SUBAČIUS
[End Page 1124] Pre-1940: Subačius (Yiddish: Subotsh), village, Panevėžys apskritis, Lithuania; 1940–1941: Subačius/Subachius, Panevezhis uezd, Lithuanian SSR; 1941–1944: Subotsch, Kreis Ponewesch, Gebiet Ponewesch-Land, Generalkommissariat Litauen; post-1991: Subačius, Panevėžys rajonas and apskritis, Republic of Lithuania
Subačius is located 23 kilometers (15 miles) east of Panevėžys. In 1921, the Jewish population was 250. More than 20 Jewish families were living in the village on the eve of the German invasion.
German forces captured Subačius in late June 1941. At the time of the Germans’ arrival, Lithuanian nationalists formed a local administration and police force. Initially the German army only passed through the town, but a small garrison was established in Subačius after about one month. Some Jews fled into the countryside as the Germans first approached, but they returned to Subačius after a few days.
One day, probably in the second half of July, all the Jews were ordered to gather in the home of a prominent Jewish family. Five German soldiers and some Lithuanian activists selected about 10 families for work. The other Jews were escorted out of town and were all shot in the Ilšūnai Forest, about 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) west of the village.1
The remaining Jews were placed in a ghetto near the railway station, about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from the center of the village. The ghetto consisted of one street and was surrounded by a wooden fence with barbed wire. More than one family had to share each house. The Jews were forced to wear a Star of David on the chest and back of their clothing, and they were taken every day for forced labor. The labor tasks included harvesting potatoes and cleaning for the Germans. After about five months, at the end of 1941, the German garrison left for the front, and the Lithuanian activists took this opportunity to murder the remaining Jews. A few Jews managed to hide and to escape through the snow at this time. For example, Ascia Lieberman escaped through the barbed wire with her brother when the Lithuanians came to surround the ghetto. Her mother, however, went back to fetch her sister in the ghetto and was shot at the ghetto fence.2
SOURCES
The existence of a ghetto in Subačius is mentioned in Guy Miron, ed., The Yad Vashem Encyclopedia of the Ghettos during the Holocaust (Jerusalem: Yad Vashem, 2010), p. 771.
Relevant documentation can be found in the following archives: LYA and VHF (e.g., # 5112, 50638).
