The Telšiai Jewish community was widely known for its Great Yeshiva, founded in 1880. Soon, this Yeshiva became one of the largest in Eastern Europe – at its peak, it had up to 400 students studying simultaneously, and its graduates became rabbis in Jewish communities around the world. Like in other Jewish communities, Telšiai had Jewish schools, a youth Zionist movement, and active political and cultural societies.
In 1940, the Jewish population of the city was 2,800 people – about 48% of the total population.
"The Lithuanians took revenge on the Jews for the atrocities of Stalin’s NKVD, where many Jews served" – this is another myth that modern historians are diligently implanting into the mass consciousness of Lithuanians today. Well, this "revenge" looks especially striking in the town of Telšiai, which before the war was considered a typical Jewish shtetl – every second resident here was Jewish. And it was in this town that the NKVD prison was located – more precisely, a detention center where "enemies of the people" from across the republic were brought.
On June 25, 1941 – the third day of the war – NKVD officers received an order to evacuate the prison. In this case, the word "evacuation" meant the execution of all those who had not yet received a death sentence from the "troika" of prosecutors. A team of 20 Chekists was formed, led by the prison chief Počiavičius – a Lithuanian by nationality. Also in the team was Lithuanian state security commissar Petras Raslanas – a native of Riga, a committed communist, and a member of the Communist Party of Lithuania since 1938. The only Jew was NKVD lieutenant Galkin.
The next morning, 73 prisoners from the Telšiai prison were taken to the Rainiai forest and shot. Another 70 prisoners were deported eastward – to the territory of the RSFSR.
A few days after the shooting, Lithuanians discovered the bodies of the killed prisoners. Bishop Staugaitis and the Lithuanian authorities decided to organize a funeral, which would become a symbolic act of victory over the Soviets.
Local resident Stasys Kilčiauskas testifies: “Every day, Jews were sent to the Rainiai forest, where the prisoners were executed, and forced to dig up their bodies, wash them, lick their wounds, lie next to the corpses in coffins. Most simply could not do this. Those who refused were shot on the spot.”
After the funeral of all the Jews of the city – about 700 people – they were taken to the Rainiai forest and shot at the very place where the Lithuanians had been executed. Before the shooting, Rabbi Bloch addressed the Lithuanians and said: “Your country is soaked with our blood. But our blood will call for your blood. Our blood will water the trees. Your blood will wash the streets.”
Stanislovas Ch., born in 1925, recalled during interrogation: “During the shooting in Rainiai, the victims were stripped and laid next to the pit. Then they were shot and fell into the pit. Some of them fell inside still alive. The pits dug there were very large. One Jew climbed out of the pit and ran across our field completely naked, even without underwear. But he was still shot and buried in the same place.”
The execution, carried out by Gestapo officers and local collaborators, was clearly heard in the camp. Various sources give different dates and numbers of victims, ranging from 800 to 1,500 people. The mass graves were not properly covered. Due to the terrible smell of decomposing bodies and the risk of an epidemic, Jewish women and children were transferred to another temporary detention camp in Geruliai. There they joined thousands of other women and children imprisoned in six abandoned army barracks. Young women were subjected to exploitation and abuse by local farmers, while many children died from diseases spreading in the camp due to poor sanitary conditions. On August 30, about 600 young women and girls were selected and taken to the Telšiai ghetto, while the remaining camp prisoners, from 1,500 to 2,000 people, were executed in the Geruliai forest. The Telšiai ghetto lasted until the end of 1941. Its last prisoners, about 400 women, were shot in the Rainiai forest on December 23-24. Sixty-four Jewish women survived by finding shelter with farmers or escaping to the Šiauliai ghetto.
Today, on the site of the death of 73 Lithuanians – the "victims of the Rainiai massacre" – a huge chapel with a luxurious oak park has been built.
Sources:
https://www.yadvashem.org/ru/righteous/stories/telsaiai-historical-background.html
http://www.yahadmap.org/#village/rainiai-tel-scaron-iai-lithuania.978
http://holocaustatlas.lt/EN/#a_atlas/search//page/10/item/123/
https://kvr.kpd.lt/#/static-heritage-detail/ba2e26dd-f632-4714-a534-66634b5bf483
