Two terrible truths abide in Lithuanian war crimes

An old acquaintance of Mr. Gecas', Juozas Sarka, 79, who spent six years in Soviet camps, went to the hearing. He said he is sure the KGB fabricated its case. Mr. Gecas was a good Christian, he said. "A man with such morals could not shoot innocent women and children."

The libel case is continuing, back in Edinburgh. But here in Vilnius, two terrible truths abide.

More than 100,000 Lithuanians were shipped east to Soviet labor camps, as Moscow tried, in the end without success, to eradicate the country's independent spirit. "They were factories of death for tens of thousands of people," said Vladas Sarka, Juozas' brother.

And even for those who survived, the system warped their lives. The KGB broke men's spirits, extracted confessions and denunciations of friends and family, and built a regime with blackmail and torture.

But the other truth has to do with the 200,000 Jews who died here. In June 1941, in the short period after the Red army retreated but before the Nazis advanced into Lithuania, several thousand were killed by eager Lithuanians.

Then the Nazis formed 15 battalions to carry on the work.

"If it could happen once," said Ms. Kukelinskita, "why couldn't it happen once more, if no one speaks up about it?"