September 6, 1941
Nazis Establish the Vilna Ghetto
Historical context
On this day, September 6, 1941, German authorities forced Vilna’s remaining Jews into two ghettos in the old Jewish quarter.
Archive record
Read the event, then follow its documented sources and archive threads.
- Date
- September 6, 1941
- Verified sources
- 1
- Archive threads
- 5
On this day, German authorities forced the remaining Jews of Vilna into two ghettos in the old Jewish quarter. Yad Vashem records about 30,000 people in the larger Ghetto I and about 11,000 in Ghetto II. During the move, about 6,000 Jews were taken to Łukiszki prison and from there to Ponary.
The “Great Provocation” killings of 31 August–2 September, the later destruction of Ghetto II, and the 1943 liquidation are separate stories. This article dates the 6 September confinement, not those later Aktions.
Research trail
Sources and further reading
- Establishment of the Vilna Ghetto · Yad Vashem · The Jerusalem of Lithuania: The Story of the Jewish Community of Vilna View source
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