Alternate names: Akmena, Okmyana, Akmian. 55°40' N 25°01' E, 68.9 miles N of Vilnius in northern Lithuania in Mazeikiai region. Large reserves of limestone and clay exist here. The Jewish community came to Akmian (Yiddish) in the 18th century. By the mid-19th century, the majority were Jewish. Mass migration of Jews followed the May Laws of 1881. Faced with increasing Czarist persecution, many settled in Cork, Ireland where Jews still refer to themselves as Akmianers. In 1915, some of the Jews were expelled into the Russian interior. [August 2009]

MASS GRAVE: 25 Jewish families lived there when the Germans occupied the town on June 26-27, 1941 when organized local Lithuanian white-bands imprisoned all Jews (men?) in the local jail. On July 5-6, Germans appeared at the jail to have fifteen Lithuanians move the Jews. Two brothers and the owner of a fabric store were shot and killed immediately. The remainder were imprisoned until the beginning of August when they were transported to the granary at Mazeikiai on the banks of the river Venta. The men, separated from the women and children, dug pits. The women and children were assembled with Jews from Mazeikiai and surrounding villages. All were murdered with the Jews of Mazeikiai on August 9. A large black marble memorial marks the mass graves. [March 2009]