Wooden Synagogue in Alanta Renovated
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LJC, International Comminission and Olga Lengyel Institute Holding Holocaust Seminars for Teachers
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LJC Chairwoman Faina Kukliansky Speaks at Commemoration of Grosse
Aktion in Kaunas
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Šiauliai Opens Righteous Gentile Square at the Intersection of Vilniaus and Ežero Streets at Former Ghetto Gates
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"Symphony from Jerusalem of the North” Mark Day of Lithuanian Jewish Victims of Genocide in Presidential Courtyard
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The renovated synagogue in Žiežmariai will become a new cultural center. The first synagogue in appeared sometime between 1690 and 1696. In the 19th century there three synagogues. Not surprising, since the majority of the population were Jewish. This synagogue which has survived and has now been renovated stands in the southern part of town between Vilniaus and Žalgirio streets, with the Strėva river flowing from southeastward from there.
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The Lithuanian Post Office has issued a stamp commemorating 300 years since the birth of the Vilna Gaon
The Lithuanian Post Office has issued a stamp commemorating 300 years since the birth of the Vilna Gaon
with a face value of 0.81 euros, enough to mail letters abroad.
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Lithuania Marks 300th Anniversary of Birth of Vilna Gaon, 2020 Named Year of the Gaon and Litvak History.
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Most important events at the Lithuanian Jewish Community in 2018
Most important events at the Lithuanian Jewish Community in 2018
Revival of Jewish Scouting in Lithuania: The first new Litvak scouting camping trip with children from Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Panevėžys and Molėtai took place August 24 to 26.
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Jewish newspapers and advertisements from Vilnius in the period between the two world wars. Jews and other minorities were given equal rights in the reconstituted Lithuanian state. Yiddish thrived with many newspapers and books published in the language.
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Looking Back

Twenty-five years ago US president George H. W. Bush fully supported Mikhail Gorbachev’s attempts to renegotiate a “union treaty” to keep the Baltics and other republics within the Soviet Union. His spokespeople characterized Lithuania’s declaration of independence on the PBS network’s MacNeil/Lehrer Report as “they have placed themselves out on a ledge blindfolded and expect us to rescue them. We will not.”

The American Jewish Committee took a more sober and long-term look at the future, and sent president Bush the following letter, dated August 27, 1991:

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Dear Mr. President,

As the USSR undergoes daily and dramatic upheaval, your resolute support of the full rights of minorities in the Soviet Republics and the democratic aspirations of all who lived in the Soviet empire must surely send a beacon of home to those now struggling to create a new political system unencumbered by communism.

We write to commend you for advancing the cause of liberty in the world behind a now-lifted Iron Curtain, and we respectfully urge you to consider a still further step to demonstrate America’s embrace of freedom in the Soviet Union.

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The Road to Death (75th Anniversary of the Murder of the Jews of Molėtai)

Attorney Kazys Rakauskas sent the following to the Lithuanian Jewish Community webpage.

On central Vilniaus street in Molėtai the flowers bloom and the brightly-painted kindergarten greets the eye of passers-by. The bridge next to the statue of St. Nepomuk is also festooned with garlands of flowers. Small fish flash in the sun in the pure lake water flowing into the river. Cars quietly pass and young people flex their muscles on bicycles. The people of Molėtai hurry to work on foot.

They are a different generation of people. Even their parents only heard vaguely of the terror, tears and suffering which once overtook this street. Seventy-five years ago hundreds of Jews of Molėtai realized where they were being taken at this bridge. They threw their things they had taken with them when they were removed from the synagogues under armed guard into the Siesartis river. This street leading from the three synagogues on Kauno street became the road to death for two thousand people. They had been held prisoner there [in the synagogues] for days without food or water.

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Headstone Fragments Returned to Jewish Cemetery

Paminkliniai akmenys pagarbiai sugrįžta į senąsias Žydų kapines Olandų gatvėje

Fragments of Jewish headstones, removed from a transformer substation and other locations in Vilnius where they were used as construction material by the Soviets, have been returned to a Jewish cemetery in the Lithuanian capital. The city municipality this week ordered all fragments, both with legible fragments of inscriptions and without, to be removed to a clearing at the former Jewish cemetery on Olandų street. The move begun today was supervised by architects and representatives of the municipality, the Cultural Heritage Department, the Lithuanian Jewish Community and the Verkiai and Pavilniai Regional Park administration.

Photos by Martynas Užpelkis, heritage protection expert, Lithuanian Jewish Community

“It’s clear that it was time long ago to make sure Jewish gravestones be returned with dignity to the old Jewish cemetery and that such examples of the barbarism of the Soviet regime no longer remain in the city. Today I am glad that these thoughts have turned into concrete deeds: the city has renovated a vast territory of the old cemetery, and slowly alleys and paths have emerged there, and now the commemorative stones are being returned with dignity to the renovated territory. There has been exemplary and very constructive cooperation with the Jewish community and different institutions, and even though we haven’t had great resources, we’ve managed to find solutions which allow us to show due respect to the memory of the dead and testify to our values and culture,” Vilnius mayor Remigijus Šimašius said.

Šimašius Akmenys

 

Full story in Lithuanian here.

Showing of Art from Plein Air Outdoor Painting and Ceramics Workshop

A showing of artworks by students in Raimondas Savickas’s latest “in plein air” outdoor art workshop will open to the public at a ceremony at 5:30 P.M. on August 25, 2016, at the Lithuanian Jewish Community in Vilnius. Artworks are to include painting and ceramics. The ceremony and exhibit is open to the public and will be held on the third floor of the Community.

March to Commemorate Murdered Jews of Molėtai, Lithuania on August 29

A march to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the mass murder of the Jews of Molėtai is scheduled for August 29 in Molėtai, Lithuania.

There will be a conference and exhibit at the Molėtai Art Gallery at 3:00 P.M.

A procession will then walk down Vilniaus street in Molėtai at 4:00 P.M.

Unveiling of a monument by Davidas Zundelovičius follows at 5:00 P.M. at the mass murder site and mass grave of the Jews of Molėtai. Teachers Ela Pavinskienė and Roza Bieliauskienė of the Sholem Aleichem Gymnasium in Vilnius have organized an exhibit about cleaning up the old Jewish cemetery in Molėtai with photographs by Yehuda Vagner and Maceva volunteer Marius Lukoševičius.

Holocaust Commemoration in Biržai August 28

A series of events in Biržai, Lithuania, to commemorate the Jewish community murdered there during the Holocaust are scheduled to begin at 11:00 A.M. on August 28. The events include an initial “March of the Living”-type procession culminating in a conference and discussion. For more information, contact Sania Kerbelis at 370 698 85131 or Simona Ražinskienė at 370 699 03023. There is a possibility those needing a ride from Vilnius might be able to get one provided by the Lithuanian Jewish Community; contact info@lzb.lt to find out.

Rabbi Ben Tzion Zilber Visits Latvia and Lithuania

Rugpjūčio 15-16 Latvijoje ir Lietuvoje lankėsi rabinas Bentsiyonas Zilberis

Rabbi Ben Tzion Zilber, son of legendary Rabbi Yitzchok Zilber, visited Latvia and Lithuania August 15 and 16.

Rabbi Kalev Krelin of the Vilnius Jewish Community escorted Rabbi Zilber to locations where the latter’s ancestors lived. His father Rabbi Yitzchok Zilber belonged to a long line of scholars and suffered under Stalin, both at labor camps and under the atheist policies of the Soviet Union. Despite extremely difficult circumstances, Rabbi Yitzchok Zilber not only managed to hold steadfastly to his faith in the Creator and to keep His laws, but also to deepen his Torah study and teach others. After making aliyah to Israel Rabbi Yitzchok Zilber had hundreds of followers in whom he inspired faith in the Creator and adherence to the Torah.

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Commemoration in Dusetos of 75th Anniversary of Krakynė Massacre

August 26, 2016, marks the 75th anniversary of the massacre which was perpetrated in the Krakynė Forest (Degučiai alermanship, Zarasai region) when 2,569 Jews from Zarasai region and surrounding areas were murdered.

The unveiling of a commemorative monument will take place where the Dusetos Synagogue once stood on Independence Square in Dusetos, Zarasai district, at 2:00 P.M. We will commemorate the Dusetos Jews who were murdered between 1941 and 1944, visit the mass murder site in Krakynė Forest and distribute a publication called “Desetų žydai” (Jews of Dusetos).

Zarasai regional administration
Dusetos aldermanship
A joint project by the Dusetos aldermanship and parish community

Keeping the Faith in Vilnius

VilnaFaina
photo © Delfi/K. Cachovskis

Ellen Cassedy, author of We Are Here: Memories of the Lithuanian Holocaust (ellencassedy.com), has written about the Lithuanian Jewish Community and the Bagel Shop initiative.

Amit Belaite adores the long ode to the city of Vilna that was penned by writer and poet Moyshe Kulbak 90 years ago. Lines from the poem about Vilna’s stones and streets were running through her head on a warm summer afternoon as she led a walking tour through the narrow, winding streets of the city now known as Vilnius, the capital of the small Baltic nation of Lithuania.

Belaite, 23, heads the Lithuanian Union of Jewish Students. When she posted the announcement for the group’s tour of Jewish Vilnius, she expected a couple of dozen people to be interested. To her amazement, 400 signed up, many of them non-Jews.

“People know the city is rich in Jewish history,” she said. “They feel a big need to learn about it.”

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Anniversary of Intellectuals Aktion, Mass Murder of Jews of Petrašiūnai

The Kaunas Jewish Community will mark the 75th anniversary of the murder of the Jews of Petrašiūnai and the Intellectuals Aktion on August 26, 2016. The ceremony will begin at 3:30 P.M. at the stele in memory of the Jews of Petrašiūnai. Then we will move to the Fourth Fort in Kaunas where the Intellectuals Aktion, the first mass murder of Jews imprisoned in the Kaunas ghetto, was perpetrated.

Happy 70th!

Sveikiname mūsų bendruomenės narę Michlią Lorman su 70-uoju jubiliejumi!

We sincerely congratulate long-standing and very active Vilnius Jewish Community member Michlia Lorman on her 70th birthday.

We wish you eternal beauty and happiness, health and continued energy! And may all your birthday wishes come true.

Mazl tov!

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Chess Tournament Dedicated to Memory of Kaunas Chess Club Director Abraomas Šulmanas

Kviečiam į šachmatų turnyrą, skirtą, Kauno šachmatų klubo direktoriaus Abraomo Šulmano atminimui

The Lithuanian Jewish Community and the Rositsan and Maccabi Elite Chess and Checkers Club invite you to a chess tournament dedicated to the memory of Kaunas Chess Club director Abraomas Šulmanas at the Lithuanian Jewish Community in Vilnius at 11:00 A.M. on August 21.

Tournament director Boris Rositsan, FIDE master

For further information and to register, contact:
info@metbor.lt
tel.: +3706 5543556

Condolences

Vladimir Kavleiskij, a member of the Vilnius Jewish Community and the Social Club, passed away August 12. He was born July 19, 1946. We extend our deepest condolences to his family members for their loss.

En Plein Air Outdoor Painting Workshop at Įlanka Farm in Šaukšteliškiai Village

Plenerassu R.Savick2

Another outdoor painting workshop, or “plein air,” took place from August 8 to 14 at the Įlanka farmstead in Šaukšteliškiai village in the Molėtai region of Lithuania, organized by the Lithuanian Jewish Community. Participants stayed in and painted a scenic natural location where the surrounding lake, skies and fresh air inspired creativity. The program included ceramics as well as painting and featured professional teachers and lecturers and a significant recreational component. Participants included two recognized Lithuanian folk artists.

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Lithuanian and Japanese Cities Join in Commemorating Righteous Gentile

Pasaulio tautų teisuolio atminimas sujungė Japonijos ir Lietuvos miestus ir žmones

Events to commemorate Chiune Sugihara, Japanese WWII-era consul in Kaunas and a Lithuanian festival were held in Sugihara’s hometown of Yaotsu, Japan, from July 31 to August 7.

Sugihara rescued thousands of Lithuanian Jews from the Holocaust and has been recognized as a Righteous Gentile and awarded the status of Righteous among the Nations by the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial authority in Israel.

The week of commemorations was opened by the signing of a memorandum of cooperation by Yaotsu mayor Masanori Kaneko and Kaunas municipality representative Inga Pukelytė.

Acting Lithuanian ambassador to Japan Violeta Gaižauskaitė noted the events came on the 25th anniversary of the restoration of diplomatic ties between Japan and Lithuania and characterized ties between the people of Japan and Lithuania as sincere, and relations btween the two nations friendly. She also said both countries were dedicated to preserving the memory of the noble Japanese diplomat for future generations.

Nazi Victim Enzys Jagomastas to Be Commemorated

Pagerbs nacistinio rėžimo auką E. Jagomastą

Jagomastas was an activist for the rights of the Lithuanian minority in East Prussia and a publisher. He and his wife, two sons and daughter were shot at Ponar outside Vilnius in August of 1941. On the 75th anniversary of his death the Center for the Study of the Genocide and Resistance of Residents of Lithuania is calling on the public to remember him and the murder of his family. An event is scheduled for 12 noon on August 23 at the marked grave of Jagomastas in Ponar.

More information in Lithuanian here.

Vladimir Lazerson: Army Medic, Peace Psychologist

Vladimiras Lazersonas: karo medikas ir taikos psichologas
Valdimir and Regina Lazerson

by Jūratė Vaižgauskaitė
manoteises.lt

“We used to drink tea using the ‘look’ method: a lump of sugar was tied to a string and we’d look at it while we sipped tea. The tea wasn’t any sweeter for that, but we all had a good time,” Vladimir Lazerson’s daughter Tamara wrote in her memoirs. Lazerson was a professor and early practitioner of clinical psychology. They drank that imagined sweet tea in the Kaunas ghetto where they were imprisoned in June of 1941.

First professor Lazerson was thrown out of university. Then his house was taken away, his books burned and he was sent to Dachau. There he died. He had dozens of articles published and was the founder in Lithuania of several branches of psychology, and practiced clinical psychology as a military medic.

Army Medic, Peace Psychologist

Born in Moscow, Lazerson began his scholastic career at German and Swiss universities. He defended a dissertation thesis in psychology in 1911 and then went on to study medicine in Germany and Russia. His path to Lithuania was a winding one. Working as a military medic and associate professor in Kiev, he left when pogroms began and chose newly independent Lithuania as a destination.

Full story in Lithuanian here.