We wish a very happy birthday to Sergejus Kanovičius. Mazl tov. Bis 120!
Two Hundred Historians Back Polish Holocaust Expert under Attack
In a letter of support, historians and scholars worldwide said that the Polish attack on Holocaust scholar professor Barbara Engelking harmed attempts “to understand the processes that allowed the Holocaust to take place.”
Two hundred historians, including senior Holocaust scholars from Israel and around the globe, signed a letter in support of professor Barbara Engelking, a Polish historian who has been under attack in her homeland after she said the Poles did not do enough to help Jews during the Shoah.
“We, the undersigned scholars of the Holocaust Era, the Second World War, and Modern and Jewish History, express our firm support for Professor Barbara Engelking and for academic freedom, in the face of an unbridled and unfounded attack by politicians, media, and other public figures. … We can attest to the fact that she is a scholar of impeccable personal and professional integrity. Her scholarship adheres to the highest academic standards, for which she has earned worldwide esteem,” the historians wrote.
Lithuanian MP Denounces Israel for Razing Palestinian School EU Financed
Lithuanian MP Remigijus Žemaitaitis, chairman of the Freedom and Justice Party formed of two rival liberal parties to contest municipal elections in Vilnius in 2014, denounced Israel’s destruction of a school in Bethlehem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The US, Israeli and German ambassadors called for him to apologize for the remarks, first made on facebook on Monday, May 8, repeated in parliament Tuesday, the same day Israel started bombing the Gaza Strip in what it calls Operation Shield and Arrow. Despite the demands of the ambassadors and his fellow MPs, Žemaitaitis said he won’t apologize.
On Tuesday he told parliament assembled: “I want to emphasize this school was fully financed by the European Union, by Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Bulgaria, Germany, Spain and the other countries. … And if we believe that it’s alright to allow in the 21st century some country to blow up or destroy these kinds of sites of another country, then ask yourselves, what sort of moral and political values do you live by today? Mine are much higher than you think.”
Litvak Community Leaders Mark Victory Day in Israel
On May 8, VE Day, or Victory in Europe Day, the heads of several constituent communities in the Lithuanian Jewish Community, including LJC chairwoman Faina Kukliansky, Kaunas Jewish Community chairman Gercas Žakas and others, marked the anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camps and the capitulation of Nazi Germany to allies during a trip to Israel.
Shmuel Yatom, the chairman of the Vilnius Religious Jewish Community, performed a prayer prayed by victims on the way to Treblinka in Sderot, Israel.
The Litvak leaders are in Israel for workshops sponsored by the European Commission for more effective implementation of the EC’s strategy for fighting anti-Semitism and fostering Jewish life in the European Union.
They visited Sderot on the border with the Gaza Strip which saw Israeli counter-attacks last night and into the morning of May 9. The Israeli town is known as Israel’s bomb shelter capital because of frequent rocket attacks from Gaza. They also planned to meet the mayor of Ashkelon, and to take part in a ceremony honoring Mordechai Aneliwicz, an organizer of the Warsaw Uprising. The LJC is planning a joint conference with the Poland’s Jewish Historical Institute this fall to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the destruction of the Vilna ghetto.
Condolences
Vladimir Shevtsov passed away May 5. He was born in 1936. He is mourned by Moshe Shapiro, director of the Švenčionys Jewish Community to which he belonged, and the entire Lithuanian Jewish Community. We extend our deepest condolences to his family and friends. Rest in peace, Vladimir.
Markas Zingeris in Memoriam
The Jewish discussion club #ŽydiškiPašnekesiai invites the public to attend a special panel to remember Markas Zingeris, who died unexpectedly recently.
Over fifty years of work Markas has left us a rich inheritance: thoughts, ideas, texts, books, plays, poetry and the Vilna Gaon Jewish History Museum, where he served as director since its inception for several decades. His keen insights and very rational thinking had a deep influence on the development of Lithuanian society and politics following independence as well as before. He always demonstrated a spirit of openness, tolerance, rationality and ethical behavior.
Panelists to include Emanuelis Zingeris, Markas’s brother and MP; Emilis, Markas’s son; Violeta Davoliūtė, professor of philosophy and the history of ideas at Vilnius University, cultural historian, Holocaust researcher and colleague of Markas and Gytis Padegimas, a famous Lithuanian theater director who was a close confident (appearing via internet at the discussion club). Actor, popular writer and journalist Arkadijus Vinokuras will moderate the conversation which will be live-streamed on facebook with the help of his son Saulius.
The event is to take place at the Bagel Shop Café at Pylimo street no. 4 in Vilnius at 5:00 P.M. on Wednesday, May 10. The live-stream will be made available on facebook by following this short URL: https://rb.gy/uok94
Joint Statement on the Dialogue on Holocaust Issues
May 3, 2023
The text of the following statement was released by the Governments of the United States of America and the Federal Republic of Germany.
Begin Text
The Governments of the United States of America and the Federal Republic of Germany announce significant progress in their Dialogue on Holocaust Issues. Secretary of State Blinken and then-Federal Foreign Minister Maas launched the Dialogue in 2021 to counter the rise in Holocaust denial and distortion — a dangerous development that undermines freedom, democracy, and security — and to contribute to a world in which knowledge about the Holocaust is abundant, based on facts, and serves as a foundation for tackling today´s challenges at an early stage. The U.S. Department of State, the German Federal Foreign Office, the German Foundation Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum participate in the Dialogue. They have completed initial projects in three priority areas:
Noreika Shrine Removed for Repair
The plaque commemorating Lithuanian Nazi Jonas Noreika has been removed from the wall of the Vrublevskiai Library in central Vilnius along with the candles and flowers placed by worshipers at the base of the brick column there as the library prepares for repairing its exterior walls. According to the news site delfi.lt the plaque was given to the ultranationalist Pro Patria party for safeguarding and will be replaced following the completion of construction work at the library.
Hungarian City Restores Jewish Street Name
Street in Kőszeg Gets Back Historic Name
Hungary Today, May 3, 2023
When the name of a public space in a municipality changes, it is usually associated with a political change. Perhaps the most striking example of this was when, after the fall of Communism, the names of public spaces given during the Communist period were changed en masse for ideological reasons. In the western Hungarian city of Kőszeg, the former Zrínyi Miklós Street was renamed Schey Fülöp Street on Tuesday, but the reason for the name change is different.
Fülöp Schey, the former patron of the town, the builder of the synagogue and a prominent figure of the local bourgeoisie, was commemorated in Kőszeg yesterday. Fülöp Schey’s descendants living abroad, members of the Schey-Ephrussi-de Waal family, also took part in the commemoration day organized jointly by the Kőszeg Municipality and the Institute of Advanced Studies Kőszeg (iASK; Felsőbbfokú Tanulmányok Intézete).
EU Anti-Semitism Working Group Meets in Bucharest
Photo: European Commission coordinator for combating anti-Semitism and fostering Jewish life in Europe Katharina Schnurbein and LJC chairwoman Faina Kukliansky.
The European Union’s working group for implementing strategies for combating anti-Semitism is meeting in Bucharest, the capital of Romania. Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky is there discussing the issues in Lithuania and other countries with high-ranking European Commission and international organization officials.
More than 80 guests, European Commission officials, representatives of different international organizations and local Jewish communities along with specialists from across the EU as well as guests from the Ukraine and Moldova are attending the three-day conference organized by the Government of Romania and the EC. The point is to discuss how to fight anti-Semitism, including implementing national strategies, discussing progress made in implementing the EU strategy for combating anti-Semitism and fostering Jewish life in Europe, lurking dangers, Holocaust distortion and denial and the value of preserving memory.
Happy Birthday to Bronislava Lisiūtė
The Lithuanian Jewish Community wishes a very happy birthday to honorary member of the Panevėžys Jewish Community Bronislava Lisiūtė. Mazl tov. Bis 120!
LJC Seniors Club Celebrates 25th Birthday
The Seniors Club at the Lithuanian Jewish Community in Vilnius celebrated its 25th birthday on Wednesday, April 26.
“Back when the seniors club began operation and now as well the date coincides with the anniversary of Israeli independence. Back in 1988 Israel was turning 50, and now 75. So it’s a double celebration and twice the fun,” LJC programs director Žana Skudovičienė who has been director of the seniors club for its entire 25 years, said.
Learn Today, Travel Tomorrow
Educational high-fidelity LP record, originally pressed before the Holocaust, inviting learners to travel to… Yiddishland:
Condolences
Tatyana Arkhipova-Efros has died at the age of 100. A long-time member of the Lithuanian Jewish Community and a World War II veteran, she was born in 1922. We mourn her passing and extend our deepest condolences to her family and friends.
A Moving Journey
Several days ago the global Jewish community marked Yom haShoah, the day of remembrance of Holocaust victims and heroes. A large contingent of Litvaks from the Association of Lithuanian Jews in Israel travelled to Lithuania to mark this commemorative date. They commemorated Holocaust victims in Alytus and Zarasai, where most of them had family roots.
On Monday the group went to Alytus, commemorating victims at the memorial to mass murder victims in Vizgiris Forest just outside town, where Jews from Alytus and the surrounding areas were killed. Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky, Israel’s ambassador to Lithuania Hadas Wittenberg Silverstein, German ambassador Matthias Sonn, Alytus mayor Nerijus Cesiulis and Association of Lithuanian Jews in Israel director Arie Ben-An Grozdensky whose father’s family came from the nearby shtetl Miroslav honored the victims of the Holocaust there.
Condolences
With deep sadness we report the death of Markas Zingeris at the age of 76. He had struggled with heart problems for several years. The author of numerous novels, poet, long-time director of the Vilna Gaon Museum and a life-long promoter of Litvak culture, he is survived by his brother Emanuelis Zingeris. We extend our deepest condolences to his colleagues, many friends and family.
Polish President Mentions Ponar at Warsaw Uprising Ceremony
April 18 marked the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising. Polish president Andrzej Duda invited the presidents of Israel and Germany, representatives of the major global Jewish organizations and others to a commemoration of the historic act of mass resistance during WWII which was held in Warsaw. Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky also received an invitation and attended.
In his speech, Duda talked about the largest act of resistance by civilians to the Nazis. They knew they were outnumbered and faced defeat, but fought anyway, he noted. President Duda mentioned Ponar outside Vilnius as one of the main mass murder sites during the Holocaust. Some foreign media noted Duda failed to talk about Nazi collaborators, others said he wasn’t able to because of Poland’s new law forbidding discussion of Polish complicity in the Holocaust.
Yom haShoah at Ponar
A ceremony was held to commemorate Yom haShoah, the Israeli Holocaust day of remembrance, on Tuesday at the Ponar Memorial Complex outside Vilnius. Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky, Kaunas Jewish Community chairman Gercas Žakas and Palanga Jewish Community chairman Vilius Gutmanas were joined there by Israel’s ambassador to Lithuania Hadas Wittenberg Silverstein, US ambassador Robert Gilchrist, Japanese ambassador Tetsu Ozaki, French ambassador Alix Everard, Lithuania’s deputy minister of culture Albinas Vilčinskas and U.S. Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad chairwoman and attorney Starlet “Star” Jones Lugo. Jones spoke with students from the Sholem Aleichem ORT Gymnasium at the event, emphasizing the importance of remembering the victims and preserving the Litvak heritage. Jones is a panelist on the controversial all-female liberal American television talk show “The View” on the American Broadcasting Company or ABC network.
Mini Klez-Fest at Tolerance Center, National Library
The Judaica Research Center at the Martynas Mažvydas Lithuanian National Library, the Vilna Gaon Jewish History Museum and Roma Social Center present their “mini klez-fest” which includes live music and a lecture on klezmer music.
The event will take place at the Tolerance Center of the Vilna Gaon Museum at 6:00 P.M. on Sunday, April 30. The performers decided to call their hour-long concert “From Vizhnitz to Vilne: Klezmer Music from the Carpathians and Beyond.” The program is composed of songs selected by Jewish music researcher, ethnographer and artist-in-residence in the Jewish Studies Program at San Diego State University Yale Strom, recorded during ethnographic field work and which were once performed from the Carpathian Mountains to Jonava in Lithuania and locations inside Belarus. Yale Strom currently teaches music at San Diego State.
The lecture component by Strom will take part on at 6:00 P.M. on Wednesday, May 3, at the National Library in Vilnius. It is called “Relationship between Romani and Jewish Musicians before World War II: How and Why?”
Premiere of J’Accuse with Lithuanian Subtitles Exclusively on 15min.lt
The Lithuanian news website 15min.lt announced they will be showing the Holocaust documentary J’accuse with Lithuanian subtitles on April 17 and 18. The focus of the film is Grant Gochin whose entire family were murdered by the Nazis in Lithuania, and Silvia Foti who published a biography of her grandfather Jonas Noreika, debunking his lionization by post-WWII Lithuanians and revealing his deep collaboration with the Nazis in Holocaust crimes.
The film documents the personal stories of Gochin and Foti in their search for truth and justice, and how their paths came together several years ago, both now demanding accountability and truth from the Lithuanian state in addressing the genocide committed against the Jews in Lithuania during WWII.
Foti’s book is in its second edition in the United States with translations in various languages around the world. Lithuanian publishing house Kitos Knygos is publishing the Lithuanian version of the book.
In the film Gochin talks about his numerous court cases in Lithuania seeking justice for his murdered family members. He talks about the anti-Semitism inherent in the Lithuanian bureaucracy in the first decade after independence from the Soviet Union when he sought Lithuanian citizenship based on family origin, and some of the strange decisions Lithuanian courts made regarding his numerous cases against the Center for the Study of the Genocide and Resistance of Residents of Lithuania to force them to tell the truth about Jonas Noreika. Foti also levels criticism against the Center for hiding the truth about genocide in Lithuania.
The film contains a wealth of photography and stories of Jewish life in Lithuania before the Holocaust. 15min.lt says it is offering its readers the rare opportunity to view the film with the original audio with Lithuanian subtitles for two days exclusively.
Full article in Lithuanian and link to the film here.