O.71- Koniuchowsky Collection: Testimonies Regarding the Holocaust of Lithuanian Jewry, 1945-1981

O.71- Koniuchowsky Collection: Testimonies Regarding the Holocaust of Lithuanian Jewry, 1945-1981
 
 Leyb Koniuchowsky was born in Lithuania on 18 November 1910. An engineer by profession, he resided in Kaunas (Kovno). During the German occupation he lived in the Kaunas Ghetto and worked there until his escape. He found shelter in a bunker at a farmer's home where he remained until the liberation of Lithuania by the Red Army in 1944.
 
 From 1944-46, he wandered through the war battered towns of Lithuania, collecting testimonies from the few Jews that survived. The testimonies focus on the extermination of the Jews and the destruction of the local towns and villages. Koniuchowsky was meticulous about the accuracy and authenticity of the information in the testimonies, and even had the witnesses sign their testimonies. The testimonies include the names of thousands of victims of the Holocaust, the names of their murderers and those who had collaborated with the Germans. Koniuchowsky continued to collect testimonies in She’erit Hapletah DP camps in Germany, where he lived for a few years. From Germany he emigrated to the United States with help from the HIAS organization.
 
 Yad Vashem received the Koniuchowsky Collection in 1989. The collection includes testimonies regarding 150 towns and villages in Lithuania, and more than 30 towns in the Vilna area. In addition, there are 1,683 pages of closely handwritten testimonies in Yiddish, photocopies and topographical maps. 93 photographs were incorporated into the Photo Archive, where their collection number is 2812.
 
 The collection is of special significance because it includes much information, gathered directly from people who were eye-witnesses to the events described. Furthermore, from the testimonies it is possible to learn about the destruction of small communities, and places that had very few Jews before the war, and virtually no survivors.