On January 29, 1944, the Soviet partisans of Genrikas Zimanas – with Yaakov Prenner committed a crime in the village of Koniuchy in today's Lithuania. At least 40 Polish inhabitants were murdered, men, women, and children – the youngest was two years old.

29 stycznia 1944 r. partyzantka sowiecka Genrikasa Zimanasa i żydowska Jaakowa Prennera dokonały zbrodni we wsi Koniuchy na terenie dzisiejszej Litwy. Zamordowano co najmniej 38 polskich mieszkańców, mężczyzn, kobiet i dzieci – najmłodsze miało 2 lata.

′′It didn't matter who they caught, they beat everyone. Even a woman as she ran into the forest to the cemetery, they didn't shoot, but they killed with a rock, in the head. When they killed mom, maybe they let go of 8 bullets in the chest, Wojtkiewicza wife was pregnant and the boy was not even two years old. She got beat up and the boy was left alive. They brought straw, they threw it on them they lit it. This boy's legs were sunbathed – his fingers fell off. He survived under his mother. When they lit, only his legs burned. It was scary, they didn't let anyone pass up" - 13-year-old witness, resident of Koniuchy village Edward Tubin.

"The village of Koniuchy became only a memory full of ashes and dead bodies. Only a few realized that a terrible murder was committed within an hour. They drank, ate, and sang all night. They enjoyed killing and destroying, and the most drinking" – said one of the participants of the murders, Paul Bagrianski, in his memories published in Israel. Completely different approach to victims and perpetrators. 

Nobody wanted to chase or even question them. And there were so many participants in this murder.

And nothing… Let's guess why? As one of the participants, a partisan of the Jewish background mentioned: "The bodies were dismantled and placed on the back. The moonlight was raining on them. One by one guerrillas shot dead bodies between the legs. When the bullets reached their nerves, the dead bodies reacted as alive. Twisted and shattered for seconds. Women's dead bodies reacted in a more violent way than men. All the guerrillas from this branch took part in this cruel fun, laughing in wild madness ".

The objective of the punitive raid was to send a clear message to the denizens of the area: a similar fate will befall any other village whose denizens dare to resist the Soviets. To maximize the propaganda effect and further justify their actions, the communists of course claimed that Koniuchy had been a nest of "fascist collaborators" containing a German garrison. 

Thus, the victims completely deserved their fate. In official Soviet historiography the massacre of Koniuchy would be portrayed merely as a typical guerrilla operation to destroy the alleged Nazi garrison. The testimonies of Jewish Holocaust survivors would also parallel closely the Soviet propaganda while adding the charge of "anti-Semitism" to the list of accusations against the inhabitants of Koniuchy.

The leader of the Jewish troops in the Rudnicka Forest, where the criminal activity was Abba Kovner (Kowner). He is considered one of the greatest heroes of the ′′Jewish Resistance "and in 1997 received a special distinction in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum for a ′′Medal of Resistance ". And as a Jewish hero, he went on to global history, while crimes such as in Koniuchy were brushed aside.  

The Soviet partisan movement intentionally terrorized the local population to pave the way for the red comeback. It supplied itself by plundering the natives with no regard for their plight. In fact, the communists adhered to a policy of “the worse, the better” by deliberately provoking German reprisals and terror to swell their own ranks and revolutionize the desperate population.

We can no longer apply double standards to criminals because they are also perceived as victims. All people should be treated equally and held accountable for what they do regardless of who they are and what title they have. 

These were Jews, yet they were criminals and cruel ones at that.

Ultimately, the historian’s motto should be the famous Aristotelian “amicus Plato, sed magis amica veritas” (“Plato is a friend, but the truth is a greater friend”).    

timenote.info/en/events/Koniuchy-massacre

The Institute of World Politics - Dr. Marek Jan Chodakiewicz

http://info-poland.icm.edu.pl