The History Faculty of TAU (Trečiojo amžiaus universitetas) University in Panevėžys under the direction of Jonas Lazauskas holds lectures, meetings and excursions. One such meeting took place at the Panevėžys Jewish Community with chairman Gennady Kofman.
He gave a lecture providing the history and activity of the Panevėžys Jewish Community. Audience members learned which buildings were Jewish and what happened to those buildings. The audience was visibly moved by the story of the Panevėžys Jewish cemetery destroyed in 1966 and of what happened to the headstones. The audience, made of elderly continuing-education students at the university, still remembered the Jewish shops which lined Freedom Square in the past, and the oldest Jewish cemetery and stone wall next to the theater.
The students listened attentively to information about kosher food and head covering traditions, customs and holidays of the Jews. They sampled matzo, chatted and told about their own memories. A short film of the city in 1932 was screened as well, bringing back old memories.
The TAU students said they looked forward to working together with the Community in the future, and future lectures are to include other topics, such as teaching tolerance, and respect for Righteous Gentiles who rescued Jews from the Holocaust, a Holocaust commemoration and a presentation of Jewish history. They also discussed the possibility of taking part in joint projects activities with the Goodwill Foundation.
Those attending were given copies of the Jewish calendar published by the Lithuanian Jewish Community and dedicated this year to rescuers of Jews. TAU Panevėžys branch dean Zita Kazlauskienė thanked the Panevėžys Jewish Community for their sincere cooperation in making the event a real success.