KAUNAS, Lithuania, May 10, BNS–Families of Jews who were brought to Lithuania from France in the years of the Holocaust honored the memory of the victims at the Kaunas Ninth Fort in Lithuania Tuesday.

Over 800 strong and capable Jews were brought to Lithuania from France in May of 1944. They were told they would have to work but some were murdered in Kaunas and the rest were taken to Estonia.

Families of the victims usually come to Lithuania once every two years.

“We thank you for helping in the path of memory. Those who are present here today will probably come back in two years. If we do not come, our children or grandchildren will take over our duty,” Louise Cohen, one of pioneers of the trips, said at the event in Kaunas.

“They were our fathers, our brothers, our uncles, our cousins,” said Cohen.

She said the fate of these people was only discovered after the three Baltic states regained independence from the Soviet Union in 1990s, i.e., about 50 years after the events.

Gercas Žakas, chairman of the Jewish community of Kaunas, emphasized that Jews of Lithuania understood the pain of the French nationals, because nearly all the Jewish population was annihilated in Lithuania during the Holocaust.

“I can say that the tragic fate of people unites our countries, Lithuania and France,” said Žakas.

He said French people coming to Lithuania are a superb example of honoring and remembering the victims of the Holocaust