Holocaust Education & Archive Research Team The IMT Series
Voluntary Statement of Prisoner of War Hauptsturmfuhrer Friedel
Rau [photos added to enhance the text] During the time that I
belonged to the staff of the Senior SS and Police Officer for
North Russia, SS Gruppenfuhrer Pruetzmann, in Riga, I overheard
the following during conversations by Pruetzmann with others: 1.
Kovno (Lithuania) During the period from the capture of Kovno
until 3 July 1941 about 1,500 people, mostly Jews, were shot by
the Lithuanians. These shootings are alleged to have taken place
as reprisals for the shooting in the prison by the Russians of
about 2,000 Lithuanians. It is said that very many Jews took
part in this shooting by the Russians. Both shootings each took
place on one day. Pruetzmann also stated that in this case the
simplest way was to allow the population’s hatred of the Jews to
take its free course. This information about the shootings can
be confirmed by Obersturmbannfuhrer Werner Fromm, head of the
personnel office