Alternate names: Kudirkos Naumiestis [Lith], Władysławów [Pol], Nayshtot Shaki [Yid], Vladislavov [Rus], Wladislawow, Naum'yestis, Naumiyestis, Naumiestis Šakiu, Naumiestis, Naumiesčio, Naumestis, Kudirkos-Naumestis, Naumestis, Naumiestis Kudirkos, Neyshtadt Shaki, Neishtat, Neishtat Kudirko, Neishtat Shervint, Novoe Mesto, Vlodislovov, Russian: Владиславов. נײַשטאָט־שאַקי- Yiddish. 54°46' N, 22°53' E, 42 miles W of Kaunas (Kovno), 14 miles SW of Šakiai (Shaki), 10 miles NW of Vilkaviškis (Vilkavisk). Yizkor: Lite (vol. 1) (New York, 1951) and Yahadut Lita (vol. 4) (Tel Aviv, 1984). ShtetLink. Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego (1880-1902), XIII, pp. 692-693: "Władysławów" #1. A small town in the southern corner of Lithuania, four kilometers from the border with Germany in the District of Saki. At the time of the Holocaust some 800 or 991 Jews lived in Neustadt, including thirty families who were expelled from the Suvalk District after it was annexed to Germany in 1939.
CEMETERY: Large former cemetery with very few stones (less than 50) remaining, in poor condition.
When I visited the Jewish cemetery at Kudirkos Naumiestis, where my paternal ancestral family lived until 1897, I was shocked to learn that only a week before this visit in May 2000, some local "hoodlums" had smashed the last remaining marble plaque, on a lone Magen David cenotaph. (Smashed pieces of marble were lying on the ground.) The chief librarian and museum curator of Kudirkos Naumiestis, who accompanied us on the visit to this cemetery, said she had accompanied some American visitors to the Jewish cemetery a week before and the plaque was definitely intact then. All the Jews of Kudirkos Naumiestis were killed by the end of 1941. Herb Epstein, Australia, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . [October 2000 from Yizkor SIG Digest]
Joseph Rosin at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. may have more information. [October 2000]
MASS GRAVES: As soon as the war broke out, the town was captured by the Germans at 3:00 A.M. on June 22. The Red army with few troops in the area gave no resistance to the Germans. The first Jewish victim heard outside and opened the door of his house; he was shot by a German soldier. Random Jewish deaths continued until June 25 when all the Jews were gathered in the market square and informed that they would be required to do forced labor in the town like digging ditches, cleaning and sweeping streets, repairing roads, etc under the supervision of Lithuanian nationalists, who humilitated and abused them. Between July 4 and 10, when the Jews returned from forced labor, a group of Lithuanian "activists" ordered all Jewish males above the age of fourteen out to the streets. Armed Lithuanians waiting and took the males under heavy guard to the District Council building. Their papers, money and valuables were taken. In groups of fifty, the Jews were taken to the Jewish cemetery where pits dug by Soviet prisoners of war were ready. 192 men were murdered by the Germans and the Lithuanian "activists" at the edge of the pits. Any victim who did not fall directly into the pits was dragged there by the next group. According to witnesses who appeared at the trial at Ulm, all who participated were invited by the district governor and council head to a large banquet. The families of the victims were told that the men were taken to Germany to work. The "activists" searched for escapees and caught and murdered nine Jews in the cemetery on July 7. The families remained in their homes until August 23. Healthy women replaced the men for forced labor doing the same jobs. Separate hours were set for them to buy food and draw water. On August 23 a Ghetto established in Neustadt in the two most run-down and decrepit alleys were chosen: the synagogue alley and the mikvah alley. On September 16, the "activists" appeared in town, the women and children were taken from their homes. Also captured were men who escaped the earlier slaughter. Told to get ready to go to work, all were taken to the Prazniev Forest, four km from town. Pits had been dug. 650 Jewish women and children were murdered and buried after which, the local council seized their property and began distribution to the Lithuanians fighting over the booty. [March 2009]
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- Next to the Jewish cemetery one km from the town on the banks of the Shirvint River; June 22 and July 11, 1941; 192 victims.
- The location - Prazniev Forest, four km SE of Neustadt-Saki; September 16, 1941; 650 victims.