Petras Kaplanaitis passed away January 9. He was born in 1933 and was a member of the Klaipėda Jewish Community. We extend our deepest condolences to his brother, daughters and many friends and family members.
Condolences
Gennady Pinkhasevich passed away January 8. He was born in 1940 and was a member of the Kaunas Jewish Community and a client of the Saul Kagan Welfare Center. We send our deepest condolences to his family and many friends.
Condolences
Michailas Kravecas passed away Sunday. He was born in 1952 and was a member of the Community and a client of the Saul Kagan Welfare Center. We extend our deepest condolences to his daughter, his sister and his many friends in the Community.
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Mina Levitan-Babenskienė died Sunday at the age of 92. She was a member of the Lithuanian Jewish Community and a client of the Saul Kagan Welfare Center. She was known as one of Lithuania’s best tapestry makers and her works were demonstrated at numerous exhibitions in Lithuania and abroad over many decades. Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky and the entire Community extend our deepest condolences to her son Edmondas and her many friends and family.
Condolences
Galina Bugelskaya died on December 29. She was born in 1934 and came from Druskininkai. She was a member of the Lithuanian Jewish Community and a client of the Saul Kagan Welfare Center. We send our deepest condolences to her son and many friends and family members.
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Oktyabriana Tulchina passed away December 28. She was born in 1924 and was a member of the Kaunas Jewish Community and a client of the Saul Kagan Welfare Center. The entire Lithuanian Jewish Community extend our deepest condolences to her family, including her children and grandchildren.
Condolences
Eduard Kuznetsov has died. He was born in 1939. He was a prominent Soviet-era dissident and former Prisoner of Zion who endured imprisonment for anti-Soviet activities. He died Sunday at the age of 85.
Born to a Jewish father and a Russian mother, Kuznetsov established himself as a journalist, writer and editor before his activism led to his first arrest by Soviet authorities in 1961. He served seven years in prison for publicly reading protest poetry and anti-regime literature in Moscow’s central square.
In June of 1970 after being denied permission to leave the country, Kuznetsov joined fellow activist Mark Dymshits in a bold attempt to hijack an empty aircraft bound for Israel. The escape plan failed and both men were sentenced to death. Their sentences were later commuted to 15-year prison terms following intense international pressure, while Kuznetsov’s wife received a 10-year sentence.
Kuznetsov finally gained his freedom in 1979 through a US-negotiated prisoner exchange that released him and four other dissidents. He subsequently immigrated to Israel.
His daughter Anat Zalmanson-Kuznetsov shared an emotional tribute on Facebook: “At 1:00 A.M., Eduard Kuznetsov, the man, the legend and my father, passed away. I can’t write these words without breaking into tears.”
She recounted a meaningful moment from 2018 when they shared the stage, where he received recognition for his contributions to Russian-language journalism in Israel. “I knew this was a defining moment in my relationship with my father, one I would return to again and again throughout my life,” she wrote. Despite his reluctance to accept the honor, claiming, “I don’t deserve it. I haven’t been involved in journalism for many years,” she insisted on his worthiness.
Condolences
Mina Levina passed away Wednesday, December 18. She was born in 1937 and was a member of the Lithuanian Jewish Community and a client of the Saul Kagan Welfare Center. We extend our deepest condolences to her family members and friends.
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Tamara Adrinovskaya has died. She was born in 1934 and was a member of the Lithuanian Jewish Community and a client served by the Saul Kagan Welfare Center. We extend our deepest condolences to her daughter Liudmila, her grandchildren and many loved ones.
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Boris Spevak has died. He was born in 1932 and was a long-standing member of the Klaipėda Jewish Community and more recently a client of the Saul Kagan Welfare Center. He passed away on December 10. Our deepest condolences to his children, relatives and many friends.
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Nina Baitlerytė passed away December 10. She was born in 1937. She was a member of the Šiauliai Jewish Community for many years and was beloved by all. The entire Lithuanian Jewish Community mourns her loss and extends our deepest condolences to her sister Frida and her many loved ones.
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Liubov Reznik has passed away. She was born in 1956. She was a long-standing member of the Lithuanian Jewish Community and more recently a client of the Saul Kagan Welfare Center. We extend our deepest condolences to her children, relatives and friends.
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Markas Petuchauskas passed away Sunday. He was born in 1931. He was a prisoner in the Vilnius ghetto. After the Holocaust he went on to study the theater and to produce works for the stage. He achieved academic heights and was the author of many articles and books on the theater in Lithuanian and English. He was a founding member and a chairman of the Jewish cultural club which became the Lithuanian Jewish Community as Lithuania regained national independence.
His loss is the loss of all of us and of the nation.
Our deepest condolences to his wife Sofija and his entire family and many friends.
Condolences
Ilya Skulovich from Ignalina passed away November 4. He was born in 1937 and was a member of the Lithuanian Jewish Community and a client of the Saul Kagan Welfare Center. We send our deepest condolences to his children and loved ones.
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Anna Yakoleva passed away November 4. She was born in 1936 and was a member of the Lithuanian Jewish Community and a client of the Saul Kagan Welfare Center. We extend our deepest condolences to her son Andrejus and her friends and family.
Yehuda Bauer is Dead
Holocaust survivor and scholar Yehuda Bauer passed away October 18. He was 98. He was buried at Shoval kibbutz in the Negev.
Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky, the entire Community and the World Jewish Congress mourn the passing of Yehuda Bauer and extend our deepest condolences to his family members and all who knew him.
WJC president Ronald Lauder said: “I was deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Prof. Yehuda Bauer, who taught generations of students and others about the Holocaust. I will never forget our last discussions at the International Forum on Holocaust Remembrance and Combating Antisemitism in Malmö, Sweden, in October 2021 and the passionate speech he gave on that occasion.”
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Maratas Šeimanas passed away October 13. He was born in 1937. He was a Lithuanian Jewish Community member and Saul Kagan Welfare Center client. Our deepest condolences to the wife and son he left behind.
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Irina Felgina passed away September 27. She was born in 1931 and was a member of the Union of Former Ghetto and Concentration Camp Prisoners as well as a client of the Saul Kagan Welfare Center. We extend our deepest condolences to her daughter Anna, grandson Alex and her other friends and family members.
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In deep sadness we report the death of Fania Brantsovskaya on September 22 in Vilnius. She was born in 1922.
Fania was a Jewish partisan who originally served as a courier. Several films have been made about her life. She was one of only a handful of Jewish partisans who remained in Lithuania after the Holocaust. In her later years she continued to speak out publicly and teach younger generations about what happened in Lithuania.
Our deepest condolences to her family and many friends.
Condolences
We report in deep sadness the death of Yuri Smirnov on Septmber 20, 2024. He was born in 1935 and was a member of the Panevėžys Jewish Community and a client of the Saul; Kagan Welfare Center.
Yuri was born in the Pskov region. He, his mother, two brothers and sister were sent to the concentration camps in Panevėžys and Šiauliai during the Holocaust. He survived thanks to his mother.
An active member of the Panevėžys Jewish Community, he served for many years as deputy chairman there.
We extend our deepest condolences to his grandson Viktoras and daugher-in-law Jovita.