Žemaičių plentas 73, Kaunas | 
Preserve memory for the future
In Lithuanian history, the year 1941 is marked by the crimes of two totalitarian regimes. It was a year when Lithuania was shaken by mass deportations and the Holocaust, which have left a deep mark on society to this day.
In the early morning of June 14, 1941, a four-day mass deportation of Lithuanian residents to the harsh climate areas of the Soviet Union began. Approximately 17,600 people were deported in crowded freight trains. More than 4,000 of the deported men were separated from their families and sent to labour camps as prisoners.
At the end of June 1941, the Soviet occupiers were replaced by the Nazis, and the mass persecution and extermination of Lithuania’s Jewish population began. The crimes committed by the Nazis and local collaborators left their mark on all Lithuania: there are more than 200 sites of mass murder throughout the country, the largest of which are Paneriai and Kaunas Ninth Fort. In three years, around 50,000 people were killed in the Ninth Fort alone: approximately 30,000 Jews, as well as Lithuanians, Poles, Russians and people of other nationalities.
In 2026, commemorating the 85th anniversary of the mass deportations and the beginning of the Holocaust in Lithuania, Kaunas Ninth Fort Museum invites you to reflect on the impact of the two occupation regimes, honour the memory of the victims and preserve historical memory.
The campaign Preserve Memory for the Future aims to remind us why it is important to know about historical events, which are painful, unpleasant and sometimes still difficult to accept. Only by knowing the past can we build a safe and free future. This is particularly relevant in the context of today’s geopolitical threats, when historical narratives are becoming tools of information warfare.
It is our shared responsibility to preserve memory. What we preserve and pass on becomes the foundation of our future.
MEMORIAL YEAR EVENTS | 2026
- Opening of the exhibition of drawings by Mindaugas Lukošaitis on the theme of the Holocaust | APRIL 24
- European Museum Night 2026 | MAY 23
- Artistic evening “Garden of June 2026” | JUNE 14
- National Memorial Day for the Genocide of the Lithuanian Jews | SEPTEMBER 24
- Memorial Day for the victims of the Great Action | OCTOBER
- Opening of the exhibition dedicated to the Munich Jews murdered at the Ninth Fort | NOVEMBER 25
VAIZDO LIUDIJIMAI
