The overwhelming majority of those killed here were Jews and there is a memorial to them. The non-Jewish Lithuanians and Poles have memorials. The Roma killed here do not have a memorial but are acknowledged by some who leave flowers at the memorial to "The Victims of Fascist Terror." Some Russian POW's were also killed here. Some were killed because they were Communists. This place is a lesson in the complexity of acknowledging the deaths of so many people of different backgrounds without diminishing the significance of the genocide of the Jews. This is a lesson still being thought about with no perfect solution as yet found. This was one of the few places we visited in Lithuania that did not have interpretative information in English so read up before you visit. The museum was not open during our visit. Perhaps they have information in English.
This is such an important part of Lithuania's history - where 95% of the Jews of the state were murdered by the Nazis - the majority from Vilnius in the forests. However, I was lucky as we took part in a tour by JeruLita with Svetlana (who was an absolutely fantastic guide). If we did not have a guide it would have been a memorial than a learning experience as well. Also shame the museum was not open - it is only open by appointment during Winter which is a shame.
It was hard to get there but totally worth visiting to experience the atmosphere in this place. I was alone so i had the time to feel the silence and to think how could the nazis be so cruel?..
Horror in the forest-again-an example of the unbelievable cruelty of man. The site is well kept and respectful. Go-but know it will break your heart
We took a tour at the Paneriai place of massacre and it was both emotional and impressive. The quiet scenery in the middle of the forests makes the place even more sad in a way. Our guide could explain in detail what happened here and we were all stunned. Take a tour if you decide to go.
The memorial itself is rather small, but it's a real must to see, it's easy to reach by train from Vilnius and only requires a short walk from the train station, about 1kmIt is also interesting to have a look at the village itself which unfortunately it's really in poor condition, still really in "soviet" styleFor the ones who are interested in historical places it's really worth a visit
Panerial is a quiet place now, but imagining the men, women and children being led to the pits to be shot and buried there is sobering. The small museum was very informative. I had not known about the escape of the Jewish men who were assigned to exhume the bodies and destroy the evidence before Germany lost the war. The testimony of those who made it out is posted in the museum. Tragic.
This was the site of one o the first massacres of the Holocaust - in the summer of 1941 Soviet Prisoners of War , Jewish men, women and children from the Vilnius Ghetto were brought into th forest - separated and shot by the Nazi's. the labour camps were emptied , the Jews forced into trucks and driven into the forest for execution. More than 2,000 Jews were murdered in a period of 2 days. In 1944ma Special State Commission determined that more than 100,000 people were killed in Paneria - approx. 70,000 were Jews - others were Lithuanian soldiers, gypsies, resistance fighters, Soviet POW's, communists and Catholic Priests.The forest today is a beautiful and tranquil place with memorials to the victims. there is a large car park, a walking trail, a small museum with a curator who will tell the story and basic toilet facilities.
When you visit a new place it is always nice to find out about the history of the place. The people of Lithuania have suffered harshly under occupation and many minority peoples (Muslims, Jews, Roma) were slaughtered.
It was not too easy to find this place. There was no sign of it in any of two books/tour guides I got in Poland although this is a very important place for our history. This place remind me Sobibór concentration camp in East Poland - forest, no sign of death factory and silent around...If you like a history and if you like to think about a humanity you must go there and go through paths of death in this forest who is a witness of human brutality.