The Holocaust Museum (the Green House) is a thought-provoking reminder of the catastrophic loss of a once flourishing ethnic group. Here, exhibits retrace the arrival of Lithuanian Jews (also known as Litvaks), celebrate their contribution to national culture and portray their tumultuous end. Visit the Holocaust Museum inside a humble green wooden house and former Jewish home. It is one of several venues that make up the Vilna Gaon Jewish State Museum.
Learn about local Holocaust history. Jews first settled in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 1200s and by the 1940s had grown into a group of over 200,000 people. Among noted Lithuanian Jews were the artist Isaak Levitán, sculptor Jacques Lipchitz and violinist Jascha Heifetz. Nazi forces invaded the country in 1941 and began imprisoning Jews in squalid ghettos. By the end of World War II almost all of this ethic population had been ruthlessly killed by genocide.
One of the most poignant exhibits is the Jäger Report, initiated by Karl Jäger, a superior of the Einsatzkommando death squad. This record reports 137,346 executions of Lithuanian Jews. See black-and-white photographs of the ghettos and illustrations of victims being led to meet their fate. Browse a gallery of SS Nazi leaders. Pause for thought at the display of a homemade child’s doll amid strands of barbed wire.
Find documents that provide an overview of the Jewish religion. Other exhibits honor the most famous members of the Litvaks. Peek inside the house’s attic, which was previously used as a hideout. Watch a video featuring clips of genuine diary entries. In the garden is a memorial plaque to Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese diplomat who saved thousands of Jewish lives by surreptitiously issuing exit visas.
Reach the museum by a 15-minute walk west from Cathedral Square. Public buses stop on Pamėnkalnio Street. From here walk just a few minutes. Nearby is the Pamėnkalnio Gallery, which has rotating expositions by local and international artists. The Holocaust Museum (the Green House) is open from Sunday to Friday and there is an admission fee.
