Heritage

Eightieth Anniversary of Liquidation and Uprising of the Vilnius Ghetto: Play “Ghetto”

Eightieth Anniversary of Liquidation and Uprising of the Vilnius Ghetto: Play “Ghetto”

The National Drama Theater in Kaunas presents the play “Getas” [Ghetto] written by Joshua Sobol and directed by Gintaras Varnas at 4:00 P.M. on September 24 and 6:00 P.M. on November 14. The theater is located at Laisvės alley no. 71 in Kaunas.

The play centers around Vilnius ghetto inmates who waged a spiritual and cultural war for survival under genocidal conditions, founding the Vilnius ghetto theater in the face of almost certain death.

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Eightieth Anniversary of the Liquidation of and Uprising in the Vilnius Ghetto: Film Clips about Ponar and Litvaks

Eightieth Anniversary of the Liquidation of and Uprising in the Vilnius Ghetto: Film Clips about Ponar and Litvaks

The Tolerance Center of the Vilna Gaon Jewish History Museum will host a viewing of scenes about the Ponar mass murder site outside Vilnius from the 9.5-hour-long documentary film Shoah (1985, France) and short film clips from YIVO and the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D. C., touching on Jewish life in Lithuania before the Holocaust. A panel discussion will follow.

The event begins at 6:00 P.M. on September 22 at the Tolerance Center located at Naugarduko street no. 10 in Vilnius.

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Eightieth Anniversary of Liquidation and Uprising of Vilnius Ghetto: Ceremony and Art Installation at Ninth Fort

Eightieth Anniversary of Liquidation and Uprising of Vilnius Ghetto: Ceremony and Art Installation at Ninth Fort

The Ninth Fort Museum in Kaunas will host a ceremony to honor the victims of the Holocaust murdered there, followed by the unveiling of a commemorative art installation at the museum created by Christian Boltansky and called ANIMITAS accompanied by a dance performance by Erika Vizbaraitė. Those attending will also be invited to view the museum’s malina exhibit. The events begin at 1:00 P.M. on September 22 at the Ninth Fort Museum at Žemaičių highway no. 73 in Kaunas.

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Eightieth Anniversary of the Liquidation of and Uprising in the Vilnius Ghetto: Remembering Vilna Podcast Episode

Eightieth Anniversary of the Liquidation of and Uprising in the Vilnius Ghetto: Remembering Vilna Podcast Episode

The Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies present their podcast episode “Remembering Vilna: Voices from the Holocaust” at 6:00 P.M. on September 21 at the National Library located at Gedimino prospect no. 51 in Vilnius. The Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies at Yale University in the United States currently conserves over 4,000 testimonies by Holocaust survivors. “Remembering Vilna: Voices from the Holocaust” is the third episode of the podcast series “Those Who Were There: Voices from the Holocaust” produced jointly by the Fortunoff center and YIVO in New York. This episode draws upon Hermann Kruk’s diary and other testimonies which detail the destruction of the Jews in Vilnius. Podcast guests also discuss the rise of anti-Semitism in the period between the two world wars, the Soviet occupation of Lithuania followed by the Nazi occupation, the establishment of ghettos, the mass murder of the Jews of Vilnius and the end of the war and what that entailed.

Podcast producers Nahanni Rous and Eric Marcus and hostess Eleanora Reissa will attend the event which will be conducted in English.

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Eightieth Anniversary of the Liquidation of and Uprising in the Vilnius Ghetto: Film “Samuel Bak: Painter of Questions”

Eightieth Anniversary of the Liquidation of and Uprising in the Vilnius Ghetto: Film “Samuel Bak: Painter of Questions”

The Tolerance Center of the Vilna Gaon Jewish History Museum will screen the documentary film “Samuel Bak: Painter of Questions” following a discussion of the film and the artist. The film was made by Christa Singer in 2003 and looks at the life and work of Samuel Bak through the prism of his childhood in the Vilnius ghetto. In the film he returns to Vilnius, walks the streets of the ghetto and visits Ponar where his father and grandparents were murdered. The film is in English and there won’t be subtitles in Lithuanian. The event begins at 6:00 P.M. on September 21. The Tolerance Center is located at Naugarduko street no. 10 in Vilnius.

imdb entry here.

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Eightieth Anniversary of the Liquidation of and Uprising in the Vilnius Ghetto: March of the Living

Eightieth Anniversary of the Liquidation of and Uprising in the Vilnius Ghetto: March of the Living

The March of the Living this year will include marchers who begin the trek to Ponar from Rūdninkų square in the former ghetto in the Vilnius Old Town, located across the street and kitty-corner from the Greek embassy. The marchers are set to gather on Rūdninkų square at 1:00 P.M. on September 21. Most will take the train or private transportation to reach Ponar. Actually marching from Old Town to Upper Ponar on foot would take several hours at least. The LJC will provide a bus for those needing transportation. For more information, see the top of the English-language version of this webpage.

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Eightieth Anniversary of the Liquidation of and Uprising in the Vilnius Ghetto: “Glaistas”

Eightieth Anniversary of the Liquidation of and Uprising in the Vilnius Ghetto: “Glaistas”

The Jewish Culture and Information Center located at Mėsinių street no. 4 in Vilnius will host multiple performances of the interactive walking tour/play “Glaistas” [Putty] which began from September 2 to 5, continue on September 18 to 21, resume September 23 and 24 and happen again from October 17 to 22. It’s based on the testimonies of four survivors of the Vilnius ghetto collected in Israel in May of 2019. Viewers and listeners will be equipped with headphones during the walking tour of the Vilnius ghetto with audio tracks in English, Russian, Hebrew and Lithuanian. Tickets can be ordered here: https://shorturl.at/lmtEN

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Eightieth Anniversary of Liquidation and Uprising of the Vilnius Ghetto: Exhibit “Wandering Stars, the History of Jewish Theater in Lithuania”

Eightieth Anniversary of Liquidation and Uprising of the Vilnius Ghetto: Exhibit “Wandering Stars, the History of Jewish Theater in Lithuania”

The exhibit uses modern technology in light, audio and visual installations to tell the little-known story of Jewish theater in Lithuania, presenting the stars of the stage in Kaunas and the founders behind the ghetto theater in Vilnius. It goes on public display at the Museum of Lithuanian Theater, Music and Cinema at Vilniaus street no. 41 in Vilnius on September 20.

Eightieth Anniversary of the Liquidation of and Uprising in the Vilnius Ghetto: Loïc Salfati’s Documentary Secrets of the Great Synagogue

Eightieth Anniversary of the Liquidation of and Uprising in the Vilnius Ghetto: Loïc Salfati’s Documentary Secrets of the Great Synagogue

Loïc Salfati’s documentary film “Secrets of the Great Synagogue of Vilnius” will be screened at 6:00 P.M. on September 20 at the Tolerance Center of the Vilna Gaon Jewish History Museum at Naugarduko street no. 10 in Vilnius. The film uses archival documents, testimonies and interviews with archaeologists from Israel, Lithuania and the USA to reveal hitherto little-known facts about the Great Synagogue which stood more or less intact for centuries, was heavily bombed during World War II and razed by the Soviet government in 1950. The director will talk about his film before the screening. The film is in Lithuanian and English with Lithuanian subtitles for the English-language segments.

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Eightieth Anniversary of Liquidation and Uprising of the Vilnius Ghetto: The Holocaust, Anti-Semitism and Remembering for the Future

Eightieth Anniversary of Liquidation and Uprising of the Vilnius Ghetto: The Holocaust, Anti-Semitism and Remembering for the Future

Historian Christoph Diekmann, film-maker Saulius Beržinis, independent Holocaust archive founder and director Darius Staliūnas and Lithuanian History Institute historian Tomas Balkelis will hold a panel discussion moderated by Dina Porat from Yad Vashem about the Holocaust, anti-Semitism and commemorative policies at the National Martynas Mažvydas Library at 5:00 P.M. on September 20. Before the discussion begins, Beit Vilna director Mickey Kantor, Israeli ambassador Hadas Wittenberg Silverstein and National Martynas Mažvydas Library director Renaldas Gudauskas will deliver brief addresses. The panel discussion will be followed by brief speeches by Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky and representatives from Lithuania’s International Commission to Assess the Crimes of the Nazi and Soviet Occupational Regimes in Lithuania.

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Eightieth Anniversary of Liquidation and Uprising of Vilnius Ghetto: Walking Tour

Eightieth Anniversary of Liquidation and Uprising of Vilnius Ghetto: Walking Tour

When the Nazis and local Lithuanian collaborators instituted a ghetto for Jews in Vilnius, it was in two parts: a smaller ghetto for the aged and infirm, and a larger ghetto for able-bodied younger Jews to be used as slave labor. The smaller ghetto was liquidated almost immediately, meaning those imprisoned there were slaughtered. This event is a walking tour of the large ghetto which endured for several years. Walking tour participants will gather at the historic address Žemaitijos street no. 4 at 5:00 P.M. on Tuesday, September 19. Formerly known as Strashun street before and during the Holocaust, this street was located inside the ghetto and was the address of the Jewish Educational Library headed by Herman Kruk during the life of the Vilnius ghetto. It is also next to the balcony where Jewish partisans fired on Estonian Nazi troops during the liquidation of the Vilnius ghetto.

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Eightieth Anniversary of Liquidation and Uprising of Vilnius Ghetto: Walking Tour of Vilnius Ghetto through Eyes of Children

Eightieth Anniversary of Liquidation and Uprising of Vilnius Ghetto: Walking Tour of Vilnius Ghetto through Eyes of Children

Guide Gina Justina Raibužytė will lead walking tours of the Vilnius ghetto focusing on how it appeared to the children trapped inside, starting from the Adomas Mickevičius Public Library at Trakų street no. 10 in Vilnius, at 11:00 A.M. on September 18, 11:00 A.M. on September 20 and 12:00 noon on September 22. Registration via internet is required by filling out the form here: https://forms.gle/ZrosR3TYVB3wF6bc7

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Eightieth Anniversary of Liquidation and Uprising of Vilnius Ghetto: City of the Living, City of the Dead Photo Exhibit

Eightieth Anniversary of Liquidation and Uprising of Vilnius Ghetto: City of the Living, City of the Dead Photo Exhibit

This is a photography project authored by Robert Wilczyñski where archival photos of the Warsaw ghetto are superimposed on the current, rebuilt Polish capital, accompanied by texts taken from diaries, testimonies and other sources documenting daily life, suffering and death in the Warsaw ghetto as well as the Warsaw Uprising. Pawel Freus is curator of the exhibition. The exhibit went on display September 12 at the Tolerance Center of the Vilna Gaon Jewish History Museum located at Naugarduko street no. 10 in Vilnius and will run till December 15 of 2023.

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European Days of Jewish Culture in Prienai

European Days of Jewish Culture in Prienai

The Lithuanian Jewish Community and Bagel Shop Café were invited to participate at the European Days of Jewish Culture in Prienai, Lithuania, on the eve of Rosh Hashana, where around 40% of the population was Jewish before the Holocaust. The local organizers of the event there demonstrated a keen interest in the Jewish past of their town and in what was until now exotic Jewish cuisine.

The event kicked off at the synagogue, one of two and the only one left standing, in the early afternoon with a planting of crocus bulbs outside the synagogue. Participants walked from there to the Vėlyvė café which used to house a famous restaurant belonging to the Milstein family. Litvak snacks, challa bread and humous were served with fresh bagels. Local genealogist Janina Paplauskaitė-Leonavičienė then told the story of the synagogue and the restaurant which belonged to the Milstein family.

Eightieth Anniversary of Liquidation and Uprising of Vilnius Ghetto: Ponar Escape Tunnel

Eightieth Anniversary of Liquidation and Uprising of Vilnius Ghetto: Ponar Escape Tunnel

This event is a tour featuring the escape tunnel dug by prisoners held underground at the Ponar mass murder site whose gruesome job was to exhume, burn and crush into dust the 70,000-150,000 corpses of Jews murdered there by Lithuanians and Nazis over the course of three years. After their task was completed, the enslaved members of the so-called burners team–Jews and Soviet POWs–would also be murdered and disposed of there. Some members of the team escaped on April 15, 1944, through the tunnel they excavated more than 30 meters long using spoons and sticks. The tour begins at 12:00 noon on September 16 at the Ponar Memorial Complex outside Vilnius.

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European Days of Jewish Culture in Palanga

European Days of Jewish Culture in Palanga

On Thursday last week the Palanga Jewish Community invited the public and visitors to Lithuania’s main seaside resort town to a tour of Jewish sites there and a discussion of memory. The streets of the quaint town hold many stories and the old town synagogue there was a popular place for couples to get married, with brides and grooms arriving from all over Europe.

The walking tour demonstrated material heritage, and afterwards participants were treated to the Litvak culinary heritage in the form of the dish floimen tzimmes.

Pictures tell the full story.

Historical Drama in Klaipėda

Historical Drama in Klaipėda

Klaipėda residents were treated to fictional historical plays in situ and Rosh Hashana treats as part of European Days of Jewish Culture events in the Lithuanian port city September 10. A series of skits were performed in the Old Town by the Šatil theater troupe depicting Jewish experience, daily life, triumphs and misfortunes in the interwar period. This was followed by a presentation of Jewish folklore at the Puppet Theater in Klaipėda, formerly known as Memel under East Prussian rule.

European Days of Jewish Culture in Ukmergė

European Days of Jewish Culture in Ukmergė

The Lithuanian Jewish Community was gratified to see so many young people attend European Days of Jewish Culture events held in Ukmergė (Vilkomir) last Tuesday. A large number of local residents and a delegation of 62 students from Israel attended events including a reading of the names of Holocaust victims from the area.

The Lithuanian town where about half of all households spoke Yiddish until World War II had multiple working synagogues, a Jewish hospital, Jewish schools and other Jewish institutions. Ukmergė Jewish Community chairman Artūras Taicas introduced local Holocaust survivor Elena Jakiševa, said to be the only Jew from Vilkomir to survive the Holocaust, to participants who were keen to hear everything she had to say. Chairman Taicas said it was important for the current generation of young people to learn from living witnesses without distortion and suppression.

Fall Scouting Camp

Fall Scouting Camp

A camping trip will be held from September 15 to 17 called “The Secrets of the Green Forest in Panevëžys at the Žalioji or Green Forest for scouts aged 6 to 18. The cost is 15 euros per scout, with a discount of 12 euros each for two or more scouts from the same household. Guides and volunteers are also being asked to contribute 10 euros each. The cost includes food, scouting equipment and the program of events. Transportation will be provided with details to be provided to participants and parents later. Registration should be made before or on September 9 with payment via bank transfer to be received not later than September 12.

Register here: https://forms.gle/FiGJv5kMc1D2nraD8

Payment should be made to Lietuvos skautijos padalinio Panevėžio kraštas via bank transfer to the account LT387044060002754214.

Open House at the Šiauliai Regional Jewish Community

Open House at the Šiauliai Regional Jewish Community

The Šiauliai Regional Jewish Community invites the public to an open house this Friday as part of the Šiauliai Days currently being celebrated. This is an opportunity to learn more about what the Community does and Šiauliai (Shavl) Jewish traditions, and to tour the interior as well as the museum, to get to know members and to view the exhibition “Wooden Synagogues of Lithuania.”

Time: 11:00 P.M., Friday, August 8
Location: Šiauliai Regional Jewish Community, Višinskio street no. 24, Šiauliai