Užventis

Užventis (pronunciation , Samogitian: Ožvėntis, Polish: Użwenty, Yiddish: אוזשווענט‎ Uzhvent) is a city in the Kelmė district municipality, Lithuania. It is located 25 km (16 mi) north-west of Kelmė. River Venta flows through the city.

Užventis
City
Coat of arms
Užventis
Location of Užventis
Coordinates: 55°47′N 22°39′E
Country Lithuania
Ethnographic regionSamogitia
CountyŠiauliai County
MunicipalityKelmė district municipality
EldershipUžventis eldership
Capital ofUžventis rural eldership
First mentioned1527
Granted city rights1746
Population
 (2005)
 • Total844
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)

History

173 Jews lived in the village in 1923, comprising 22 percent of the total population. The Lithuanian white armband squad formed in Užventis just after the German invasion, and they gathered Jewish residents of the village in the brewery in early July 1941. Jews were humiliated and forced to do various kinds of work for several weeks. At the end of July, the white armbanders dug a large pit in the Želviai forest. The next day, they rounded up the majority of the Jews from the ghetto (about 50-70 people), brought them to the execution place and shot them. Several groups of Jewish men who were fit to work were taken to Šiauliai and Žagarė. About 20 Jews who were left in Užventis were executed in the Želviai forest in December 1941.[1]

References
  1. http://yahadmap.org/#village/u-ventis-scaron-iauliai-lithuania.790
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