The Holocaust in Telšiai

The Holocaust in Telšiai (Yiddish: Telz) was carried out by the local Lithuanian leadership with occasional supervision by Nazi German units. The Jewish population in 1939 was 2,800, some 35 percent of the town's population. Additional Jews found refuge in Telšiai following the 1939 German ultimatum to Lithuania. Telšiai was taken by German troops on 25 June 1941. Jews were terrorized by the Germans and their Lithuanian collaborators and on 15–16 July all Jewish men were shot. The women were moved to a camp in Geruliai, and with the exception of 500–600 young women, were all shot on 30 August 1941. The 500–600 young women were moved back to a ghetto in Telšiai, and with the exception of some escapees, were shot on 30–31 December 1941 Of the escapees, 64 Jewish women survived.