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The Litvaks of Slobodka

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The Litvaks of Slobodka IT’S THE LITVAKS KAUNASTIC OF SLOBODKA THE PEOPLE Danielius Pomerancas 17 ABRAHAM MAPU 21 DANIELEphraim POMERANZ Oshry (1808-1867) (1904–1981) AND MOISHE Abraham Mapu, born in Slobodka, Kaunas, is HOFMEKLER (1898–1965) considered the first Hebrew novelist. It’s probably true that he wrote his novels about life in ancient The two musicians were the leaders of the hottest Israel in a gazebo on the Aleksotas hill, making the orchestras of the interwar Kaunas. Both of them district a popular yet romantic getaway destina- were imprisoned in Kaunas ghetto, where, together tion for later generations of Jews in Kaunas. The with a few dozen of likeminded artists, they es- books of Mapu library on Ožeškienės g., established tablished an orchestra. The daughter of Pomeranz in 1908, were lost during the Holocaust. The Mapu was saved from the Ghetto by the family of Kip- street in the Old Town received its name in 1919 – it ras Petrauskas, the famous interwar opera singer Medžiai was changed during the Soviet occupation, but the and only reunited with her family decades later. correct version was implemented again in 1989. Both Pomeranz and Hofmekler were transferred to What’s today a youth literature and music library Dachau and both continued their musician careers on A. Mapu g. 18 was built as a Jewish community after the war. Pomeranz finally emigrated to Cana- canteen at the beginning of the 20th century and da, and Hofmekler settled in Munich, Germany. later used as headquarters for theEPHRAIM Jewish Inde- OSHRY pendence Fighters Union and the editorial office of “Apžvalga” newspaper. In the courtyard(1914–2003) of A. Mapu 22 ELCHANAN ELKES g. 20, a statue of the writer designed by Martynas Gaubas was erected in 2018. (1879–1944) Born into a rabbi family in Kalvarija, Elchanan Elkes worked as a personal doctor of the German 18 AVRAHAM TORY ambassador in Kaunas for many years. He also healed people in the Bikur Cholim hospital. In (1909-2002) 1941, he was elected as the Head of the Judenrat Born as Avraham Golubas in Lazdijai, Tory emigrat- in the Kaunas Ghetto and, accepting it with great ed to the US only to come back in 1933 and receive a reluctance, did all he could to save as many lives as law degree in the Kaunas university and later work possible. In 1944, Elkes died in Landsberg, a sub- there. In the Kaunas Ghetto, he, serving as secretary camp of Dachau, after a hunger strike as he refused THE LITVAK of the Jewish Council of Elders, wrote a meticulous to participate in the “selections”. diary detailing three years of Nazi rule. The journal was later used as evidence in war crimes trials “Let the truth be always before you and under your “I am hiding in this crate what I have written, feet. The truth will guide you and show you the LANDSCAPE noted and collected, with thrill and anxiety, so that it path of life”, he wrote in one of his last letters to may serve as material evidence accusing testimony his son Joel and daughter Sarah. His wife Miriam when the Day of Judgment comes”, he wrote in the survived Stutthof and moved to Israel after the war. notebooks before burying them. Tory escaped the His son who had left Lithuania in 1930 to study in This map is a more detailed part of The Litvak Landscape, a route ghetto with his future wife, Pnina Sheinzon, and London was one of the most important researchers managed to recover the hidden notebooks after the in the field of schizophrenia in the 20th century. war. His book “Surviving the Holocaust: The Kovno covering Kaunas as a whole. The long-running project aims to Ghetto Diary” was first published in Hebrew in 1998. connect pictures and names, buildings and their residents, Litvaks 23 RAV ZALMAN OSOVSKY and Lithuanians, the past and the present – and it’s also inviting to 19 ESTHER LURIE The white-tiled house next to the bus stop on Jurbarko g. is where the Rabbi of Slobodka, Zalman collaborate in the future. It’s a map mixing different chapters and (1913-1998) Osovsky, very popular among the youth, lived. On layers of the history of Kaunas that’s open for improvements and Born in Liepaja, Latvia, the artist Esther Lurie emi- the night of June 26th, 1941, during the Kaunas grated to Palestine in 1934 but continued to return pogrom, a gang led by Jonas Klimaitis came into Vilijampolės žydų kapinės further investigations. to the Baltic States to exhibit her works. The 2nd the house and cut off Osovski’s head. They then put Kalnų g. / Lopšelio g. Slabados Ješiva World War broke out while she was in Lithuania. it into the window for everyone to see. Panerių g. 51 VILIJAMPOLĖS DIDŽIOJI SINAGOGA Demokratų aikštė GETO TARYBOS PASTATASThe (neišlikęs) artist survived the Kaunas Ghetto and Stutthof concentration camp, and so did her works created Neries krantinė, ties „Dailės“ verslo centru Vytenio g. / Demokratų g. Varnių g. 49 during the time in the Ghetto. The drawings were saved by Avraham Tory. One of the many drawings she did was the one of the Kaunas Ghetto Gate. The artist returned to Israel in July 1945. 20 EPHRAIM OSHRY TOURISM INFORMATION (1914–2003) “KAUNAS IN“ Oshry was one of the few European rabbis to survive the Holocaust. During his time in the Kaunas Ghetto and concentration camp, he wrote a response Rotušės a. 15, Kaunas regarding the Holocaust which he buried and later +370 616 50991 retrieved. His book, “The Annihilation of Lithu- anian Jewry”, relates in detail how the Jews were [email protected] murdered by Nazis and their Lithuanian collabora- visit.kaunas.lt tors and also reflects the spiritual life in the ghetto. After the war, he opened a yeshiva for orphans in #kaunastic #visitkaunas #kaunas2022 Rome and two yeshivas in New York. GETO TILTAS (neišlikęs) Sąjungos aikštė SLABADOS JEŠIVOS KANCELIARIJA Radvilų dvaro g. (per Panerių gatvę) GETO VARTAI VAIKŲ NAMAI Kernavės g. / Panerių g. Linkuvos g. / A. Kriščiukaičio g. GETO KAPINĖS (dabar vaikų reabilitacijos ligoninė „Lopšelis“) Neries krantinė/Varnių g. THE KAUNASLopšelio g. 10 GHETTO FROM SLOBODKA Around 37 thousand Jews lived in Kaunas before the second world TO VILIJAMPOLĖ war. Only about 3000 of them survived. The Kaunas Ghetto was officially established on August 15th, WELCOME TO VILIJAMPOLĖ, A HISTORICAL 1941, a couple of months after the Kaunas pogrom during which DISTRICT IN KAUNAS. IT OFFICIALLY BECAME PART approximately 800 people were killed. 10 thousand people from OF THE CITY IN 1919. FOR MANY YEARS, IT WAS the ghetto were murdered in the Ninth Fort on October 29th of CALLEDMAŽOJO “SLOBODKA”. GETO PIRMOJI ŽYDŲ THIS NAME DERIVES FROM TALMUD TORA APŽVALGOS AIKŠTELĖthe same year. The ghetto was turned intoIX aFORTAS concentration camp Neries krantinė, už tilto Žemaičių pl. 73 INFEKCINĖ LIGONINĖ Tvėrių g. 23 A. Krikščiukaičio g. 12 B. VOLFO ALAUS BRAVORAS in Autumn 1943. It was burned in July 1944. Around 5000 people A SLAVIC A.WORD Goštauto g. 36 “SLABADA” WHICH MEANT A Radvilėnų dv. 2A Pastatytas XIX a. pab. – XX a. pradžioje. were transferred to concentration camps, and only a few hundred VILLAGE FREE FROM SERFDOM. THE FIRST OFFICIAL managed to escape. MENTIONING OF THE NEIGHBOURHOOD WAS FOUND IN DOCUMENTS DATING 1663 – “SLOBODA It was one of the longest-running ghettos in Lithuania. It was WILIAMPOLSKA”. THIS IS AROUND THE SAME TIME probably one of the most photographed one in Europe. The archives of the Kaunas ghetto Jewish police are kept in the Central State WHEN THE FIRST JEWS MOVED HERE, AS IT WAS Archive of Lithuania. FORBIDDEN FOR THEM TO SETTLE IN THE CITY. THE NEIGHBOURHOOD EXPERIENCED FAST GROWTH IN THE 19TH CENTURY. PUBLISHED: 2018 Esther Lurie Emma Goldman Ephraim Oshry Avraham Tory Abraomas Mapu Rabinas Zalmanas Osovskis Elchanas Elkesas Danielius Pomerancas Moišė Hofmekleris . Josvainių g . Varnių g Tytuvėnų g . NERIS 55 54 15 46 21 8 9 11 Varnių g 7 . 16 6 . 12 5 13 22 6 Bartuvos g Jonavos g. 8 . 20 THE Bijūnų g K. Griniaus g 18 GETO KAPINĖS Šilalės g Neries krantinė/Varnių g. Žalioji g. Šilalės g . A. Stulginskio g Aušros g. Panerių g. Naujakurių g 12 g Linkuvos Linkuvos Žemaičių g. NERIS A. Stulginskio Goštautųg g . 2 PLACES . 42 40 Jonavos g. Savanorių pr. Sąjungos a. V. Putvinskio g. Radvilų Dvaro 35 A. Mackevičiaus g. 10 1 THE GHETTO GATE . Linkuvos g. / A. Kriščiukaičio g. Kelmės g . Kalnų g 1 rantinės g 37 Neries k Radastų g. On 15 August 1941 the 2 sq. km territory of Kaunas . Benediktinių g. E. Ožeškienės g. Kauko al. ghetto was fenced with barbed wire and isolated. Šv. Gertrūdos g. 3 Dangės g 15 g 13 The most important department of the ghetto, the 41 A. Jakšto g. os g . K. Donelaičio g. v Labour Department, was established at the gate. 45 26 A. Mickevičiaus g. Tilžės g Kalnų g. 16 A. Mackevičiaus g. 4 Its employees received orders from the Nazi powers 52 Vilijampolės žydų kapinės Erdvilo g. Jona . Kalnų g. / Lopšelio g. Sąjungos a. K. Donelaičio g. Kėdainių g Lampėdžių g. M. Mažvydo and divided the tasks between the prisoners of the Gedimino g. Papilio g. Radvilų Dvaro Panerių g. 48 ghetto. Šv. Gertrūdos g. Kumelių g. 36 g 50 In 2018, Vytenis Jakas, a Kaunas-based artist and Tilžės g 38 56 . 57 . Maironio g. 32 Lopšelio g 22 M. Valančiaus g. Erdvilo g. founder of the celebrated Backyard Gallery, present- Parodos g. Lampėdžių g. g Laisvės al. ed an idea for the run-down building that once was .
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