Hundreds of Jews in Lithuanian Town Killed Bywild Dogs Released by Nazis

Hundreds of Jewish men, women and children in the Lithuanian town of Krakinova were torn to death by wild dogs loosed upon them by the Nazis and other hundreds were machinegunned as they stood along the banks of a river to which they had been driven by the German soldiers, it was disclosed today by the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee here.

When the Germans invaded Krakinova, the Committee report states, only a small part of the town’s 3,000 Jews succeeded in escaping. Most of the Jewish population fell into the hands of the Nazis. The Jews were ordered to wear distinguishing armbands and were instructed to lift their hats whenever a German passed. One old half-blind Jew, who stopped wearing a hat because he feared he might fail to see a passing Geman in time to remove it, was taken to Nazi headquarters and tortured to death because it was charged he walked about bareheaded to as to avoid having to show respect to the Nazis. German soldiers roamed the streets assaulting Jews without any provocation and practically every young Jewish girl was dragged into military brothels.

At dawn one day, shortly after the Nazis had seized the town, the German soldiers invaded the quarter whore all the Jews were confined and ordered them to assemble at the village square, the report continues. The Jews were not even given time to dress. When they arrived at the assembly point, the German commander told them that a Nazi soldier had been bitten by a dog “belonging to hostile elements.” The Jews were ordered to hunt for the dog, which, they were told, was hiding in the marshes near the river. The soldiers, each of whom had a dog on a leash, and the commander on horseback drove the Jews to the river. When they arrived there, the soldiers unleashed the dogs who proceeded to attack the half-naked Jews, while other Nazis turned machineguns on their victims.