Ypatingasis būrys

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Special SD and German Security Police Squad (Lithuanian: Vokiečių Saugumo policijos ir SD ypatingasis būrys) often referred to as Ypatingasis Būrys (Special Squad) in Lithuanian or szaulisi (shaulists) or Strzelcy Ponarscy (Ponary Rifleman) in Polish [1][2] (1941-1944) was the Wilno (modern Vilnius) killing squad, initially consisting of a hundred members [3] but reduced to a core of forty or fifty men who were part of the Nazi Sonderkommando. [4] The squad was responsible for tens of thousands of deaths, particulary through its participation in the Ponary massacre, where about 100,000 Jews and Poles were murdered.[5] The unit was formed by the German occupational government[6] but was composed primarily of Lithuanian volunteers.[7]

[edit] History

Original Soviet built memorial to the Soviet Victims in the Panieri Woods (Ponary massacre) where Ypatingasis būrys killed thousands of people. Soviet ideology considered all victims "Soviet citizens" without reference to German race considerations in the genocide of the Jews, Poles or other ethnicities.
Original Soviet built memorial to the Soviet Victims in the Panieri Woods (Ponary massacre) where Ypatingasis būrys killed thousands of people. Soviet ideology considered all victims "Soviet citizens" without reference to German race considerations in the genocide of the Jews, Poles or other ethnicities.

The first mention of the name of the Vilnian, Special Squad, (Lithuanian: Ypatingasis būrys) is on documents dated July 15, 1941. The Special Squad (YB) began as police unit formed after Lithuania was occupied by Germany in 1941. Many were volunteers,[7] particulary recruited from the paramilitary nationalistic[2][8] Union of Lithuanian Riflemen (Lithuanian: Lietuvos Šaulių Sąjunga) organization. [9][10] It was composed primarily of ethnic Lithuanians, although a few Germans, Poles[11] and Russians served in it too.[6] This unit was subordinate to German police, and had no autonomy. [12]]. Amongst the original organizers of the squad were junior lieutenants Jakubka and Butkus. After July 23, 1941, the commanding officer was Juozas Šidlauskas. Squad members were issued Soviet weapons and white armbands and were used as guards and to move Jews from their apartments to the Ghetto. In November 1941, lieutenant Balys Norvaiša, became the commander of the squad and his deputy was lieutenant Balys Lukošius. The size of the squad was reduced to between forty and fifty men. By the end of 1943, Norvaiša and Lukošius were deployed to a self-defence battalion and command of the YB was transferred to sergeant Jonas Tumas. Some of the squad members were wearing uniforms of Lithuanian Army until in 1942 they were issued green SD uniforms with Swastika and skulls on caps. Squad members were also issued SD identity cards. Most of squad members were Lithuanians, but some were Russians and Poles. YB was subordinate only to the German Security Police. Longest serving commander of YB was SS man Martin Weiss. Weiss used to not only command executions but to kill victims personally. In 1943 Weiss was replaced by private Fiedler.[13]

YB was created to kill people and killed people during its entire existence time. Most people it killed in 1941. YB killed people in Paneriai, Nemenčinė, Naujoji Vilnia, Varėna, Jašiūnai, Eišiškės, Trakai, Semeliškės, and Švenčionys.[13]

YB also guarded Gestapo headquarters in Vilnius, prison on Gediminas street, and Paneriai base. When Germans closed Vilnius' monasteries in 1943, YB guarded facilities until Germans removed nationalised property.[13]

In 1943 YB performed far less executions than in 1941-1942. From December 1943 Paneriai was guarded by some SS unit and in 1944 YB did not perform shootings in Paneriai.[13]

From the August 1943 YB was renamed to a Squad of 11th Battalion of Latvian Legion. Old identity documents were replaced by new documents of Latvian Legion troops. Despite the formal change, YB was still serving German Security Police and SD. In July 1944 YB was moved to Kaunas and stationed at Ninth Fort. There YB guarded prison and before retreating killed 100 prisoners. Then YB was moved to Stutthof, escorted Jews to Toruń, stayed there until in April 1944 received orders to convoy Jews to Bydgoszcz, but members of YB fled from arriving front and Jewish prisoners luckily escaped. Some YB members successfully retreated to Germany, some stayed in zone occupied by Red Army.[13]

YB killed tens of thousands people, mostly Jews. 10 YB members were sentenced and executed by Soviet authorities in 1945 (Jonas Oželis-Kazlauskas, Juozas Macys, Stasys Ukrinas, Mikas Bogotkevičius, Povilas Vaitulionis, Jonas Dvilainis, Vladas Mandeika, Borisas Baltūsis, Juozas Augustas, Jonas Norkevičius). Twenty YB members were convicted by Polish authorities[citation needed], four of them in the 70s[10]. Other YB members died after the war or live abroad.[13]

In period of 1941-1944, approximately 108 persons served in YB.[citation needed]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Wilno on Diapositive.
  2. ^ a b (English) Tadeusz Piotrowski (1997). Poland's Holocaust: Ethnic Strife, Collaboration with Occupying Forces and Genocide.... McFarland & Company, p. 162. ISBN 0-7864-0371-3. 
  3. ^ (English) Tadeusz Piotrowski (1997). Poland's Holocaust: Ethnic Strife, Collaboration with Occupying Forces and Genocide.... McFarland & Company, p. 165. ISBN 0-7864-0371-3. 
  4. ^ Bubnys, Arūnas (2004). Vokiečių ir lietuvių saugumo policija (1941–1944) (Lithuanian). Retrieved on 2007-02-18. “Pirmą kartą dokumentuose Vilniaus ypatingojo būrio vardas (vok. Sonderkommando) aptinkamas 1941 m. liepos 15 d. Dokumentuose kalbama apie šovinių išdavimą ypatingojo būrio reikmėms.”
  5. ^ (Polish) Śledztwo w sprawie masowych zabójstw Polaków w latach 1941 - 1944 w Ponarach koło Wilna dokonanych przez funkcjonariuszy policji niemieckiej i kolaboracyjnej policji litewskiej (Investigation of mass murders of Poles in the years 1941–1944 in Ponary near Wilno by functionaries of German police and Lithuanian collaborating police). Institute of National Remembrance documents from 2003 on the ongoing investigation]. Last accessed on 10 February 2007.
  6. ^ a b Bubnys, Arūnas (2004). Vokiečių ir lietuvių saugumo policija (1941–1944) (Lithuanian). Retrieved on 2007-02-18. “Daugumą būrio narių sudarė lietuviai, tačiau buvo keletas rusų ir lenkų.”
  7. ^ a b Timothy Snyder, The Reconstruction of Nations: Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus, 1569-1999, Yale University Press, ISBN 0-300-10586-XGoogle Books, p.84
  8. ^ Kazimierz Sakowicz, Yitzhak Arad, Yale University Press, 2005, ISBN 0300108532 Google Print, p.12
  9. ^ (Polish) Czesław Michalski, Ponary - Golgota Wileńszczyzny (Ponary — the Golgoth of Wilno Region). Konspekt nº 5, Winter 2000–2001, a publication of the Academy of Pedagogy in Kraków. Last accessed on 10 February 2007.
  10. ^ a b (Polish) Stanisław Mikke, 'W Ponarach'. Relation from a Polish-Lithuanian memorial ceremony in Paneriai, 2000. On the pages of Polish Bar Association
  11. ^ MacQueen, Michael (2004). Lithuanian Collaboration in the “Final Solution”: Motivations and Case Studies (English quote=When questioned by Polish authorities about what had motivated him to spend more than two months as a killer assigned to the execution squad at Paneriai, Borkowski said that he had no reason to mourn the Jews since antisemitism had been “beaten into his head” when he served in the Polish border guards before the war and he believed that the Jews were “parasites.”) (pdf). Lithuania and the Jews The Holocaust Chapter 55. UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM. Retrieved on 2007-02-19.
  12. ^ Bubnys, Arūnas (2004). Vokiečių ir lietuvių saugumo policija (1941–1944) (Lithuanian). Retrieved on 2007-02-18. “YB buvo pavaldus tik vokiečių saugumo policijai ir vykdė jos pareigūnų nurodymus.”
  13. ^ a b c d e f (Lithuanian) Arūnas Bubnys (2004). Vokiečių ir lietuvių saugumo policija (1941–1944) (German and Lithuanian security police: 1941-1944). Vilnius: Lietuvos gyventojų genocido ir rezistencijos tyrimo centras. Retrieved on 2006-06-09. 
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