VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — A landmark legal proceeding opened in Vilnius as a Lithuanian court began hearing arguments in the first Nazi war crimes trial held in the former Soviet Union. The defendant is Aleksandras Lileikis, a 91-year-old former Norwood, Massachusetts, resident who served as the head of Vilnius’ security police during World War II.
Charges and Historical Context
The core facts of the prosecution are undisputed: day after day for three years following the 1941–44 Nazi occupation, Jewish residents were hauled out of the Vilnius ghetto, marched down a cobblestone road to the Paneriai forest, stripped naked, and shot dead. The systematic slaughter wiped out approximately 90 percent of Lithuania’s pre-war Jewish population of 240,000—destroying a vibrant community renowned for its scholarship that had earned Vilnius the nickname “Jerusalem of the North.”
Lileikis lived quietly in the United States for 40 years following the war, working for a Boston-area Lithuanian publishing house and residing for decades in Norwood, Massachusetts. After U.S. authorities uncovered documents detailing his wartime past, Lileikis was stripped of his U.S. citizenship in 1996 and returned to Lithuania in 1995.
Prosecutors are basing their genocide case—which carries a potential life sentence—on a “shockingly complete paper trail” of documents that emerged only after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. The state alleges that Lileikis personally signed orders arresting scores of Vilnius Jews and handed them over to the Nazi extermination squad that carried out the forest executions.
Defense Arguments and Public Reaction
Lileikis’ defense attorneys are expected to argue that the wartime documents could have been forged, that Lileikis never personally pulled a trigger or commanded an execution squad, and that handing individuals over to the Nazis did not necessarily mean he knew they faced execution.
However, local researchers and historians have dismissed those claims. Svetlana Shatalova of the Vilnius Jewish Museum noted that within months of the occupation, the reality of the massacres was common knowledge. “If he was handing over Jews and they were being taken away, what did he think?” Shatalova said. “He knew very well they weren’t being taken away for a picnic.”
Public opinion in Lithuania remains sharply divided. While international Jewish organizations have frequently denounced Lithuanian authorities for foot-dragging—noting that the trial was postponed several times and suggesting officials hoped Lileikis would die before facing testimony—many local citizens express resentment over the proceedings. “I think it’s absolutely wrong what they are doing to Lileikis,” said Stanislava Jevseyeva, a 62-year-old flower vendor in Vilnius. “If they put him on trial, what about all the Soviets who killed and deported people?”
Due to his advanced age and claims by his defense team that he is bedridden following a stroke, it remained doubtful whether Lileikis would personally appear in court for the opening sessions.
Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger
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