Img. ID: 454605

Who is Commemorated?

Jewish workers of the HKP forced labor camp who were killed on July 4, 1944.

Description

The monument is located between the two buildings known as the Cheap Houses, at the southern section of the plaza. It is a granite, round-headed stele in the form of a traditional tombstone, with a carved Star of David on its upper portion. A Hebrew inscription is placed in the middle of the stele, flanked by stylized columns. A plot in front of the stele is paved with cobblestones, while a framed plot behind it symbolizes a mass grave.

Stones for the border of the grave are Jewish tombstones from the Užupis cemetery, which were used for building purposes in the city in the 1960s and removed in the early 1990s. (Vilna yerushalayim de-lita hareva 1993, p. 27)

Plaques explaining the history of the HPK are attached to the western building nearby. A monument to Jewish workers of the HKP forced labor camp is located in front of this symbolic grave.

Inscription:

In Hebrew:

בחצר זו מחנה הכפייה ה.ק.פ.
נרצחו ע"י המרצחים הגרמנים
ועוזריהם המקומיים
כ-400 אנשים, נשים וטף יהודיים
ונקברו פה בבורות
ביום י"ג בתמוז תש"ד  4.7.1944
השם יקום דמם
ת.נ.צ.ב.ה.

Translation: In this courtyard of the forced labor camp HKP / were killed by the German murderers / and their local aides / about 400 Jewish men, women and children / and buried here in pits / on 13 Tammuz 5704 July 4, 1944 / God will avenge their blood / May their souls be bound in the bundle of life.

Commissioned by

Yeshayahu (Shaya) Epstein