A new book by the late scholar and historian Dr. Solomonas Atamukas (1918-2014) was lauched June 11 in the Jascha Heifetz Hall at the Lithuanian Jewish Community in Vilnius. The book, “Lietuvos žydų keliai: atmintis, tikėjimas, viltis” [Paths of the Jews of Lithuania: Memory, Faith, Hope] was written and intended by the author to be a continuation of his first book. Late in life Dr. Atamukas suffered health problems and in order to insure the continuation of his first book would be published, enlisted the help of his son, daughter, grandson and daughter-in-law, who performed careful research and collection of information. According to his daughter, long-serving deputy chairwoman of the Lithuanian Jewish Community Maša Grodnikienė, the family paid for the publication of both books.
This is a useful new source for the reader interested in Litvak history. It contains 458 biographical sketches, called biograms in the book, of Litvaks, arranged by country of residence. The book contains large amounts of information about world-famous Litvaks, their origins in Lithuania, education, work and achievements. The author sought to collect as much information and write as many biograms as possible about Holocaust survivors.
Litvaks who survived and later lived in Lithuania, Israel or any number of other places around the world, established families and take pride in their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. When a child is born, they say: “Am Israel khai!” “the people of Israel live!”
Twenty-first century Litvaks can today be found in the most remote parts of the world, and their names, achievements and names of Lithuanian towns “exported” are known in many countries. A large concentration of Litvak names and titles exist in Israel. The author’s son, Markas Atamukas, holding a doctorate in mathematics, prepared this book for publication. He left with his family to live in Israel in 1990.
Israeli ambassador to Lithuania Amir Maimon said at the book launch when he travelled around Lithuanian towns and cities he always stopped by the libraries to look for books about Jews, and what he found most often was Solomas Atamukas’s first book on 700 years of Litvak history in Lithuania. Now, he said, with many studies of Jewish life in Lithuania now available, we know how much Litvaks contributed to Lithuanian and Israeli statehood. Litvak life didn’t end at the Holocaust. The ambassador called Atomukas’s new book a real example of his son Markas’s love for his father.
Professor Leonidas Melnikas moderated the ceremony. The musical trio Musica Camerata Baltica also performed, with Leonidas Melnikas on piano, Boris Traub on violin and Valentinas Kaplūnas on cello.
