History of the Jews in Lithuania – Lithuanian Jewish Community

International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust in Panevėžys

The Panevėžys Jewish Community, deputy mayor Deividas Labanavičius, continuing-education students and visitors from Kupiškis as well as local residents marked the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust on January 27.

“The Holocaust reminds us to the depths to which hate, apathy and ignoring human dignity can lead. As we remember the victims, we take responsibility for preserving human respect, for strengthening tolerance and for passing on historical memory to the future generations. This is a duty, leading to a mature and responsible society,” deputy mayor Deividas Labanavičius said.

Panevėžys Jewish Community chairman Gennady Kofman spoke about the incredible mass murder of almost all Lithuanian Jews and noted more than 600,000 Jews had fought against Nazi Germany, many of them falling on the battle field or returning home disabled. “We also remember those who at risk to themselves and the lives of their families rescued Jews from certain death,” he said.

2026-02-03

Remembering Holocaust Victims in Šiauliai

International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust was marked in Šiauliai January 27. People gathered at the location of the ghetto gates at the intersection of Ežero and Trakų streets. Members of the Šiauliai Jewish Community, local officials and local residents attended. Candles were lit at the monument marking the former ghetto gates. The attendees then moved on to Righteous Gentile Square.

2026-02-03

Palanga Jewish Cemeteries: Inscriptions, Records, Territories

Information from Mindaugas Surblys, Palanga Jewish Community

When fire ran rampant in Palanga in 1830, old burial pinkhas were destroyed, dating back to 1487. Beginning in 1831 burial records were kept for the new Jewish cemetery at the edge of town. For a time two Jewish cemeteries operated in tandem in Palanga, the old one since 1487 till 1892, located inside Birutė Park. The new cemetery was instituted near Naglys Hill.

There are ten remaining headstones (matsevot) of different sizes made from granite and cement with inscriptions in Hebrew letters. Three headstones are broken in their upper sections. One is splintered with fragments lying on the ground. Many of the surviving monuments are difficult to read.

Several inscriptions are legible and correspond to the burial records of the Palanga Jewish community. The inscriptions match the information in the pinkhas, for example, “Here lies our dear and honored father who was famous for his charity work and high moral character, Natan Frank, son of Hirsh (Tzvi), deceased on Rosh Hashanah, 1935” (partial translation).

2026-02-022026-02-02

UN Holocaust Day at the Šiauliai District Jewish Community

The Šiauliai District Jewish Community marked the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust on January 27, the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, with an evening of tea celebrating Vulf Visotiski, a tea expert whose family began dealing in tea in Žagarė back in 1849.

The Šiauliai District Jewish Community invited experts and cultural anthropologists from Žagarė and around Lithuania as well as the general public and served Visotski tea imported from Israel. The fifth generation of the family is still blending tea in Israel now. High school student singers from the area and from Klaipėda provided the highlight of the evening. Speakers also provided historical insights into the Volpert family and the history and current state of Žagarė.

2026-02-02

Palanga Jewish Community Marks UN Holocaust Day

Members of the Palanga Jewish Community, representatives of the municipality and local high school students marked the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust Tuesday by visiting a marker commemorating victims at a cemetery there.

“The Holocaust isn’t a past tragedy, it’s a warning of what happens when apathy becomes the norm and hate becomes acceptable. Our duty is not just to remember the victims, but also to protect the truth, which is uncomfortable to some. Remembering isn’t a ceremony, it’s a daily choice,” Palanga Jewish Community chairman Vilius Gutmanas remarked on the occasion.

The seaside resort town has several Holocaust memorial sites with commemorative markers and plaques. The local cemetery has a stele marking where 106 Jews and 5 Lithuanians murdered in 1941 were reburied. Jewish sites including the Great and Lesser Synagogues and a site connected with Dr. Lazar Gutman are also marked now, as are two pre-Holocaust Jewish cemeteries.

2026-01-292026-01-29

Šiauliai District Jewish Community to Mark UN Holocaust Day

The Šiauliai District Jewish Community invites you to mark International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust together with the community on January 27. At 12 noon there will be a candle-lighting ceremony at the Shavl ghetto gate located at the corner of Ežero and Trakų streets. At 6:00 P.M. the Community will hold an evening to celebrate Vulf Visotski and tea called “Memory, Faith, Hope” at the Community at Višinskio street no. 24 in Šiauliai. Participants are to include the student theater from the Ąžuolynas Gymnasium in Klaipėda, vocalists from the Juventa Pre-gymnasium in Šiauliai District and guests from Pakruojis and Žagarė.

2026-01-272026-01-27

History on Trial: Lithuania’s Unanswered Record

by Grant Gochin, January 5, 2026

History is not preserved by monuments or institutions. It is preserved by accuracy, accountability, and the willingness to confront what is difficult. Nowhere is that obligation more binding than in nations whose soil carries the memory of mass murder. When a state chooses to defend dishonest institutional narratives instead of historical truth, the cost becomes permanent: the leadership that made those choices becomes inseparable from the legacy of distortion.

Lithuania refuses to confront that legacy.

The Genocide and Resistance Research Centre of Lithuania

The Genocide and Resistance Research Centre of Lithuania (LGGRTC) is a state institution charged with researching and memorializing the crimes of totalitarian regimes. Over the past decades, its conduct has drawn sustained criticism for minimizing Lithuanian participation in the Holocaust while promoting dishonest national narratives.

International Jewish organizations and independent observers have warned that the Centre’s activities approach Holocaust distortion and contradict established historical scholarship. https://www.timesofisrael.com/lithuanias-genocide-studies-center-accused-of-holocaust-denial/

2026-01-19

Birthday Exhibition by Aleksandra Jacovskytė

Aleksandra Jacovskytė’s exhibit “Theater: Costume Sketches” will open January 20 at the Samuel Bak Museum of the Vilna Gaon Jewish History Museum with the artist in attendance. She’ll speak about the sources of her inspiration, theater life, how costumes are created from idea to stage and talk backstage. Aleksandra Jacovskytė is a set designer, graphic artist and photographer.

Time: 6:00 P.M., Tuesday, January 20
Place: Samuel Bak Museum, Naugarduko street no. 10, Vilnius

2026-01-192026-01-22

Sixteenth Liova Taicas Memorial Tournament in Šiauliai

The Šiauliai District Jewish Community is pleased to announce the 16th Liova Taicas memorial sporting event starting at 11:00 A.M. on February 8 at the Šiauliai Sports Gymnasium.. Games include mini-soccer, 3-on-3 basketball, ping-pong, chess and volleyball.

To participate, please register by January 20 by calling the Šiauliai District Jewish Community at +370 99 10621

2026-01-142026-01-14

A Railroad Town and How Tragedy Was Suppressed: Jewish History Revived in Rūdiškės

Rūdiškės is a small town in the Trakai district which most people pass on the road without a thought about its complicated and painful history. The railroad came through in the 20th century and brought business and a Jewish population, almost completely exterminated in the Holocaust. Now local residents, teachers and descendants of people from the town are trying to revive memories of the past there, through testimonies, initiatives and manual labor.

For people travelling between Vilnius and Alytus, Rūdiškės is mainly just a name on a road sign. It has a railroad stop, a main square. a school and stores. The tranquil façade hides a complex story. Lithuanian language teacher Loreta Masienė says Rūdiškės is different from most towns because it was established around the railroad station.

“This was the first railroad in Lithuania, the St. Petersburg to Warsaw line. Rūdiškės began to grow around the railway and the Geležinė River,” she said.

Full story in Lithuanian here.

2026-01-13

Lithuanian Economics Ministry Likes Idea of Holocaust Museum at Shnipishok Cemetery

The Lithuanian Ministry of Economics and Innovation has issued a press release on the Baltic News Service webpage expressing approval for the idea of setting up a Holocaust museum at the former Palace of Sports built on top of the Vilna Jewish cemetery by the Soviets in the Shnipishok neighborhood on the northern side of the Neris (viliya( River.. The building has been in serious disrepair for over a decade.

“Taking into account the position held regarding the possibility of adapting the former Palace of Sports, since this site is not suitable for modern and competitive conference tourism… it would be more appropriate to renovate the Palace of Sports and equip it for use as a new memorial and museum,” the Economics and Innovation Ministry posted on the BNS press release webpage.

Vilnius mayor Valdas Benkunskas after meeting with economics minister Edvinas Grikšas last week told BNS the Vilnius municipality and the Economics Ministry have a common position regarding the aging concert and sports complex.

Mayor Benkunskas said: “We perceive in the same way that the Palace of Sports has to be renovated and adapted as a memorial and museum space, and that it wouldn’t be competitive for conference tourism, and would pose a risk to our public image as such.”

The Economics and Innovation Ministry earlier posted the building was not fit to use as a conference venue following a study ordered by the Government.

“According to the current studies, this site could only host some of the requirements as a venue, there would be a lack of parking places, and the costs of reconstruction are difficult to predict,” the Ministry said.

2025-12-30

American Embassy Hosts Presentation of New Community Center

Goodwill Foundation co-presidents Rabbi Andrew Baker and Faina Kukliansky presented plans for a new Lithuanian Jewish Community Center at the US embassy in Vilnius last week.

World-renowned Litvak architect Massimiliano Fuksas’s team are drafting plans for the new building to be built at the site of the Great Synagogue complex in Vilnius Old Town.

Baker and Kukliansky provided details at the presentation on a planned YIVO exhibit at the new center telling the history of Litvaks, Litvak life, traditions, the people and their mass murder during the Holocaust.

2025-12-25

Jacques Fux on Lazaris Segall

The Vilnius Literary Palace at Šv. Jono street no. 11 will host an event with Brazilian author Jacques Fux who is on a UNESCO fellowship to research in Lithuania famous Brazilian artist Lazar Segall, who came from Vilnius. Kamilė Rupeikaitė and UNESCO’s Marija Mažulė will also speak at the event which will take place in English. The event will start at 7:00 P.M. December 17.

2025-12-17

Hanukkah Greetings

Dear friends,

We live in unusual times. We are surriunded by the danger of war. In our historical homeland Israel the war has not ended, people are still fighting and dying. In Ukraine people are suffering because of the actions of the aggressor.

I never thought I would live under conditions of war. I thought this generation, of ou children and grandchildren, would grow up without war. But this is what has happened, without regard to what we wanted.

Despite all these tragic circumstances, the holidays still go on, bringing light, jope and joy. Each day we light a candle to remind ourselves the world is entirely dark. There are also good developments in life, there is hope all the wats will end, we will be safe and our children and grandchildren will be sage, healthy and happy and won’t have to face these dangers in the future.

Hanukkah, the festival of lights, jas been celebrated xince ancient times. Ot gives us hope that in the country where we live anti-Semitism will disappear and demonstrations against Israel will fade away. Instead of crying, we will fight anti-Semitism.

I wish you all the best. Most importantly, I wish you health, happiness, hope and a happy Hanukkah.

Hag urim sameakh,

Faina Kuklianksy, chairwoman
Lithuanian Jewish Community

2025-12-15

Courage and Hope: Remembering the Rescuers

The Palanga Jewish Community and the Jonas Šliūpas Museum in Palanga are holding an event to remember the courage displayed by the Righteous Gentiles, those who rescued Jews from the Holocaust. MEP professor Liudas Mažylis will share his insights and Palanga Jewish Community chairman Vilius Gutmanas will talk about his family’s experience. The Mažylis family rescued Jews and were recognized posthumously as Righteous Gentiles by Yad Vashem in 2006. The presentation and discussion will be in Lithuanian. The event is free and open to the public.

Time: 5:00 P.M., December 11
Place: Jonas Šliūpas Museum, Vytauto street no. 23A, Palanga

2025-12-04

Natalja Cheifec on Shtetl Life

The shtetl was bit just a tiwn, but a self-contained world where Jewish traditions were maintained, students attended the yeshiva, people were married and buried under the precepts of Judaism and almost everyone spoke Yiddish.

To receive zoom credentials, click here.

Time: 6:00 P.M., Tuesday, December 4
Place: internet

2025-12-04

New Album: Litvak Violin Art

Violinist Dalia Dėdinskaitė and pianist Walter Delahunt will perform selections from their new album at the album lauch at 6:30 P.M. on Wednesday, December 3 at the Samuel Bak Museum of the Vilna Gaon Jewish History Museum, Naugarduko street no. 10, Vilnius. The album is called Estrellita and features works by Litvak composers from Lithuania to Hollywood.

2025-12-01

Exhibit of Works by Raimondas Savickas

Life with Pastels is an exhibit of works by renowned Lithuanian visual artist Raimondas Savickas which opens at 6:00 P.M. on December 6 and runs till December 27 at the Savickas Picture Gallery, Tumo-Vaižganto street no. 5, Vilnius. A new exhibit of paintings by Savic;as also opens on December 30 at the Lithuanian Artists Union gallery at Vokiečių street no. 2.

2025-12-012025-12-01

Fifty Voice across the Shtetl Multiverse

The Litvak Culture and Identity Museum of the Vilna Gaon Jewish History Museum will show a short film by Shoshana Simons called “Fifty Voice across the Shtetl Multiverse on Saturday at 12:30 P,M. This will be followed by a discussion with the audience and a violin performance by Morgan Rosario Maruthiah, followed by bagel snacks. Registration required by clicking here,

Time: 12:30 P.M., Saturday, November 29
Place: Litvak Culture and Identity Museum, Pylimo street no. 4A, Vilnius

2025-11-262025-11-26

News from the Šiauliai District Jewish Community

Jewish history is an important part of the identity of Jews from Shavl and Žagarė. Last Sunday members of the Šiauliai District Jewish Community took a tour called “Jewish Houses, Trades and History.” sampled bagels and were treated to a lecture by ethno-musicologist Eirimas Velička about Jewish music.

The Šiauliai District Jewish Community also opened an exhibit Sunday on the kinder aktion in the Shavl ghetto in 1943. The exhibit is on display at the Culture Center in Šiauliai. Community members finished the day attending the play “The Thinking Heart of the Barracks” which recalled the injunction to remember.

2025-11-25

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