Bullet Holes at IX Fort

Ninth Fort in Kaunas, Lithuania was originally ordered by Alexander II to bolster the original eight forts Tsarist Russia had constructed around Kaunas to defend their Western border against Germany and others.  He ordered a second, much larger defensive ring of 13 more forts, of which 1 was completed, IX Fort, before WWI and Germany's invasion.  The Germans used the fort until Lithuanian independence.  From 1924-1940 during which time the Lithuanians used it as Kaunas city prison, or a labor prison.  From 1940-41 during Soviet Occupation, it was used as a prison and a place to hold political prisoners as they were sent to labor camps and the Gulag system in Siberia and elsewhere.  During WWII the Nazis used it as a prison and then extermination camp where the current memorial state they killed over 50,000 Jews and other victims, later digging up their corpses and burning their bodies in an attempt to hide their crimes from the Russian forces who were driving them back towards Germany.  (Amazingly, 64 of those used as a work crew to burn the bodies, who would most certainly later be killed themselves, escaped in a dramatic Christmas eve action)  Shortly after WWII the Soviets used it again as a prison before it became the base of farm operations in the region.  Finally it became a museum beginning in 1958 and has grown along with research into and knowledge of the Nazi crimes committed at what was once known as the 'Fort of Death'.

These photos are of a section of the bunker walls we toured where gun positions had been established inside, with very narrow view slits set into the concrete walls that the invading Germans attempted to shoot at, with little success.  We also paid for a guided tour through the dark, damp tunnels of the fort where cannons, artillery, endless labyrinths of storage for weapons and shells were kept.  Incredible place.