responsibility falls on the whole Jewish community, therefore Jews are not allowed to be out in the street from 3 p.m. to 10 a.m. The two Jewish murderers were captured and shot on the spot. A day later, the Jewish quarter was surrounded – Straszuna, Rudnicka, Jatkowa, Szpitalna, Zaułek Lidzki – and 5,000 people were driven out: women, men, children, the old, the sick, i.e. all the Jewish residents. They were seen being taken in the direction of Pohulanka. The procession lasted three hours. No one came back. […]
Also in other quarters: Wiłkomierska, Kalwaryjska, on the other side of the Wilia – in the same way, between three and five thousand – in trucks to Łukiszki. Of them, too, no one returned.
The Reinigungsaktion550 lasted three days – at the same time, a levy of 5 million roubles imposed on Jews; Poles also participated in raising the sum, 350,000 roubles, priests … levy [to be collected] in three days; later deadline extended to one week.
Jews contributed willingly, believing that in that way they would buy themselves out of trouble. A week later, exactly on 6 September, Jews were driven into a ghetto. The ghetto was in the former Jewish quarter. That was one ghetto; the second ghetto within the walls of the historical Jewish Vilna ghetto on the other side of Niemiecka Street (Żurawska Street, […], Szklana Street, and others). The forced move into the ghetto took place on the Saturday, from 3:30 in the morning till 7 in the evening on the first day, and the same on the second day (Sunday). It went on for two days.
[2a] The […] attitude of the Polish population very good. […] on the thirdday the Jews were gone.
[3] People were allowed to take with them only what they could carry. There were instances of Jews using carts – they were confiscated. The people looked as if they were walking to the slaughter, terror on their faces, because not everyone knew yet that they were going into a ghetto. Weeping, driven on by Lithuanians with whips, they often had to leave their baggage and walk on. The baggage disappeared immediately. Polish population: the older ones wept, the younger ones laughed. Before entering the ghetto, the first Jewish victim fell dead in the street. A fairly large group was taken by force to Zaułek Lidzki, their baggage was confiscated, and they were taken to Łukiszki. 35,000 Jews were moved into the ghettos (under the Soviets there were 65,000 Jews).
