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  2. The Jewish Community of Vilna
  3. During the Holocaust
  4. June 1941 - German Occupation of Vilna
  5. Ponary: Murder Site of the Jews of Vilna and the Surrounding Areas

Ponary: Murder Site of the Jews of Vilna and the Surrounding Areas

Shooting is heard from the forest…

Ponary, the murder site of the Jews of Vilna and the surrounding area, was situated 10 km south of Vilna on the road to Grodno. Before the war it was a forested area used for holidays and recreation. Vilna residents used to go there for their summer holidays and to gather berries and mushrooms. The site was chosen for murder due to its proximity to the train track and also because there were pits 12-23m wide and 5-8m deep. There were high embankments with ditches between the pits, which had been dug by the Soviets in 1940 as a planned emergency fuel store.

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Jews with their heads covered being taken to the murder site at Ponary by members of the Lithuanian militia, 1941
Jews with their heads covered being taken to the murder site at Ponary by members of the Lithuanian militia, 1941

Yad Vashem Photo Archives 2725/23

Jews with their heads covered being taken to the murder site at Ponary by members of the Lithuanian militia, 1941
Dina Baitler's Testimony: Murder of the Jews of Lithuania

Dina Baitler's Testimony: Murder of the Jews of Lithuania
Shalom Shorenson's Testimony: Murder of the Jews of Lithuania

Excerpt from: Ponar - Testimonies from the Killing Pits
Directed By: Noemi Schory
Producers: Liat Benhabib, Noemi Schory, Liran Atzmor
Production Company: Belfilms Ltd.

Shalom Shorenson's Testimony: Murder of the Jews of Lithuania
Jews being taken to the murder site in Ponary, June-July 1941
Jews being taken to the murder site in Ponary, June-July 1941

Yad Vashem Photo Archives 2725/22A

Jews being taken to the murder site in Ponary, June-July 1941
Jews being taken to the murder site in Ponary by members of the Lithuanian militia, 1941
Jews being taken to the murder site in Ponary by members of the Lithuanian militia, 1941

Yad Vashem Photo Archives FO475

Jews being taken to the murder site in Ponary by members of the Lithuanian militia, 1941
Ladder used for removing the bodies from the murder pits in the forest to be burned, Ponary
Ladder used for removing the bodies from the murder pits in the forest to be burned, Ponary

Yad Vashem Photo Archives 3380/410

Ladder used for removing the bodies from the murder pits in the forest to be burned, Ponary
Fence in the forest at Ponary, with a warning sign: "Mines - Danger of Death"
Fence in the forest at Ponary, with a warning sign: "Mines - Danger of Death"

Yad Vashem Photo Archives 3380/412

Fence in the forest at Ponary, with a warning sign: "Mines - Danger of Death"
One of the pits at Ponary originally prepared for fuel storage, but which was used for the murder of Jews from Vilna and the surrounding area
One of the pits at Ponary originally prepared for fuel storage, but which was used for the murder of Jews from Vilna and the surrounding area

Yad Vashem Photo Archives, 3380/409

One of the pits at Ponary originally prepared for fuel storage, but which was used for the murder of Jews from Vilna and the surrounding area
Handwritten page of poetry in Yiddish written by Shmerke Kaczerginski in the Vilna ghetto in 1943
Handwritten page of poetry in Yiddish written by Shmerke Kaczerginski in the Vilna ghetto in 1943

"My Lullaby"
At the bottom of the page is part of the well-known poem, "Ponary"

Yad Vashem Archives O.76/12

Handwritten page of poetry in Yiddish written by Shmerke Kaczerginski in the Vilna ghetto in 1943
Inscription in Yiddish on a prison wall in the Vilna ghetto
Inscription in Yiddish on a prison wall in the Vilna ghetto

"Tomorrow they'll take us to Ponar
Chayele Swirtko/Swirski
Rachele Swirtko/Swirski"

Yad Vashem Photo Archives, 3380/430

Inscription in Yiddish on a prison wall in the Vilna ghetto
The river leading to Ponary
The river leading to Ponary

Yad Vashem Photo Archives, 3380/411

The river leading to Ponary
Rocks from the murder pit at Ponary, near Vilna
Rocks from the murder pit at Ponary, near Vilna

Yad Vashem Artifacts Collection
Gift of Tzila Szafalowa-Gorniecka, Tel Aviv, Israel

Rocks from the murder pit at Ponary, near Vilna
Spoon with a bullet-hole found at the Ponary murder site in 1955
Spoon with a bullet-hole found at the Ponary murder site in 1955

Yad Vashem Artifacts Collection
Gift of Tzila Szafalowa-Gorniecka, Tel Aviv, Israel

Spoon with a bullet-hole found at the Ponary murder site in 1955
Ribbon from a girl's dress found at the Ponary murder site in 1955
Ribbon from a girl's dress found at the Ponary murder site in 1955

Yad Vashem Artifacts Collection
Gift of Tzila Szafalowa-Gorniecka, Tel Aviv, Israel

Ribbon from a girl's dress found at the Ponary murder site in 1955
Jews with their heads covered being taken to the murder site at Ponary by members of the Lithuanian militia, 1941
Jews with their heads covered being taken to the murder site at Ponary by members of the Lithuanian militia, 1941
Dina Baitler's Testimony: Murder of the Jews of Lithuania
Dina Baitler's Testimony: Murder of the Jews of Lithuania
Shalom Shorenson's Testimony: Murder of the Jews of Lithuania
Shalom Shorenson's Testimony: Murder of the Jews of Lithuania
Jews being taken to the murder site in Ponary, June-July 1941
Jews being taken to the murder site in Ponary, June-July 1941
Jews being taken to the murder site in Ponary by members of the Lithuanian militia, 1941
Jews being taken to the murder site in Ponary by members of the Lithuanian militia, 1941
Ladder used for removing the bodies from the murder pits in the forest to be burned, Ponary
Ladder used for removing the bodies from the murder pits in the forest to be burned, Ponary
Fence in the forest at Ponary, with a warning sign: "Mines - Danger of Death"
Fence in the forest at Ponary, with a warning sign: "Mines - Danger of Death"
One of the pits at Ponary originally prepared for fuel storage, but which was used for the murder of Jews from Vilna and the surrounding area
One of the pits at Ponary originally prepared for fuel storage, but which was used for the murder of Jews from Vilna and the surrounding area
Handwritten page of poetry in Yiddish written by Shmerke Kaczerginski in the Vilna ghetto in 1943
Handwritten page of poetry in Yiddish written by Shmerke Kaczerginski in the Vilna ghetto in 1943
Inscription in Yiddish on a prison wall in the Vilna ghetto
Inscription in Yiddish on a prison wall in the Vilna ghetto
The river leading to Ponary
The river leading to Ponary
Rocks from the murder pit at Ponary, near Vilna
Rocks from the murder pit at Ponary, near Vilna
Spoon with a bullet-hole found at the Ponary murder site in 1955
Spoon with a bullet-hole found at the Ponary murder site in 1955
Ribbon from a girl's dress found at the Ponary murder site in 1955
Ribbon from a girl's dress found at the Ponary murder site in 1955