Jieznas Jewish Cemetery

The exact period of the cemetery’s establishment is unknown. Moreover, ESJF could not determine when it was demolished, or the location of its tombstones. Today, no visible traces of the cemetery or its boundaries remain.

Jews first settled in Jieznas (Pl. Jezno, Yid. יעזנע) during the first half of the 19th century. The community had a synagogue, but until 1912, Jiezno had no Jewish cemetery cemetery and used that in Butrimonys. In 1915, the retreating Russian army expelled the local Jews to central Russia. Most of the Jews returned after WWI. YeKoPo (Jewish Committee to Aid Victims of the War) was active in the town. In the Independent Lithuanian state, Jieznas had a primary Hebrew school with a library, which operated within the Tarbut network. Zionist organizations were active until the Soviet occupation in 1940. At that time, there were about 300 Jews in Jieznas, or 27% of the total population. After the German invasion in 1941, Lithuanian nationalists started attacking the Jews even before the German army had reached the town. By September 1941, almost all of the Jews had been murdered. Only 18 escaped, with only 4 surviving the war.