The Holocaust in Lithuania between 1941 and 1944

After the Nazi Party came to power in Germany, anti-Semitism became the state policy of Nazi Germany. Later this policy was transferred to all the areas of Europe occupied by the Third Reich. The persecution and killings of Jews were initiated by Nazi Germany, but in certain occupied countries, including Lithuania, the Nazis managed to involve some part of the local population and local collaborating institutions into their criminal actions. The Nazi propaganda succeeded in exploiting the anti-Communist and anti-Semitic moods that had developed during the year of Soviet occupation (in 1940–1941). The Nazis convinced some Lithuanians that Bolshe-vism meant the‚ Jewish power‘ and the Jews were primarily responsible for the state-carried out terror during the Soviet annexation and occupation.