In Kuršėnai, the persecution of Jews began in July 1941. In the same month, by order of the Nazi authorities, a ghetto was established in Kuršėnai. Many Jews were housed in two synagogues. Around July 20, white armband men and the police captured about 150 Jewish men (according to other sources, 168) from the synagogues and killed them in the Padarbos forest, approximately three kilometers from Kuršėnai. Four Germans, including an officer, also participated in the killing. The victims' clothes were taken by their executioners. After committing the murders, the white armband men and police went to Kuršėnai, where they drank to celebrate in a local bar. Several hundred remaining Jews of Kuršėnai were transferred by the local police to the Žagarė ghetto in September 1941.
Sources:
http://holocaustatlas.lt/EN/#a_atlas/search//page/11/item/95/
https://kvr.kpd.lt/#/static-heritage-detail/4f03ead7-6b44-4910-b1b5-bf124984bea0
