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With horror, I read recently about the Lithuanian state’s attempt to hide its history of Nazi collaboration — by accusing Jewish partisans who fought against the Germans (and their Lithuanian collaborators) of ill-defined, ill-documented “war crimes.” It’s not the first time such an effort has been made, but it’s still maddening to read the charges brought against the now-elderly heroes of Lithuanian Jewry .

As the grandson of a Holocaust survivor and nephew of a victim, I was offended: here were folks fighting in self-defense against murderous invaders, and you try them! But as someone who had been to Lithuania, studied Lithuanian history, and continues to navigate Lithuania’s labyrinthine bureaucracy, I also knew there was a reason for this sickening development. Lithuania’s government and its nationalists have something to prove.

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At a meeting Thursday, July 30 of the Kaišiadorys City Council with mayor Vytenis Tomkus and Lithuanian Jewish Community chairperson Faina Kukliansky as well as the LJC’s heritage protection expert Martynas Užpelkis attending, the council considered what to do about the wooden synagogue falling into ruin in Žiežmariai. The LJC presented a plan for renovating the synagogue and the meeting was marked by a friendly atmosphere of cooperation. The council resolved to take on the synagogue with an exploitation agreement and to apply to EU structural funds for its renovation. After renovation and in addition to serving as commemoration of the lives of the Jews of Kaišiadorys and surrounding areas, the synagogue is to be used for the cultural needs of the people of the district. The council invited city and regional residents to take part in a clean-up of the Žiežmariai Jewish Cemetery on August 21.

LJC chair Faina Kukliansky thanked the Kaišiadorys City Council on behalf of the Lithuanian Jewish Community for their good will and understanding in adopting the important decision and called upon the Lithuanian Jewish community to join in the clean-up of the cemetery once used by the local Jewish community which no longer exists.

There are examples in Lithuania of how restored synagogues have been made available for the cultural needs and public use by the local community in Kėdainiai, Pakruojas and Joniškis. Currently a plan is being drafted to restore the Kalvarija synagogue complex as well.

Kaišiadorys and Žiežmariai are located almost right next to each other along the main Kaunas-Vilnius highway.

On the 35th anniversary of his death Thursday, Tablet magazine highlighted something about Elvis Presley that even his die-hard fans probably don’t know: he’s Jewish!

According to Talmudic law, whereby one is considered a Jew by matrilineal descent, then Elvis Aron Presley is indeed a member of the tribe by virtue of his mother.

Tablet points out that when Elvis’ eligibility to be nominated to the Jewish American Hall of Fame was highlighted along with other Jewish celebrities, the organization cited historian and biographer Elaine Dundy’s book “Elvis and Gladys” as evidence of the rock legend’s Jewish heritage:

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Writing on the DELFI webpage, long-time Lithuanian editor, writer and journalist Rimvydas Valatka says he detects a sea-change in Lithuanian attitudes towards a painful past.

In an opinion piece/editorial roughly translated as “Whom Does Lithuania Honor, General Vėtra the Partisan Leader, or a Murderer of Jews?” Valatka opens:

“The removal of the idols [human figures in the socialist realist style from the Soviet era] from the Green Bridge [in Vilnius], and consequently the liberation of our history, has been met by some people with pain. There are signs, however, showing that these resolute steps could become the very foundation in a critical assessment of our history of memory. One such [step] is a letter by a group of intellectuals calling upon the mayor of Vilnius to immediately take steps to remove a plaque from the façade of the [Lithuanian] Academy of Sciences [building in Vilnius] commemorating and honoring partisan commander General Vėtra, aka captain Jonas Noreika.”

Valatka goes on to relate what has become an almost mainstream genre of reporting in Lithuania at the present time: the painful truth and horrible crimes lurking in the backgrounds of people who have—almost all posthumously—received the highest state awards and honors since Lithuania regained independence in the 1990-1991 period, by governments and presidents far to the left as well as on the more extreme right side of center.

Following the selection of the two best projects for renovating the Ponar (Paneriai) Memorial Complex, architects have been perfecting and putting the final flourishes on their plans for how the Holocaust site will look, and a special commission is supposed to make a decision by the end of the year.

Jūratė Razumienė, deputy director of the Vilna Gaon Jewish State Museum which is in charge of the memorial complex, told BNS that the project submitted by the Šnabždesių miškas [Forest of Whispers] group, chosen over sixteen other projects earlier, will compete with the Matyti tyloje [To See in Silence] group’s project.

“It was an idea project, not first or second, formally it only took third place. There was another project which was assessed the best by Lithuanian and foreign specialists. But not all questions were answered in any single project. The work will continue, they will both compete under additional conditions,” she said.

Howard Margol is considered one of the foremost authorities on Lithuanian genealogical research.

Howard Margol began tracing his family history in 1990. After retirement, he plunged into genealogy, traveling to Lithuania in 1993. He joined the newly formed Jewish Genealogical Society of Georgia, and his research took on a much more serious tone. Howard attended his first International Conference on Jewish Genealogy in Washington, DC in 1995 and has attended every annual conference since then.

Howard served a two-year term as President of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Georgia. Under his leadership, the membership in JGSGA grew from 65 members to a total of 130 members. Howard has continued to serve on the board of JGSGA.

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