Jewish and Soviet prisoners were brought to the Ponar forest from Stutthof concentration camp. The team traced the length of the tunnel and found the tunnel exit. "There were 500 years of creativity, a vibrant community," said Seligman, the archaeologist, referring to Jewish history in Lithuania. For three months, some of the prisoners secretly dug an underground tunnel to escape.Then on April 15, 1944, in the middle of the night, 40 prisoners filed off their chains and fled through the narrow tunnel. The team is now excavating at the site to uncover the history of Jewish life in Vilnius.

Source: Times of India June 29, 2016 17:32 UTC