- Location
- Kaunas, Lithuania
- Period
- 1941–1944
- Victims
- Tens of thousands
- Related
- Kovno Ghetto
From fortress to prison
The Ninth Fort was built as part of Kaunas’s defenses and later used as a prison. German occupation transformed it into a major execution and mass-murder site.
Kovno Ghetto actions
Large groups of Jews from the Kovno Ghetto were taken to the fort. The October 29, 1941 Great Action was one of the largest massacres of Kaunas Jews.
Deportees from the Reich
In November 1941 Jews deported from Germany and Austria were murdered there; later victims included deportees from elsewhere in Europe.
Perpetrators
German security forces directed the killings with participation by Lithuanian auxiliaries.
Evidence destruction and escape
Prisoners were later forced to exhume and burn bodies. In December 1943 members of this detachment escaped and later testified.
Victim totals
Victim estimates vary according to the period and categories counted. For a general overview, the most defensible description is that tens of thousands of people were murdered at the Ninth Fort, including large numbers of Jews from Kovno and deportees from Germany, Austria and elsewhere in Europe.
Sources
This page draws on the institutional sources listed below.