Alytus - a city in the south of Lithuania, in Dzukia, the administrative center of Alytus county and Alytus region; sixth in Lithuania in terms of population. The city is located on both banks of the Nemunas, 105 km from Vilnius and 69 km from Kaunas. Industrial and cultural center of the south of Lithuania.
The first mention in written sources dates back to
1377. City rights granted in 1581.
At the end of the XIX
century. strengthening the western borders of the Russian Empire, it
was decided to fortify Olitu (Alytus) located in a strategically
important place. In 1890 Olita became a third class fortress of the
Russian Empire.
In the very first days of the Great Patriotic
War on June 22-23, 1941, a major tank battle took place in the
Alytus region. During World War II, about 10-20 thousand Jews were
shot in Alytus (the exact number is not known; detailed research has
never been done, and in various sources the mentioned number is 60
thousand. From July 1941 to April 1943, a concentration camp
operated on the territory of the barracks prisoner of war camp
"Stalag-343". From May 1943 to July 1944, there was a camp for
displaced persons, mainly from the western regions of Russia. Some
of the prisoners were used for agricultural work in the estates of
Lithuanian peasants. about 2 thousand Soviet prisoners of war and
civilians perished.A memorial complex with a white obelisk in the
center (now on the territory of Alytus City Park) was created on the
site of the common graves.
In July 1944, during the storming
of the city and the crossing of the river by units of the 11th
Guards Army, many soldiers and officers were killed. After the war,
a cemetery with burials of 2,891 Soviet soldiers was equipped in the
park on Ulonu Street, among them 6 Heroes of the Soviet Union:
Colonel G. Emelyanov of the Guards, Senior Lieutenant V. Kalinin of
the Guards, N. Nikonov, Junior Sergeant, N. Tikhonenko, Private A.
Tikhonenko, I Tonkonog, junior sergeant T. Akhmedov.