The museum of the Ninth Fort actually comprises two buildings and one
monument: a converted Soviet-era history museum, a tsarist military
fortification (the Ninth Fort was built during Tsar Alexander II's
reign) and a monolithic structure commemorating the USSR's victory
over the Nazis.
Walking up the main path, one comes to a gigantic concrete,
pyramid-like structure with no immediately obvious entrance. Built
during the late Soviet period in the early 1980s, this was formerly a
museum of the Nazi genocide. It cost an astounding 6 million Soviet
rubles and was built for the 'Soviet People.' It housed displays
documenting the German massacres of Jews and communists during World
War II, as well as hagiographic exhibits celebrating Soviet heroes.
"During the 1980s, this was a very well-visited museum. People made
the pilgrimage by the busload and came from the remotest parts of the
Soviet Union," said Jurate, one of the English-speaking guides.
The building itself remains a monument to Soviet megalomania. One
wonders how many thousand tons of concrete were poured in its
construction. It is a sort of secular cathedral with massive stained
glass windows, ceilings rising to 30 meters and a huge Soviet realist
statue of a mother from Paneriai, the site of one of the worst Nazi
massacres. On a blistering summer day, entering the naturally cool
environment is refreshing. "Yes, today it's pleasant to be here. You
should come in winter when we don't have the money to heat this huge
space. We have to wear full winter gear inside," said one of the
security staff.
The Soviet propaganda exhibits have been replaced by modern, largely
photo displays that deal with the deportations of Lithuania's
political elite and intelligentsia during and after the war, the
slaughter of Jews by the Nazis and the oppression of Lithuania's
population suffered during both the Soviet and Nazi occupations. Some
of the photos are quite graphic.
During the partisan war fought by Lithuanians after World War II, it
was common practice for the NKVD (the forerunner to the KGB) to place
the bodies of murdered nationalist fighters on public display - often
with their genital members stuffed in their mouths. Also of interest
are the authentic handicrafts produced by resourceful Lithuanian
exiles in Siberia: needlepoint pictures, religious artifacts, wooden
chess sets, children's toys and musical instruments.
The museum also has an exhibit commemorating Romas Kalanta, a 19-year
old Lithuanian nationalist who committed self-immolation (i.e. burned
himself to death) in a public square in Kaunas in 1972. His last
words were: "Freedom for Lithuania."
The event caused a huge stir at the time and marked the very
beginning of the post-World War II road to freedom. Numerous photos,
the guitar on which he used to strum illegal Jimi Hendrix songs and
even some charred remains of his clothing are displayed.
Half a kilometer up from the museum is the actual Ninth Fort. In the
late 19th century, Kaunas was right near the Russian empire's western
border. The city was pretty much a Russian garrison town and Tsar
Alexander II built a ring of twelve forts and eight batteries around
it. The Ninth Fort was completed in 1901. The tour takes the visitor
on a visit through the sprawling network of subterranean tunnels,
powder magazines, turrets and secret escapes. It fell to the Germans
in 1915 after only 12 days of fighting. Famous American World War II
general, George Patton, once commented that fortification was nothing
but an example of human stupidity: If Hannibal was able to cross the
Alps with elephants and storm Rome, then no human construction could
ever be insurmountable.
During Lithuania's inter-war years of independence, the fort was
converted to a jail housing the hardest criminals. Lithuania's then
strong man, Antanas Smetona, also liked to stifle his left-leaning
political opponents by sending them there. Conditions were hideous.
Cots were folded against the damp walls during the day so the bedding
would never be dry at night. The place was rife with tuberculosis and
pneumonia; a doctor was brought in only once or twice a year. The
three isolation cells, as named by prisoners and in ascending order
of cruelty were: the 'Wet Cell' where there were always 10
centimeters of water on the floor and no lighting (maximum two- week
stay), the 'Health Cell' located just under a metal staircase that
wooden clogged prisoners used all day (three days) and the 'Concrete
Cell' with only a single tiny aperture for breathing (maximum
half-day incarceration).
The darkest period in the fort's history was during the Nazi
occupation of Lithuania between 1941 and 1944. Of the 50,000 people
killed there during that time, 30,000 were Jews from Lithuania and
other European countries. The fort predates the gas chambers of
Poland. Prisoners were made to dig 200-meter long trenches in a
nearby field and then were simply lined up, summarily shot and
covered over. Between October 28 and 29 of 1941, 10,000 Jews from the
Kaunas ghetto were executed at the fort. In 1943, the Nazis began to
realize that they might not win the war and had a brigade of
prisoners begin digging the bodies up and burning them so as to cover
their tracks. The brigade of 64 men, mostly Jews, knew what fate
awaited them and hatched an elaborate escape plan. The fort's guides
walk visitors through the escape route and offer extensive details as
to the carrying out of their plan. Ultimately, 37 escapees were
recaptured and killed, while 27 made it to freedom, becoming
witnesses to the atrocities at the fort. Three are still alive today
and living in Israel.
Particularly haunting are the messages etched into the walls by Jews
and others from around Europe.
"We are 900 French [Jews]." "Abraham Wechslep from Limoges-Paris,
18.5.44." "Loeb Marcel, Vendenheim May 1944." "Petraska, shot to
death 1944.7.12."
The final leg of the tour takes the visitor outdoors to another
massive Soviet monument to the victims of fascism, overlooking the
infamous field where the victims were buried and then exhumed for
'cremation.' It is a triptych comprising three monolithic spires:
oddly, the lowest represents the victims of fascism, the middle
commemorates Soviet freedom fighters and the highest stands for the
ultimate victory by the Soviet Union. Yulik Gurevitch, a Jewish tour
guide from Vilnius, offers a different interpretation: "I think the
artist surreptitiously managed to hide another meaning in it. If you
look carefully it is also a shattered Star of David."
The Ninth Fort Museum is a 10 litas ($2.50) cab ride from Kaunas city
center. Entrance is 5 litas ($1.25) but as the displays are all in
Lithuanian, it is highly recommended to book an English language tour
in advance at a cost of 40 litas ($10) for just over two hours (tel.
8-22-237-645). The Fort is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and closed
Tuesdays.
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