Staff member at the State Vilna Gaon Jewish Museum Genrichas Agranovskis has analyzed documents held at the Lithuanian State Archive regarding activities by the USSR intelligence services on Lithuanian territory, following its annexation in 1940-1941. Results of his analysis confirm that the NKVD dealt severely not only with persons of  specific nationalities, but with known representatives of every Lithuanian ethnic community. Arrests in part affected the Jewish community as well, for the Soviet organs endeavoured to leave it without any leaders in order to safeguard themselves against potential organized resistance to the occupation they had enforced.

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The Soviet army marched into Vilnius territory on Sept. 17, 1939, after striking Poland, which had fought against the Nazis, from the rear. A treaty signed with the Republic of Lithuania on Oct. 10 returned Vilnius to Lithuania. The Soviet army left the city on Oct. 28, 1939.

Throughout the month of October, Soviet state intelligence organs carried out many arrests in the occupied territory.  Lists of Vilnius territory residents who had been arrested and transported to the Soviet Union can be found at the Lithuanian State Central Archive (f.317, ap.1, b.1,2,14). The majority of those who were deported (nearly 90%) were Polish officials, businessmen, physicians, lawyers, etc. There are also some Jewish names, including known public figures, joint owner of "Elektrita", the largest Polish radio manufacturer, Nachman Levin, director of the "Fibroza" factory, Zachary Chvoles, and others.

On Dec. 5, 1939, chairman of the Vilnius Jewish Community (VŽB) Jakovas Vygodskis sent a letter to the representative in Vilnius of Lithuania's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in which he outlined his concerns regarding the illegal and unfounded arrests by Soviet authorities of 14 interned Jewish public figures.

The following is a list of the interned, as well as some facts from various archival documents:

  1. Josif Aronowich, b. 1887, teacher, Bund member, assistant to the CBK chairman, assistant to the VŽB chairman.

  2. Aaron Cincinatus, b. 1895, teacher, journalist, leader of Poalei Zion in Vilnius.

  3. Abram Zindler, b. 1882, physician, leader of the Zionist Revisionist Party in Vilnius.

  4. Josif Czernichow, b. 1882, advocate, leader of the People's Democratic Party, head of the Advocates' Society  and of ORT in Vilnius.

  5. Michail Czernichow, b. 1916, student, J.Czernichow's son.

  6. Jakub Fridman, b. 1905, physician.

  7. Zalman Reizin (Reizen), b. 1887, writer, member of the People's Democratic Party, assistant to YIVO director, editor of the "Vilner tog" newspaper.

  8. Saul Reizin (Reizen), b. 1912, YIVO graduate, Z.Reizen's son.

  9. Anna Rozental, b. 1879, teacher, leader of the Vilnius chapter of the Bund, chairperson of CBK.

  10. Josif Teitel, b. 1895, advocate, Bund member, VŽB executive member.

  11. Chaim Walt, b. 1881, accountant, Bund member.

  12. Ruvim Weinstein, b. 1882, official, Bund member, VŽB executive member.

  13. Eliya Zaks, b. 1889, advocate, member of the People's Democratic Party, assistant to ORT chairman.

  14. Jakub Zheleznikov, b. 1882, official, Bund member, VŽB executive member.

The majority of those arrested were activists in the Bund, and in the People's Democratic, and Poalei Zion parties. One could presume that Abram Zindler and Jakub Fridman were arrested for their medical professions, for they were immediately sent away to Bialystok with a large group of doctors. J. CZernichow's and Z. Reizen's sons were undoubtedly arrested for their family ties. 

Jewish activists were arrested at night.  

It is known that soon after his arrest, Chaim Walt died in Lukiškių prison. Anna Rozental died in prison in 1940. Josif Czernichow was shot dead by a guard at the end of June 1941, while prisoners were being deported from the city of Vileika (Belarus) to the East. E. Zaks survived and managed to reach Eretz Israel.

These arrests by the Soviet organs of Jewish activists in Vilnius were the first Stalinist national policy actions regarding Jews living in Lithuanian territory.

  Genrichas AGRANOVSKIS,
Staff member, State Vilna Gaon Jewish Museum.

  NOTES

  CBK - Centraler bildungs komitet (Bildung - education. Yiddish), founded 1919.

  Poalei Zion - Zionist workers' party, founded at the beginning of the 20th century.

Zionist Revisionists - followers of Z. Zhabotinski, advocates of the active settlement of Eretz Israel.

  People's Democrats - party founded by Tzemach Shabad in 1919, an autonomous faction of the Polish Folkspartei until 1926.

  Bund - Jewish workers' union. Founded in Vilnius in 1897. The first Bund leaders included Anna
  Rozental and her husband Pinchas Rozental (1872-1924), who was re-interred in the Vilnius Jewish cemetery. All arrested Bund members on the list were leaders of the Vilnius organization.

  P.S.

In 2000, chairman of the Lithuanian Jewish Community S. Alperavičius sent an enquiry to the Commission on Crimes Committed by the Nazi and Soviet Regimes regarding the fate of persons arrested by Soviet organs in Vilnius in 1939, but has yet to receive any documents regarding this question.

Lietuvos žydų bendruomenės laikraštis “Lietuvos Jeruzalė” 2006.