On 7 August, an event was held in Biržai to commemorate the local Jews who were murdered 85 years ago.
On 7 August, a commemoration of the Holocaust victims took place in Biržai, honoring the memory of the local Jewish community – 2,400 Jews from Biržai – who were murdered 85 years ago. The event began on Dagilio st, at the plaque marking the site of the former Hasidic synagogue. Vidmantas Jukonis, chairman of the Biržai Jewish History and Culture Society and a former history teacher, recounted the history of the Jews of Biržai. Pupils from the Center for Tolerance Education at Biržai “Saulės” Gymnasium read out the names of courageous Biržai residents who, undaunted by either the Nazis or those in Biržai who collaborated with them, rescued their Jewish neighbors.
From Dagilio st., the participants in the Road of Memory march set off for the site commemorating the Holocaust victims – Pakamponys. A commemorative event took place in Pakamponys. Edita Lansbergienė, director of the Biržai Regional Museum, opened the event by recalling that “as we walked along the Road of Memory, we passed a memorial engraved with the names of Jews that we managed to trace, though these are only a fraction of the total. But next to the engraved names are small stars – these are dedicated to those people who were shot here and whose names, sadly, are not listed. The Israeli Ambassador, Shelly Hugler Livne, addressed the gathering, emphasizing the importance of education about the events of the Holocaust. Speaking at the event, Faina Kukliansky, Chair of the Lithuanian Jewish Community, recalled the Japanese diplomat in Kaunas, Chiune Sugihara, who in 1940 issued illegal visas to Polish Jews who had fled the Nazi-occupied country. The Chair of the Jewish Community said she understood why it was Polish Jews, rather than Lithuanian Jews, who had applied for visas, “because the Jews living in Lithuania in 1940 did not feel any threat; they lived in the country where they were born, raised families, studied, worked in various jobs and did not even think that they needed to flee anywhere, or that anyone might decide to kill them all.” Leta Melamedaitė-Vainorienė spoke movingly about her father, Melamed Šeftelis, who managed to escape. Also speaking at the event were Astra Korsakienė, Deputy Mayor of Biržai District Municipality; Dr Jonathan Dorfan, a guest from abroad; and Gennady Kofman, Chairman of the Panevėžys Jewish Community. The commemoration featured a moving performance by Vilma, a curator at the Vabalninkas Museum, who sang the Yiddish lullaby ‘Der Zeide mit der Babe’, a poignant reminder of the Yiddish language – once heard on the streets of Biržai – which was destroyed 85 years ago.
At the commemoration of the Holocaust victims, representatives of three religious communities – Catholic, Evangelical Reformed and Jewish – were invited to pray for those who were murdered. Viljamas Žitkauskas, the prayer leader of the Lithuanian Jewish community, recited the prayer ‘El Male Rachamim’ (in memory of the victims of the Jewish community of Biržai and the surrounding area), noting that members of his own family had also been murdered in Pakamponis. As flowers and small stones were laid at the memorial, Boris Kirzner played poignant Jewish music on the violin.
Edita Lansbergienė, the director of the Biržai Regional Museum ‘Sėla’ and host of the event, thanked all those who took part in the Road of Memory and commemoration ceremony. Those who attended the commemoration of the Holocaust victims included the Israeli Ambassador to Lithuania; members of the Lithuanian and Panevėžys Jewish communities; the education programme coordinator of the International Commission Secretariat; representatives of the Biržai District Municipality; members of the Biržai Jewish History and Culture Society; the coordinator of the Tolerance Education Center at Biržai ‘Saulės’ Gymnasium, accompanied by students; staff from the Biržai Regional Museum ‘Sėla’; and residents of Biržai.
