Demographic aspects of the Jewish population in Lithuania September 1939-June 1941
ENAny examination of the Holocaust in Lithuania requires establishing the country’s Jewish population before the German invasion. Ascertaining the number of Jews living in Lithuania between September 1, 1939 and June 22, 1941 is a difficult task due to a lack of statistical data as well as a number of events that affected the size of the Jewish population and ultimately the number of Jews killed by the Germans and their local collaborators within the territory of Lithuania. Until Lithuania was occupied by the Soviet Union on June 14, 1940, Lithuania, as an independent state, remained neutral and was not involved in the conflict between Germany and Poland. Notwithstanding the tense and unfriendly relations between pre-war Lithuania and Poland, thousands of Polish soldiers and civilians sought – and were given – refuge in neutral Lithuania. Among the masses of refugees, there were hundreds of Polish Jews. On September 17, 1939, pursuant to the terms of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, the Red Army occupied eastern Poland and the city of Vilnius. On October 10, 1939, Moscow turned over Vilnius and the surrounding territory to Lithuania. Lithuania not only regained its historical capital, but also a large number of indigenous Jews (Litvaks) as well as thousands of Jewish refugees from all over of Poland. The acquisition of Vilnius and surrounding territory dramatically increased the Jewish population of Lithuania. [p. 49].
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