Grateful – Page 7 – Lithuanian Jewish Community

Busy Week for Kaunas Jewish Community

The second week in May saw numerous events and meetings at the Kaunas Jewish Community.

The hectic and hot week began with a meeting between representatives of the Kaunas Jewish Community and the Denkendorfer Kries für christlich-jüdische Begegnung (Denkendorf Association for Chirstian-Jewish Encounter) from Germany. Association board members Eva and Otmar Vöhringer have been inviting their compatriots for several years now to undertake what are in a sense pilgrimages to Holocaust sites in Poland and the Baltic states and to meet survivors and descendants of survivors in those countries. More than 20 years ago now Dr. Hartmut Metzger began and became the spiritual inspiration behind this initiative. He also worked with late Kaunas Jewish Community member Judelis Ronderis to organize aid for impoverished Jews who had been evacuated to the Soviet Union during the Holocaust.

On May 8 the members of the association of family and friends of deportee convoy no. 73 visited Kaunas and the Ninth Fort in Kaunas. The group comes to Kaunas from France once every two years and warm and friendly friendships have been made with the Kaunas Jewish Community. LJC executive director Renaldas Vaisbrodas attended the ceremony at the Ninth Fort this year. On May 15, 1944, convoy no. 73, a train from Drancy, France, delivered 878 Jews to the Baltic states, most of whom were taken off the train in Kaunas and shot at the Ninth Fort. Others were taken to the camp in Pravieniškiai, Lithuania, and to Estonia.

2018-05-23

Victory Day 2018 in Panevėžys

Members of the Panevėžys Jewish Community together with Panevėžys city residents came to the memorial to the unknown solider on the warm and sunny morning of May 9. The memorial contains the mortal remains of soldiers who fell in the city and region of Panevėžys from 1941 to 1945. They came to mark Victory Day, when Nazi Germany capitulated to the Allies 73 years ago, celebrated in the West on May 8 as Victory in Europe Day because of time-zone differences.

People of all ethnicities suffered during World War II, but as a percentage the Jewish people lost the most members of their population. Panevėžys residents and members of the Jewish community laid wreaths and lit candles at the monument marking the location of the Panevėžys ghetto gates. Everyone observed a minute of silence for the victims of the Holocaust in the city and region, where more than 13,000 Jews were murdered. Also attending were Russian embassy advisor L. Nikolai Yurevich and Belarusian embassy advisor Aleksandr Ignatenko. Both wished everyone present peace.

Panevėžys Jewish Community chairman Gennady Kofman welcomed and greeted everyone on the occasion of Victory Day, and noted next to the monument where everyone had gathered once existed the Panevėžys ghetto, where more than 10,000 people were held before being murdered in surrounding forests.

The chairman also spoke about Lithuanians who had risked everything to save Jews from death. He also noted the Panevėžys Jewish Community has a member, Yefim Grafman, who survived the Nazi blockade of Leningrad, and that Yuri Smirnov had cheated death and survived the Holocaust through a miracle. The chairman thanked all present for not forgetting the holiday and for remembering the soldiers who fell fighting for our lives. He wished everyone peace, good health and success.

Later members gathered at the Jewish community building and recalled the fates and heroism of their fathers, grandfathers and great-grandfathers who fought the Nazis and died during World War II. Members took away memories of the dead and the undying hope such things will never happen again.

2018-05-102018-05-14

Kaunas Jewish Community Honors Rescuers

Kauno žydų bendruomenė pagerbė gelbėtojus

It is the duty of the Kaunas Jewish Community to remember the rescuers of Jews as well as the victims of the Holocaust, the quiet heroes and true apostles of humanity who risked life and family to help.

For more than two decades now the KJC has attempted to thank these Righteous Gentiles by inviting them to an annual event among friends. Of course it is inadequate and there is no way to truly thank them. As these heroes slowly fall to the attrition of age, their places among the ranks are assumed by their children and grandchildren in this gathering which has become a large family. The heads of school tolerance centers are also invited to attend and this year 8th graders Diana and Barbora performed dances and songs from the ghetto in Yiddish. The KJC thanks everyone for making this year’s event a success, including the great organizational work by KJC Rescuers Committee chairwoman Judita Mackevičienė.

2018-05-092018-05-14

Statue Unveiled in Kaunas to Abraham Mapu, Founder of the Modern Hebrew Novel

A sculpture to honor Abraham Mapu, the founder of the Hebrew novel who was born in Kaunas, was unveiled to the public at a ceremony held in the courtyard of the Ars et Mundus Gallery on Mapu street in Kaunas Thursday evening. Sculptor Martynas Gaubas made the statue commemorating Mapu (1808-1867), who was born and lived in Kaunas and was a beloved local literary figure.

Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky thanked the Kaunas municipality for its favorable view on commemorating Litvak figures and noted Mapu is known and loved in Israel where even small towns have a street named after him. She praised the Kaunas Jewish Community for its unity and initiative and singled out Kaunas Jewish Community chairman Gercas Žakas for his success in cooperation and getting things done.

Chairman Žakas and Olegas Darčanovas, the prime mover behind the statue project, noted the large turnout for the ceremony but also said the statue had begun drawing people into the yard even before the ceremony, with locals and tourists flocking to get a look.

Members of the Kaunas city council Ina Pukelytė and Jonas Audėjaitis spoke of the Litvak contribution to the cultural, economic and social life of Kaunas, Lithuania and the world, and confirmed there would be continued commemoration of notable Litvaks who were born, lived and worked in Kaunas.

2018-05-04

Monument to Jan Zwartendijk in Kaunas

Kaunas deputy mayor Simonas Kairys Thursday announced the plan to commemorate Dutch consul Jan Zwartendijk who rescued Jews during World War II.

Following four years of work between partners in Lithuania and the Netherlands, the deputy mayor said: “This day is truly extraordinary. Kaunas is like an outdoor museum city with many strata and signs testifying to different time periods. I think Kaunas has demonstrated many times over the city is strong when its content is strong and when the city is able to show that content to others.

Honorable Dutch consul Jan Zwartendijk issued so-called Curaçao end-visas to complement Japanese transit visas Chiune Sugihara issued Jews in Kaunas during the early days of World War II.

Full story in Lithuanian here.

2018-04-262018-04-30

Academic Ethics Ombudsman Fired for Anti-Semitism

Virgilius Sadauskas has been fired at academic ethnics ombudsman.

The Lithuanian Jewish Community welcomes this win for common sense and is grateful to the 29 MPs from the Liberal, Conservative, Social Democratic and Peasants factions for initiating a vote of confidence in Sadauskas.

The LJC feels the actions by this public servant, offering a monetary reward for collecting information “about people of Jewish ethnicity who contributed to deportations and torture,” incited ethnic discord and fall under the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism adopted by the European Parliament on July 1, 2017.

We hope this decision becomes an example of best practices in the continuing fight against anti-Semitism and other forms of hatred in our country at the national and community level.

In a secret poll, 77 MPs voted in favor of firing Sadauskas, 17 voted against and 13 abstained. Three ballots were ruined.

2018-03-162018-04-11

Greetings, Thank-You Note and Mittens from Righteous Gentiles Elvyra and Regina in Biržai

The Lithuanian Jewish Community received the following wonderful holiday greetings, thank-you note and accompanying mittens:

We sincerely congratulate you on the upcoming holidays. May the purity of snow fill your days. Let success and strength follow you all of your days. We wish you strength and determination. Our sincerest thanks for your sympathy and understanding.

Elvyra Čyžauskienė and Regina Kežienė

2017-12-202018-01-05

Hanukkah Greetings from LJC Chairwoman Faina Kukliansky

As I celebrate Hanukkah every year with my grandchildren, I remember the Hanukkah of my childhood with my grandmother. The holiday wasn’t as fun then as it is now and we didn’t get treats. My grandmother, hiding in the kitchen where there were no windows, lit the candles and prayed. We didn’t have a menorah, it was lost with all the family heirlooms during the Holocaust. She prayed, but her prayer wasn’t happy or celebratory, because she was always thinking about her son, and she always thought someone was coming, and she used to warn me: “hide, the children’s aktion is coming.” There weren’t fun times after the war. My grandmother was probably not the only one who remembered not just the Temple in Jerusalem, but also her murdered children.

Now we have better celebrations, we live better, so let’s learn to be happy and as we celebrate, let’s remember what miracle Hanukkah signifies for us all. I wish every member of the Jewish community more light, more understanding and warm and happy feelings. May the Hanukkah flame spread goodness in your home and provide the children waiting for their Hanukkah gelt happy moments, and the adults and everyone who sits at the family table to try the tasty Jewish latkes.

Happy Hanukkah, dear members of the Jewish community!

2017-12-192017-12-21

Dmitrijus Kanovičius Donates 250 Grigorijus Kanovičius Books to LJC

The Lithuanian Jewish Community sincerely thanks Dmitrijus Kanovičius for the wonderful gift of 250 books of the selected writings of Grigorijus Kanovičius.

Everyone, not just Jews, read Grigorijus Kanovičius’s books written with his great talent and profound emotional notes because they give the true story of the life of Lithuania made more charming with a sincere sense of nostalgia. These books are like living portraits with images of the past, of our forefathers, memories with color, words, laughter and pain. Today they stand as a monument and testament to all the murdered Jews… Grigorijus Kanovičius’s works for us are important as a treasury of memories, of those we have lost who shall live on forever in their shtetlakh, now mostly abandoned towns. It is said truly that Jews will live on even when there is no one left to remember them. We are so glad that thanks to the creative work of Grigorijus Kanovičius Lithuania has a rich saga of Jewish life featuring our ancestors from the 18th century to today.

Thank you, Dmitrijus.

2017-12-142018-01-05

Birthday Party and Award for Daumantas Todesas at the LJC

The Lithuanian Jewish Community celebrated Daumantas Lveas Todesas’s 70th birthday this week and the director of the Lithuanian Department of Ethnic Minorities presented him an achievement award at the party.

Department of Ethnic Minorities director Vida Montvydaitė personally awarded him a golden badge of honor called the For Merit award in recognition of Todesas’s life-long dedication to improving society and to preserving ethnic culture and identity.

Lebn zolstu biz hundert un tsvantsik yor! Mazl tov!

2017-12-072017-12-15

Thank You

November 28, 2017

Dear members of the Lithuanian Jewish Community,

I would like to thank the entire Lithuanian Jewish Community for the outpouring of love and support that has been extended to my family following the passing of my mother, Chasia Shpanerflig. I consider myself truly blessed to have the love and support of this amazing community.

Those who knew my mother knew her as a strong-willed and resilient woman. In ninety-six years, my mother was presented with some of life’s most difficult challenges–war, genocide, the loss of family, oppression; the list goes on and on. It is in the face of adversity where my mother, guided by her deep-rooted morals and values, distinguished herself as a human being. Circumstances that may have given others reason to abandon hope were the times that my mother was strongest and most resilient. Her selflessness and commitment to the well-being of her family and friends: exemplary; her will and her beliefs: unwavering; and her love for her community and family: unparalleled. It is these basic ideals that distinguished my mother and that she will be remembered for.

During the latter portion of her life, my mother was recognized her as an active member of the Jewish community in Vilnius. During times where she still had her youth and was physically capable, she actively participated in, and contributed to, all causes that promoted the well-being of her fellow community members. She took great pride in her level of involvement with the community, most notably in her tenure as an officer in the Veterans Division (secretary)–it gave her an unbelievable sense of purpose and brought her tremendous joy.

In the very late stages of my mother’s life, as her health deteriorated, the community which she gave so much of herself to was right there to return the good favor. The Social Services and the Ghetto divisions in particular, worked tirelessly to make sure she received all of the proper care and support when she wasn’t able to provide for herself. Being thousands of miles away, these times were incredibly difficult for me. Throughout this entire time, both divisions were right there by my family’s side, ensuring that my mother received the best possible care and that the lines of communication were constantly open for my own comfort and peace of mind. It is to them, and their leadership, that I am eternally grateful and would like to extend my deepest appreciation.

There is a popular saying that “time heals all wounds.” While her death has been difficult for my family and me, my mother lived a long and dignified life. The Lithuanian Jewish Community was a significant piece of her identity and she considered its members her family. I would like to thank everyone in the community for the lifetime of support they provided her and for being there for my family and me in these tough times.

Sofia Kats

2017-11-292017-12-12

First Plaque Commemorating Rescuers in Lithuania

Panevėžys Is the First to Thank Jewish Rescuers
www.sekundė.lt

The first plaque commemorating those who rescued Jews during the Holocaust has been unveiled in Panevėžys, Lithuania. It honors nun, activist, nurse and teacher Marija Rusteikaitė of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Love of God and her fellow nuns. The stone plaque was unveiled at a ceremony at the intersection of J. Tilvyčio and Krekenavos streets in the Lithuanian city, close to where the Sisters of the Love of God monastery and hospital were located, according to historical documents.

“It was namely this spot, a few dozen meters away, which is the most important historical site of the monastery for us, because this is where Marija Rusteikaitė brought together the nuns, the first sisters of the Love of God, between 1925 and 1936. As soon as she completed the university of medicine in St. Petersburg, the mother superior from Žemaitija joined the St. Vincent de Paul society in order to help the poor people of the city of Panevėžys and surrounding areas. Before that she taught mathematics and geography at the Kražiai pre-gymnasium and Polish at another location,” sister Leonora Kasiulytė, who has long taken an interest in the historical figure, said of the founder of her monastery.

2017-10-302017-11-29

Righteous Gentile Marija Rusteikaitė to Be Commemorated in Panevėžys

Dear members,

A ceremony to unveil a stele honoring Marija Rusteikaitė, rescuer of Jews, teacher, nurse, public figure and founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Love of God, will be held at 1:00 P.M. on Friday, October 27.

The ceremony will be held at the intersection of Tilvyčio and Krekenavos streets in Panevėžys. Bus transportation from Vilnius will be provided from the Lithuanian Jewish Community at Pylimo street no. 4 in Vilnius at 10:45 A.M. There are ten seats left at the time of this writing. Those wishing to take the bus should send an email to info@lzb.lt

Those riding by bus will be delivered back in Vilnius in time for the special Sabbath at the Choral Synagogue in Vilnius.

2017-10-262017-10-30

Sugihara Week Organizers Thank Bagel Shop Café

The Lithuanian Jewish Community is proud the Bagel Shop Café was part of Sugihara Week celebrations in Kaunas at the beginning of last month.

2017-10-112017-10-13

Stella Maris Didn’t Just Rescue Those Lost at Sea: How Father Galdikas Saved Jews

by Romualdas Beniušis
Pajūrio najienos

Stella Maris-Marija. Mary, the star of the sea. That’s what the brothers Galidkas—priest Jurgis (1883–1963) and Lithuanian volunteer soldier Valentinas(1902–1966)—called the wooden chapel they paid for and built in Pašventys village on the banks of the Šventoji River. The Catholics of Šventoji, Būtingė and the surrounding area had no church of their own and they had to go to Palanga, Laukžemė or Darbėnai to attend church.

Galdikas in exile in Germany, ca. 1918

Jurgis Galdikas was born in Lazdininkai village in the Kretinga district in 1883 to the family of an average farmer. He went to school in Lazdininkai and the Darbėnai primary school, then the Palanga pro-gymnasium, and upon graduation chose to enter the priesthood and entered the Kaunas Priests Seminary. He was consecrated as a priest after being graduated in 1907, then continued to study theology in Austria, Belgium and Switzerland. He defended his thesis to become a doctor of philosophy in 1911. After returning to Lithuania he was the vicar in Šiauliai and was then appointed parish priest after the outbreak of World War I. He established and headed a gymnasium there. In 1916 the occupational regime of Kaiser’s Germany deported him with a group of Lithuanian priests to Germany where he spent two years. Returning to Lithuania in 1919, he was appointed director of the Kražiai pro-gymnasium, whose curriculum was based on etiquette, ethics and morality and which became the Žiburys gymnasium in 1924. He was sent to Telšiai in 1927 to become a canon of the capitulum (collegium) in the Telšiai diocese and from 1927 to 1932 he was a teacher and inspector at the Telšiai Seimnary.

2017-09-252017-09-25

Meeting Israeli Knesset Speaker Edelstein at the LJC

Speaker of the Israeli Knesset Yuli-Yoel Edelstein visited the Lithuanian Jewish Community and met with members who listened to his warm words for the community. Community members were also able to meet the speaker at the Vilnius Sholem Aleichem ORT Gymnasium Wednesday afternoon at a ceremony to honor the Bujel family who rescued Jews from the Holocaust.

Edelstein’s visit is a big and important event for Lithuania and the Lithuanian Jewish Community. Relations between Israel and Lithuania this year are the best and closest in history. Both countries are interested in strengthening existing cooperation and expanding the friendly relationship. This was demonstrated in the Knesset speaker’s meetings with all of Lithuania’s top leaders.

Visits by high-ranking Israeli leaders, begun four years in 2013 with Shimon Peres’s visit, are very important to Lithuanian Jews, imparting morale to the community as well as honor, but most of all they’re important because, for however brief a time, there is an opportunity to listen to one another. “The democratic state of Israel is a second homeland for Lithuanian Jews,” Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky remarked at the meeting at the LJC. Edelstein in turn praised the Community’s activities.

The chairman of Israel’s parliament said Lithuania after independence cares much more about remembering the Holocaust now, and that Vilnius–the Jerusalem of the North–was one of the most important cities for Jews. Paying his respects at the Ponar Holocaust memorial, Knesset speaker Edelstein called upon Lithuania “to remember honestly” that there Nazis, Lithuanian collaborators but also rescuers of Jews in this country during the Holocaust. “This is history, you can’t rewrite it, you cannot cross it out,” he said. Changes begun in Lithuania several years ago in Holocaust consciousness have led to better relations with Israel. Edelstein told BNS this was thanks decisions made by the Lithuanian Government. He also told BNS he hoped Lithuanian leaders would maintain this line, and said it was the task of the Lithuanian Government to insure there are not xenophobic and anti-Semitic sentiments in the country.

2017-09-14

More on Sugihara Week in Kaunas

Sugihara Week celebrations in Kaunas drew a large number of guests from Japan, including his eldest son Hiroki’s widow Michi Sugihara and the only surviving son Nobuki Sugihara.

Mr. Sugihara laid a wreath and observed a minute of silence for the Jews murdered in Garliava, a suburb of Kaunas. The scion of the Sugihara legacy said his father inculcated in him an interest in history and taught him respect for those who didn’t escape.

2017-09-122017-09-22

Volunteers Clean Up Sudervės Road Jewish Cemetery in Vilnius

Lithuanian Jewish Community members and staff gathered to clean up the Jewish cemetery on Sudervės road in Vilnius on Sunday, September 10.

Israeli ambassador Amir Maimon pitched in, as did LJC chairwoman Faina Kukliansky with her grandchildren. Community members, administrative staff and rabbis all came out to perform a small mitzvah in the run-up to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. They raked up leaves, gathered garbage and sorted it for recycling, tended abandoned graves and cleaned and beautified the only working Jewish cemetery in Vilnius.

Thank you to all the volunteers for your good work!

2017-09-112017-09-11

Thank You

A week has passed during which Lithuanian remembered her shtetlakh. The fourteenth celebration of the annual European Day of Jewish Culture has taken place in Lithuania, this year with the theme “Diaspora and Heritage: The Shtetlakh.” Lithuanian towns which used to be called shtetlakh hosted events, tours of surviving old towns and Jewish residential sections, interesting talks on the former life of Litvaks there. The word shtetl was heard much in Lithuania after the Holocaust, with the loss of the former Litvak world and the Yiddish language.

This year the European Day of Jewish Culture was observed in more than 20 towns and cities, including Alytus, Jurbarkas, from Kaunas to Žasliai and Žiežmariai, Kelmė, Klaipėda, Kretinga, Molėtai, Palanga, Pakruojis, Pandėlys, Pasvalys, Pikeliai, Šiauliai, Šilalė, Jonava, Joniškis, Kupiškis, Darbėnai, Šeduva, Švėkšna, Ukmergė, Zarasai and Želva.

The Lithuanian Jewish Community thanks all the participating cities and towns for remembering the shtetlakh and the Jews who lived, traded, created and built there. They deserve to be remembered. Many cities and towns held lectures, conferences, exhibits, concerts and film screenings this year.

LJC chairwoman Faina Kukliansky also thanks the organizers of the events at the Jewish Community for their interesting program, and thanks the participants and speakers who spoke about the remaining traces of the shtetlakh in Lithuania. We thank Fania Brancovskaja, Vytautas Toleikis, Sandra Petrukonytė, Ilona Šedienė, Rimantas Vanagas and Antanas Žilinskas not just for their interesting presentations, but also for their own work, books and research on Jewish history, contributing to making the shtetlakh part of the heart of our country, without which Lithuania is impossible to imagine.

Thank you also to the Bagel Shop Café for the tasty Jewish dishes, the Sabbath ceramics exhibit and the holiday atmosphere, and to the Fayerlakh ensemble for the wonderful concert!

Our sincere thanks to everyone.

2017-09-112017-09-13