Month: March 2020

An email from Abel and Glenda Levitt

K’far Sava, Israel

Dear Birzaim,

The below e-mail and attachments were received today from Ingrida Vilkiene of Vilnius. Ingrida, the lady who introduced us to Birzai, heads the Kommisja’s educational projects. The Kommisija is a Lithuanian government body entrusted with the teaching of the Holocaust and the expulsion of Lithuanians to Siberia.

We have known Ingrida for many years and respect her for the quality of her work and her commitment to Holocaust Education in Lithuania..

Look carefully at the attachments, and read Ingrida’s comments about her programmes. The art work done by young Lithuanians who learn about the Jewish past, including their lives in towns and villages before the period of mass murder, is  of an extraordinary level, and the students and their teachers deserve much credit.

Try to share this mail plus attachments with family and friends so that they too may learn to appreciate the work of Tolerance Education in Lithuania.

We would appreciate your thoughts and comments, and your passing this on to family and friends around the world

Regards

Abel & Glenda Levitt

Dear Glenda and Abel,

I hope that you are well. I know that you follow about the situation in Lithuania and also, I think that you sometimes check our website and you know – what we do.

Now about the situation in Lithuania. At this moment – everything is connected with coronavirus and it isn’t funny, because today in Governmental building people said that all workers must be prepared to work from house, all conferences, commemorational and cultural events must be postponed.

I postponed all our activities in March – 2 seminars and one huge events, which is the final event of our project: https://www.komisija.lt/en/renginiai/getting-to-know-the-jewish-cultural-heritage/

It is the project about Jewish history, culture and students sent to us drawings. 2 days ago I was in Kedainiai (we prepared the exhibition), but the final event, which was planned on 27^th of March, we postponed 2 days ago also. Now we have plan to organize it on 24^th of April, but we will see – how it be with this coronavirus. I added to this e-mail some drawings – just for your interest. Please, look especially it is for Glenda, because you are very close connected with art.

Also, we had plan to participate in the March of the Living in Poland. Almost everything was planned for that (I booked bus, hotels, I had teachers and students who were prepared for participation). Today I postponed it, because I got the information, that officially this event is postponed and the organizers have plan to make it on 22 of July (the date of liquidation of Warsaw Ghetto or 9 -10 November – the date of Kristallnight (in 1938). So, we will see, what happens in the future, but of course, our plan to visit with teachers and students Poland is still exists.

So, I added some drawings from this project to this e-mail.

Regards from Vilnius and take care.

Ingrida Vilkiene