May 22 is the birthday of Fania Brancovskaja and her daughter Vita. We heartily wish you both a very happy birthday. Warm wishes from the entire Community. Stay healthy, energetic and happy!
Mazl tov! Bis 120!
Liba Mednik Commemorated in Širvintos, Lithuania
A stele with a bas-relief and inscription was erected at a ceremony in Širvintos, Lithuania, May 19 to commemorate Liba Mednik (Mednikienė), who fought for Lithuanian independence when the first republic was being created in the early 20th century.
Sculptor Romualdas Kvintas designed the memorial to look like a Jewish headstone, a stone slab with inscription, and with a bronze image of the woman attached in bas-relief fashion. The bronze portion of the monument was cast and installed on the stone by the sculptor Mindaugas Šnipas by request of the Vilnius Jerusalem of the North Jewish Community. Kvintas has done a number of large stone sculptures on Jewish themes.
Mednik, who was born in 1875, lived through the entire tragedy of the Jewish people in Lithuania, fighting for Lithuanian independence and the interwar Republic, and being murdered in the Holocaust in Lithuania. According to historian Stanislovas Dačka, she was murdered in the Pivonika forest near Ukmergė (Vilkomir) with about 12,000 other Jews from the area in early autumn of 1941. Širvintos, her hometown, lies about 15 kilometers to the southeast of Ukmergė.
Vilijus Kavalauskas celebrated her in his book “Lietuvos karžygiai: Vyties Kryžiaus kavalieriai,” calling her a unique and strong character. During the Lithuanian conflict with Poland in 1922 and 1923, Liba Mednik collected military intelligence and distributed it to the Lithuanian military and Lithuanian partisans. She sent documents garnered from Polish headquarters and money to the Lithuanian fighters, Kavaliauskas reports.
Lithuanian Web Site: Let’s Learn about Lite, the Great Synagogue and the Vilna Gaon
by Karolina Aleknavičė, 15min.lt
This year, 2020, has been declared the Year of the Vilna Gaon and Lithuanian Jewish History, and it’s a good opportunity to learn about the authentic culture which thrived for whole centuries in our neighborhood.
We spoke with Vilna Gaon State Jewish Museum Jewish culture and identity exhibit coordinator Saulė Valiūnaitė, Vilnius University historian Dr. Akvilė Naudžiūnienė and Kėdainiai Multicultural Center director Audronė Pečiulytė about Lite, the Litvaks who lived here, Vilnius as the Jerusalem of the North and the Gaon, Eliyahu, who lived there.
Lithuanian Jewish History an Integral Part of Lithuanian History
Valiūnaitė told 15min.lt Lithuanians’ attitude towards Jewish history has changed over the last 15 years. “It’s inspiring that in Vilnius and other Lithuanian cities there are ever more initiatives appearing, and most importantly, a desire to commemorate the history and heritage of the Jews who lived there. Some do this by setting up commemorative markers, others by organizing events or writing books about the Jewish history of their cities and towns,” she said.
Beverly Hills Speaks Out Same Day Lithuanian Prosecutor Drops Case
In response to this claim to the Lithuanian Public Prosecutor:
https://ggochin.wordpress.com/2019/12/02/complaint-to-public-prosecutor/
the following denial has been received:
There is no purpose in seeking truth or Justice inside Lithuania. The State has formed a unified position to protect historical revisionists and to lie about their Holocaust perpetrators. This is consistent with their Courts, Ethics watchdogs, and government departments. They will not allow any review of facts within Lithuania. Further cases inside Lithuania serve only as stepping stones to reach the European Court of Human Rights.
Therefore, truth is only able to come from outside of Lithuania. In that regard, the City of Beverly Hills reviewed the following data:
https://ggochin.files.wordpress.com/2020/05/city-resolution.docx
City-Resolution and unanimously voted for the following resolution:
Item_D-15_Agenda_Report
https://eutoday.net/news/politics/2020/beverley-hills
Full text here.
Note: the district prosecutor’s rejection to initiate a pre-trial investigation linked to above cites Lithuanian court precedent claiming criminal prosecution is not always the best way to stop socially harmful acts. The LJC notes Lithuanian prosecutors have never attempted to apply existing law to domestic promoters of anti-Semitism and Holocaust deniers. For more recent examples of this, see here and here.
ICAN Applauds City of Beverly Hills for Passage of Resolution Condemning Lithuanian Holocaust Distortion
The Israeli-American Civic Action Network (ICAN) applauds the City of Beverly Hills tonight following the passage of a resolution condemning the Lithuanian government for actively promoting Holocaust distortion.
“There is a disturbing trend of government-backed Holocaust distortion sweeping across eastern Europe,” said Vered Elkouby Nisim, ICAN CA chairwoman. “Today, Lithuania is leading a dark and cynical campaign of Holocaust distortion and we thank the City of Beverly Hills for having the courage to stand up and speak out against this insidious form of state-sponsored antisemitism.”
Earlier this year, Lithuania drafted legislation that would have made it illegal to accuse the country of complicity in Nazi crimes, this followed the passage of similar laws by Poland, and Ukraine. At a time of rising global antisemitism, ICAN believes that laws designed to mask the true history of the Holocaust is especially dangerous and is working with leaders in the United States to oppose such laws using the strongest possible means.
Full article here.
Beverly Hills City Council Condemns Lithuanian Holocaust Distortion
The City Council of Beverly Hills, California, passed a resolution condemning Lithuania’s official distortion of the history of the Holocaust and World War II Tuesday, calling upon the Government to halt all such efforts and the Lithuanian parliament to refrain from approving a proposed resolution declaring Lithuania and her people “occupied” and therefore innocent of complicity in the Jewish genocide.
The resolution singled out efforts to white-wash “anti-Soviet hero” Jonas Noreika.
It cited the city’s recent adoption of the IHRA’s working definition of anti-Semitism, a 2016 California state bill aimed at fighting the BDS (boycott, divestment, sanction) movement against Israeli policies and the council’s recent honoring of U.S.-resident Litvak Grant Gochin for his efforts to fight Lithuania’s Holocaust distortion. The text of the resolution also says the Lithuanian government uses intimidation tactics against those who speak out against its Holocaust distortions.
Daniel Dolskis: Founder of Lithuanian Stage Music Who Entertained Pre-War Kaunas
by Rasa Murauskaitė, Lithuanian national public radio and television, LRT.lt
Lithuanian Public Radio and Television continues stories in the the Stones of Memory series intended to commemorate Litvaks in Lithuania and around the world. The third story concerns Daniel Dolskis (Danielius Dolskis, Dolski), one of the founders of the Lithuanian estrada popular music tradition.
Although he only lived a few years in Kaunas, Lithuania, during the interwar period, Dolskis quickly became a legend of real Lithuanian estrada musical culture.
“Onytė, come dance with me,” Dolskis used to say when inviting Lithuanian girls to dance.
“The Man Who Entertained Kaunas” wrote one Lithuanian paper of Dolskis in the period between the two world wars. Actually the truth is somewhat different about the crooner born to a family of Vilner Jews by the name of Broides, a name connected with the musical nightlife at Kaunas’s famous interwar restaurants and clubs such as Metropol, Konrad’s Café and others.
Full story in Lithuanian here.
Prosecutor Drops Pre-Trial Investigation of Anti-Semitism Yet Again
This time the Vilnius district attorney’s office reported they dropped an investigation into an article containing anti-Semitism and sowing ethnic discord on the internet page of the weekly newspaper Laisvas Laikraštis. The pre-trial investigation was begun at the request of Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky.
“I can’t even count anymore how many times both the Community and I have sent these requests in. Dozens. So far all investigations have been halted because investigators never seem to find any evidence of a crime,” Kukliansky commented.
She said the Community will continue to publicize each and every complaint and each and every rejection, even if the spreaders of hate receive extra publicity for their articles and comments because of it.
Hundredth Anniversary of Jewish Faction in Lithuanian Constituent Parliament
Photo: One of the first sittings of the new Lithuanian parliament took place at the City Theater. In front is the presidium, to the left, sitting, are Naftalis Fridmanas, Petras Radzevičius, Ladas (Vladas) Natkevičius, first deputy speaker Jonas Staugaitis, Sspeaker Aleksandras Stulginskis, second deputy speaker Justinas Staugaitis. Right, seated: Zigmas Starkus. Kaunas, 1920. Courtesy Vytautas the Great Military Museum.
The Jewish Faction in Lithuania’s Constituent Parliament
The first parliament elected after Lithuanian independence in the early 20th century caused a global sensation.
This year comes 100 years after the first universal democratic elections for a Lithuanian parliament. One feature of what Lithuania calls its Constituent Assembly was the Jewish faction of parliamentarians, something almost impossible to imagine today following the extermination of upwards of 95% of all Lithuanian Jews in the Holocaust.
to be continued
Šiauliai Regional Jewish Community: Life under Quarantine
It’s no secret the quarantine has altered the rhythms and habits of our lives. It had been customary in the Šiauliai Regional Jewish Community to celebrate all sorts of holidays and birthdays and to attend different events, educational activities and tours we organized, and simply to gather and talk at the Community building… Today that building stands quiet and empty…
Jews around the world were celebrating Passover when the quarantine began here in Lithuania. The Jews of Šiauliai were not able as we were in past years to come together and celebrate happily to the sound of Jewish melodies this beautiful spring holiday. This year each of celebrated separately at home. The Lithuanian Jewish Community provided home deliveries of matzo to all the regional Communities, so as the quarantine got under way the Šiauliai Regional Jewish Community had to insure every member had the requisite matzo for the Passover seder table. Every member of the Community did receive safe delivery of boxes of matzo before the holiday began.
Despite disruption to the rhythm and conventions of daily life, we continue to provide crucial care to our seniors who were victims of the Nazis. Home-care workers continue to visit them and help them with their daily needs, insuring the safety of our elderly during these days so difficult for all of us.
On Vytautas Bruveris’s Series of Articles “Lithuania and the Holocaust: Endless Seizures Instead of Healing Wounds”: Comments by Lithuanian Readers Contain Indications of Crime
by professor Dr habil. Pinchos Fridberg
Information
In the first week of way the internet site of the Lietuvos Rytas newspaper featured a series of articles in Lithuanian by Vytautas Bruveris called “Lithuania and the Holocaust: Endless Seizures Instead of Healing Wounds.”
Part One, May 1, 2020: https://www.lrytas.lt/lietuvosdiena/aktualijos/2020/05/01/news/lietuva-ir-holokaustas-vietoj-zaizdu-gydymo-nesibaigiantys-traukuliai-i-dalis–14716722/
Part Two, May 2, 2020: https://www.lrytas.lt/lietuvosdiena/aktualijos/2020/05/02/news/lietuva-ir-holokaustas-vietoj-zaizdu-gydymo-nesibaigiantys-traukuliai-ii-dalis–14716738/
Part Three, May 3, 2020: https://www.lrytas.lt/lietuvosdiena/aktualijos/2020/05/03/news/lietuva-ir-holokaustas-vietoj-zaizdu-gydymo-nesibaigiantys-traukuliai-iii-dalis–14716742/
Watch Litvak Cantor Melavonis in This Video
The Genesis Prize Fund has posted a video clip called Jews in Music to do honor to exceptional achievements by Jews in music. The Fund presents the prize annually and Jews in Music debuted in 2016. The prize ceremony is held in honor of violin virtuoso Yitzhak Perlman. Among the musicians included in the video below are Yosef Melovanis, Leonard Cohen, Carole King, Vladimir Vysotksky, Idan Raichel, Martha Argerich, Paul Simon, Yevgeniy Kissin, Billy Joel, Adam Levine, Drake and many others.
We Have to Remember the Jewish Tragedy in World War II
The day of victory against Nazi Germany unites the people of all nations. Today as we mark the 75th anniversary of Victory Day not all of us are able to come together in person, but we can prayer for those who didn’t come back from the damned war. We can remember those who were shot in the forests and the pits, our relatives and friends tortured to death in the concentration camps. We can remember and we can honor those who defended our lives and those of future generations.
Today, the photographs and statues from World War II look at us. It is our sacred duty to remember and preserve the tragic stories of every family and the millions of people who suffered from the war.
We do remember and honor the people who risked their lives and those of their families to rescue Jews from the genocide.
On this holy day we, the members of the Panevėžys Jewish Community, laid bouquets of flowers and lit candles of remembrance at the memorials in Panevėžys which recall the brutalities of the Holocaust and for the soldiers who liberated Europe from the Nazi plague.
Resident Ambassadors Mark VE Day at Jewish Cemetery in Vilnius
The Lithuanian Jewish Community and resident foreign ambassadors to Lithuania marked Victory in Europe day with a small, solemn gathering at the Jewish cemetery on Sudervės road in Vilnius on the morning of May 8. German ambassador Matthias Sonn, Israeli ambassador Jossy Avni-Levy and US ambassador Robert Gilchrist gave short addresses stressing the need to remember the past while looking to a better future.
Video Highlights of the Fifth World Holocaust Forum in 2020 in Jerusalem
Dear Presidents,
Dear Friends,
We are very happy and proud to share with you a video featuring highlights of the EJC event last January – The Fifth World Holocaust Forum – initiated by our President Moshe Kantor and hosted by the President of the State of Israel, Reuven Rivlin, at Yad Vashem.
Nearly 50 heads of state and royalty from across the world, as well as the three leaders of the European Union institutions, gathered in Jerusalem to reaffirm their unity against the upsurge of antisemitism globally and to honour the memory of the victims of the Holocaust.
Although it is difficult to encapsulate such a historic event in a few minutes, the video contains the most beautiful images, and the strongest and most touching excerpts of speeches and musical performances.
We hope this film will bring back precious memories of these emotional two days and allow those who could not be with us to grasp the intensity of the commitment expressed by world leaders for such a noble cause.
Stay safe and best regards,
Raya and the EJC Team
Lithuanian MPs Defend Noreika
The following open letter appeared on the delfi.lt website. It is called “Reacting to Linkevičius’s Reply on Request to Review Positions on Jonas Noreika, aka General Storm.” Linas Linkevičius is the Lithuanian foreign minister. The two authors of the open letter were Audronius Ažubalis and Laurynas Kasčiūnas, members of parliament in the Homeland Union/Conservatives-Lithuanian Christian Democrats faction. Ažubalis was also a foreign minister in a previous government.
§§§
On April 6 we contacted foreign minister Linas Linkevičius and Vilnius mayor Remigijus Šimašius asking them to review their earlier positions regarding Jonas Noreika, aka General Storm, in light of the final and unappealable decision of the Lithuanian Supreme Administrative Court on April 1. We got an answer from the minister, and thank you for following the law, but from the mayor there was the usual silence, but we’ll talk about the lack of political culture [sic] another time…
Replying to the minister by open letter, we want to raise again respect for decisions by the Lithuanian courts and recall a few essential details which have been forgotten in this discussion of history policy.
It seems as if it’s clear to everyone that officials of a state under the rule of law should not ignore court decisions and laws in their activities. Especially not the fact the Lithuanian Supreme Court rehabilitated Jonas Noreika of the full extent of the Soviet accusation, that is, for cooperating with the Germans.
Lithuania and the Holocaust: Endless Seizures Instead of Healing Wounds (Part II)
part two
by Vytautas Bruveris
What are the methods for Lithuania as a country and society to demonstrate by deeds rather than words true solidarity with the country’s Jewish community, almost completely exterminated in the Holocaust, with the victims and with their descendants?
Why Is There No Basic Number?
So if there’s no national agreement on what should be considered contributing to the Holocaust and what criteria might define this, then does the determination of direct participation in the mass murder of Jews not raise any conceptual misunderstandings?
Lithuania and the Holocaust: Endless Seizures Instead of Healing Wounds (Part I)
part one
by Vytautas Bruveris
What are the methods for Lithuania as a country and society to demonstrate by deeds rather than words true solidarity with the country’s Jewish community, almost completely exterminated in the Holocaust, with the victims and with their descendants?
After all, this year has been declared not only the Year of the Vilna Gaon but also the Year of Litvak History at the highest level of state.
Moreover, this year Lithuania and the world mark the round anniversary of a date connected with World War II, Nazi crimes and the Holocaust.
At least two such methods have long been clear.
Big Thank You to Svetlana Who Found a Jewish Headstone in Her Garden
Vilnius resident Svetlana Šitelienė contacted the Lithuanian Jewish Community to report her discovery of what appears to be a Jewish headstone, or matzeva, on her farm.
Thank you, Svetlana.
We’ve reached Svetlana and thanked her, and sent her a box of matzo and the Vilnius ghetto diary of Yitzhak Rudasheviski translated into Lithuanian.
Studying the photographs she provided, it appears this might be an unfinished headstone made for someone named Esther, with the surname partially completed. Mrs. Šitelienė said the grave stone might have ended up in her yard 47 or more years ago, and according to relatives it came from the Jewish cemetery near the Palace of Marriage in Vilnius.
Condolences
The Lithuanian Jewish Community sends its condolences to Arkadijus Gotesmanas on the death of his father, Burnitalis Arnoldas Gotesmanas, who passed away at the age of 90. The late Gotesmanas survived Auschwitz and Mauthausen. He died in Brooklyn and was buried there.