Full Translation of Jan.-Feb. 2025 Email Blast Defaming Fania Yocheles Brantsovsky with Links to Massive Online Defamation




FANIA YOCHELES BRANTSOVSKY | BLAMING THE VICTIMS | ANTISEMITISMLITHUANIA | LITVAK AFFAIRS

The following is a full translation of the recent email blast published in Defending History in the original Lithuanian on 31 Jan. For background see the English introduction there, as well as reports and discussion on the DH editor’s Facebook page. For a full chronology of the now nineteen year old campaign against Holocaust survivors who survived by joining the anti-Nazi resistance see DH’s Blaming the Victims page.  Obersvers have noted that the German teacher recruited to launch the campaign of defamation against Fania Yocheles Brantsovsky (Brancovskaja) and Dr. Rokhl (Rachel) Margolis, I. Tumavičiūtė in a January 2008 article in a far-right antisemitic daily (original; English translation) reappears this week as the campaign, apparently including the Genocide Center (GRRLC) and its director, is duly relaunched. Note the text contains the link to the online clip from a Soviet-era documentary where Fania Brantsovsky’s remarks about regrettable civilian casualties during the partisans’ battles against the Nazis in the forests of Lithuania is maliciously taken out of context to imply targeting of civilians and/or her own participation in the battle described. The youtube video clip, that has been up for seven years is entitled “isgama  branvcovskaja” that translates as “The Degenerate Brantsovsky” or “Scum Brantsovsky.” More background of “polite” state support for the defamation of Holocaust Survivors who joined the anti-Nazi resistance includes the public statement for a video documentary by the executive director of the state-sponsored “Red-Brown Commission” (officially “The International Commission for the Evaluation of the Crimes of the Nazi and Soviet Occupational Regimes in Lithuania”). The participation of the state-sponsored Genocide Center in this week’s events is apparently meant to give the new campaign an air of legitimacy, during a time of much-heightened antisemitic sentiment.

 

https://www.genocid.lt/centras/lt/4535/a/

COMMEMORATION of Kaniūkai Village Residents, Murdered by Soviet Partisans in 1944

February 2, 2025

10:30 AM – Holy Mass at St. Ignatius Church (Vilnius)
11:30 AM – Departure for Kaniūkai village cemetery (Šalčininkai district) after the Holy Mass
2:00 PM – Start of the commemoration event

Participants:

Dr. Arūnas Bubnys, General Director of GRRCL

Professor Valdas Rakutis, Member of the Seimas

Representative of Šalčininkai District

Dr. Kostas Ivanauskas, Commander of the Vilnius (1003) Company of the 10th King Mindaugas Riflemen’s Regiment, along with company riflemen

National Alliance

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https://alkas.lt/2025/01/29/kaniuku-zudynes-vasario-2-d-bus-pagerbtas-zuvusiuju-atminimas/

Kaniūkai Massacre: Victims’ Memory Will Be Honored on February 2

Jonas Vaiškūnas, www.alkas.lt
January 29, 2025

On February 2, the Kaniūkai village massacre will be commemorated. Eighty-one years ago, on January 29, 1944, Soviet assault units, still referred to as “partisans,” massacred the residents of Kaniūkai village in the Šalčininkai district.

This brutal attack, in which about 35 innocent people lost their lives, including men, women, and children, is comparable in its cruelty to the Pirčiupiai village tragedy. The commemoration organizers, the Genocide and Resistance Research Center of Lithuania (GRRCL), invite people to remember this painful event in Lithuanian history.

Event Schedule:

10:30 AM – Holy Mass at St. Ignatius Church in Vilnius.
11:30 AM – Departure for Kaniūkai village from St. Ignatius Church in Vilnius.
2:00 PM – Commemoration event in Kaniūkai village, Šalčininkai district.

The commemoration will be attended by GRRLC Director Dr. Arūnas Bubnys, Members of the Seimas Prof. Valdas Rakutis and Rita Tamašunienė, representatives of the Šalčininkai District Municipality, as well as Dr. Kostas Ivanauskas, commander of the Vilnius (1003) Company of the 10th King Mindaugas Riflemen’s Regiment, along with the riflemen.

The History of the Kaniūkai Tragedy

Kaniūkai village, located in the Šalčininkai district, became one of the most tragic sites in Lithuania’s history in 1944. The punitive action carried out by Soviet “partisans” against the village residents was not only an act of violence but also a brutal act of terror. The people of Kaniūkai had organized a self-defense unit to protect their harvest and property from the Soviet “partisans’” requisitions. This resistance enraged the “partisans,” leading to a brutal act of revenge—the villagers were massacred, and the village itself was burned to the ground.

Historians note that the Kaniūkai tragedy remained largely unexamined for a long time. It was not until 2004 that an investigation into the event began in Lithuania, but it did not yield significant results.

The Polish Institute of National Remembrance also conducted an investigation, but Influential Jewish organizations from around the world considered it an attack against the anti-Nazi resistance and Holocaust victims, since the Soviet “partisan” unit that carried out the Kaniūkai massacre consisted mainly of Jewish fighters. The investigation was discontinued.

Soviet and Jewish publications claimed that the local Lithuanian, Polish, and Belarusian residents were pro-fascist and posed a threat to Soviet “partisans”. However, according to the survivors, the villagers had no ties to the German authorities. Only a few men in the village possessed firearms, and they were used solely for self-defense against the bandits roaming the forests, who plundered farmers’ livestock, food supplies, and other property.

Thanks to efforts by the Polish government, a cross was erected in Kaniūkai village to honor the memory of the martyrs.

Lack of Attention and the Importance of Remembrance

For a long time, the memory of the Kaniūkai massacre victims received little attention. Historian Irena Tumavičiūtė notes that double standards still prevail in Lithuania when discussing Nazi and Soviet crimes. This means that many Soviet collaborators who participated in mass killings of civilians have never been held accountable. Even more, some have even received state honors. A notorious example occurred in 2017, when then-President Dalia Grybauskaitė awarded the Order “For Merits to Lithuania,” Knight’s Cross to Soviet “partisan” Fania Yocheles-Brancovskaja (Brantsovsky) (1922–2024), a member of the Soviet “partisan” unit responsible for the Kaniūkai village massacre. Brancovskaja herself admitted to participating in the gang’s activities:

(https://youtu.be/GaPFiaAB8cQ The Degenerate Brancovskaja [note: can also be translated “The Scum Brancovskaja”]

The lack of attention from Lithuanian authorities and institutions toward this tragic history manifests not only in their reluctance to investigate and prosecute the perpetrators of genocide against Lithuanian civilians, but also in their avoidance of publicly acknowledging this painful anniversary and the modest commemoration event dedicated to it. This time, too, it was only after Alkas.lt conducted a small “journalistic investigation” that they discovered the event was even happening. Only after additional inquiries were they able to learn who the organizers were. There was no information about the commemoration on the Šalčininkai District Municipality website, nor in the national media. Only upon requesting details from GRRCL did a small event flyer appear on their website: www.genocid.lt.

Meanwhile, media coverage of the recent Jewish Holocaust Remembrance Day commemorations flooded the media and all possible airwaves, once again highlighting the double standards in Lithuania’s historical memory. This does not bring honor to Lithuania’s authorities and historical institutions.

Last year, during the 80th anniversary of the Kaniūkai massacre, civic activists and Sąjūdis movement members appealed to the government for recognition, but their efforts were unsuccessful.

The Kaniūkai village massacre remains a stark reminder of wartime brutality and civilian suffering. Memorial events play a crucial role in preserving the memory of the victims and raising awareness about this tragedy. The event organizers emphasize that this commemoration is open to all who wish to honor the victims of Kaniūkai tragedy and reflect on the painful lessons of Lithuania’s history.


This entry was posted in A 21st Century Campaign Against Lithuanian Holocaust Survivors?, Documents, Fania Yocheles Brantsovsky (Fania Brancovskaja): 1922-2024, History, Human Rights, Lithuania, Litvak Affairs, Museums, News & Views, Politics of Memory and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink.
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