t
resist and fled.
Jonas Vilutis, Jozas Jasjukaitis, and Gediminas
Ginteris joined the Germans at the front. Finally, Vilutis fled to
Germany, where he stayed till the end of the war. From there, he went to
the Ukraine, where he married and a daughter was born. After some time,
Vilutis’ true identity and what he had done in the war, became known.
In January 1971, at the court of Vilnius, Vilutis was sentenced for 15
years of emprisonment.
Vaitekunas, at the same time and by the same court, was sentenced to
death.
Vaitekunas had been found and arrested in 1950. A family member had
sheltered him till his arrestation.
Vaitekunas denied all the accusations.
The court was in
possession of 4 volumes with documents, collected and put together after
the war.
Kazimiras Jasjukaitis was arrested in 1946, found guilty and shot.
Jonas
Ginteris fled to the U.S.A.
Petras Beletskas, also.
Jonas Petraitis fled to Canada.
Jozas Jasjukaitis fled to Australia.
The Jewish population of Pakruojis, Linkuva, Birzai and other villages
surrounding them, had been exterminated. |