Category: Baltics

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75th Anniversary of the Liquidation of the Vilna Ghetto

Day of Victims of the Genocide of Lithuanian Jews in PonarY

23 September 2018 

Israel Ambassador – Amir Maimon        Photo credit: Ana Maizel

Lietuvos žydų genocido aukų dienos minėjimas Paneriuose – Vilniaus “Saulėtekio” vidurinė mokykla

Zog Nit Keynmol – WE ARE HERE!

Zog Ni Keynmol Ponar

Video by Carol Hoffman

Source: youtu.be/J4qGGMTOoxA

Vilnius “Saulėtekis” School Youth Choir and 3rd grade pupils participated.

Source: www.sauletekio.lt/naujienos/lietuvos-zydu-genocido-auku-dienos-minejimas-paneriuose/

Pope honours victims of Holocaust, Soviet terror in Lithuania

Pope honours victims of Holocaust, Soviet terror in Lithuania

Pope Francis on Sunday paid homage to Holocaust victims who perished in the Vilnius ghetto, 75 years to the day after the Nazis liquidated it, and remembered those who risked and lost their lives to challenge the Soviet regime in Lithuania.

Source: au.news.yahoo.com/pope-francis-honours-holocaust-victims-lithuania-115758110–spt.html

Who Are Lithuania’s Heroes Today? Å kirpa, Noreika or the Righteous Gentiles?

Who Are Lithuania’s Heroes Today? Å kirpa, Noreika or the Righteous Gentiles?

Former ghetto prisoners, members of the Lithuanian Jewish Community, members of international Jewish organizations, ambassadors from Israel and other countries

Source: www.lzb.lt/en/2018/09/24/who-are-lithuanias-heroes-today-skirpa-noreika-or-the-righteous-gentiles/

WE ARE HERE! For Upstanders Project

WE ARE HERE! For Upstanders

Source: wah.foundation

Vilna Ghetto

Vilna Ghetto – Wikipedia

The Vilna Ghetto[a] was a World War II Jewish ghetto established and operated by Nazi Germany in the city of Vilnius in the territory of Nazi-administered Reichskommissariat Ostland.[1] During the some two years of its existence, starvation, disease, street executions, maltreatment, and deportations to concentration camps and extermination camps reduced the Ghetto’s population from an estimated 40,000 to zero. Only several hundred people managed to survive, mostly by hiding in the forests surrounding the city, joining Soviet partisans,[2][3] or sheltering with sympathetic locals.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vilna_Ghetto

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Vilnius 18

Google Escort into Vilnius!

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The Choral Synagogue

With the cantor  – Shmuel

Choral Synagogue, Vilnius – Wikipedia

Choral Synagogue, Vilnius – Wikipedia

The Choral Synagogue of Vilnius (Lithuanian: Vilniaus choralinė sinagoga) is the only synagogue in Vilnius that is still in use. The other synagogues were destroyed partly during World War II, when Lithuania was occupied by Nazi Germany, and partly by the Soviet authorities after the war.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choral_Synagogue,_Vilnius

Žilvinas Beliauskas

Member Spotlight with Žilvinas Beliauskas

Source: jewishlibraries.org/blog/id/391

Vilniaus žydų viešoji biblioteka

Vilniaus žydų viešoji biblioteka

Vilniaus žydų viešoji biblioteka – vienintelė Žydų kultūros sklaidoje besispecializuojanti biblioteka visoje Lietuvoje.Our library is the only one in Lithuania which specifies in spreading Jewish culture in various forms

Source: vilnius-jewish-public-library.com/en/

With Carol Hoffman & Sandra Petrukonyte 

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Homepage – The Lost Shtetl

Homepage – The Lost Shtetl

Dingęs štetlas | The Lost shtetl    

Source: lostshtetl.com

Milda Jakulyte & Sandra Petrukonyte 

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The Great Synagogue & Shulhof excavations

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Vilnius Yiddish Institute – The first Yiddish center of higher learning to be established in post-Holocaust Eastern Europe.

Vilnius Yiddish Institute – The first Yiddish center of higher learning to be established in post-Holocaust Eastern Europe.

APPLICATION FOR YIDDISH SUMMER PROGRAM

Source: judaicvilnius.com

Vilnius University

Leyzer Ran’s book – Jerusalem of Lithuania 

The Jerusalem of Lithuania: The Story of the Jewish Community of Vilna

The Jerusalem of Lithuania: The Story of the Jewish Community of Vilna

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On the eve of the Shoah the Jewish community of Vilna was the spiritual centre of Eastern European Jewry, the centre of enlightenment and Jewish political life, of Jewish creativity and the experience of daily Jewish life, a community bursting with cultural and religious life, movements and parties, educational institutions, libraries and theatres; a community of rabbis and gifted Talmudic scholars, intellectuals, poets, authors, artists, craftspeople and educators. In the Jewish world it was known as “The Jerusalem of Lithuania” – a spiritual centre of the first order.

Source: www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/exhibitions/vilna/overview.asp

With Ruta Puisyte

Video

Stolpersteine in Vilnius

The National Library & Lara Lempert

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Focus on Judaic Documentary Heritage at the National Library on the Last Day of the Israeli Prime Minister’s Visit to Lithuania – Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania

Focus on Judaic Documentary Heritage at the National Library on the Last Day of the Israeli Prime Minister’s Visit to Lithuania – Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania

Nacionalinė kultūros įstaiga, kaupianti, organizuojanti ir sauganti rašytinį Lietuvos kultūros paveldą, formuojanti Lietuvos mokslui, švietimui, kultūrai ir ūkiui aktualių Lietuvos ir užsienio dokumentų fondą bei teikianti bibliotekinio informacinio aprūpinimo paslaugas visuomenei.

Source: www.lnb.lt/en/news/3400-focus-on-judaic-documentary-heritage-at-the-national-library-on-the-last-day-of-the-israeli-prime-minister-s-visit-to-lithuania

Lukiškės_Square

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lukiškės_Square

With Bella Swartzberg, Marlene & Robbie Baskin at the Artagonist Hotel

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With teacher, Simonas Jurktaitis 

Friday 3 August 18

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Trakai

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At the Choral Synagogue before the service

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Outside the Conti Hotel, Vilnius

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Kuliai 2018

Kuliai – images from Eugenijus Bunkas’ collection

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Holocaust sites near the town

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The town

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Kuliai – Wikipedia

Kuliai – Wikipedia

Kuliai (Polish: Kule) is a town in Telšiai County, Lithuania. According to the 2011 census, the town has a population of 625 people.[1]

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuliai

Virtual Tour of Kuliai, Lithuania

Virtualus Kulių turas / Virtual Tour of Kuliai, Lithuania

Source: www.youtube.com/watch?v=owgE6ZgoHY4

Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman – Wikipedia

Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman – Wikipedia

Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman (1886–1969), יוסף שלמה כהנמן‬, was an Orthodox rabbi and rosh yeshiva of the Ponevezh Yeshiva. He was a renowned Torah and Talmudic scholar, a distinguished member of the Council of Torah Sages of Agudath Israel.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yosef_Shlomo_Kahaneman

Nosson Meir Wachtfogel – Wikipedia

Nosson Meir Wachtfogel – Wikipedia

Nosson Meir Wachtfogel (Hebrew: נתן מאיר וכטפוגל‎) (18 February 1910 in Kuliai, Lithuania – 21 November 1998 in Lakewood, New Jersey, USA), known as the Lakewood Mashgiach, was an Orthodox rabbi and long-time mashgiach ruchani (spiritual supervisor) of Beth Medrash Govoha (the Lakewood Yeshiva) in Lakewood, New Jersey. He was one of the primary builders of that yeshiva into a world-class institution,[1] enacting the goals and direction set forth by its founding rosh yeshiva, Rabbi Aharon Kotler. He also helped establish “branches” of the Lakewood Yeshiva in dozens of cities, and pioneered the community kollel concept with the opening of combination Torah learning/outreach centers in the United States and other countries. A revered mentor and guide to thousands of students over a career that spanned more than 50 years, he was a strong advocate and prime example of musar study and working on one’s spiritual self-development.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nosson_Meir_Wachtfogel

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Warsaw-Vilnius-Klaipeda 18

Warsaw to Vilnius

I usually take the Lux bus. What a pleasure travelling this way, by plane. An hour fifteen minutes!

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Klaipeda Jewish Community Centre

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The Centre

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Klaipėda – Wikipedia

Klaipėda – Wikipedia

Klaipėda (Lithuanian pronunciation: [ˈkɫɐɪˑpʲeːdɐ],  listen (help·info); Samogitian name: Klaipieda, Polish name: Kłajpeda, German name: Memel), is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. It is the third largest city in Lithuania and the capital of Klaipėda County.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaipeda

Jewish Community of Klaipe—da

Jewish Community of Klaipėda

Contact Feliks Pozemskij, Klaipėda Jewish Community chairperson, tel. 8-650-21335 email felix.bonasta@yahoo.com

Source: www.lzb.lt/en/2012/02/27/jewish-community-of-klaipeda/

Jewish Klaipe—da | Sightseeing 

Jewish Klaipėda | Sightseeing | Klaipeda

Jews were first mentioned as living in the city in 1567, although much the same as with the remarkably similar city of Gdańsk, the Jews never made an enormous impact on Klaipėda as they did in the rest of the region. By the time the Germans re-occupied the city in March 1939 some 8,000 Jews had al

Source: www.inyourpocket.com/klaipeda/sightseeing/jewishklaipeda

Beit Hatfutsot – Memel

Source: dbs.bh.org.il/place/memel-klaipeda

Home

Memel, Lithuania

Source: kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/memel/Home.html

 

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People – Lithuania 2018

The people I photographed or met in Lithuania, from 29 July to 4 August 2018

Vilnius

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Trakai

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Klaipeda 

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Plateliai with Eugenijus Bunka

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Siauliai with Sania Kerbelis and Antonina Gainulina

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Panevezys – at the Jewish Community Centre with Gennady Kofman

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Josvainiai with Laima Ardaviciene and Harry Gorfine

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Ukmerge

With Vida Pulkauninkiene and Arturas Taicas

Samantonys -Farm Stay with Arunas

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Kaunas

With Barry Mann

 

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The Holocaust Survivors’ Anthem – ORT Tallinn

In the lead up to the UN Holocaust Remembrance Day on 27 January 2018 a series of recordings of The Partisan Song, Zog Nit Keynmol, sung and recited by ORT and other schools will remind us of the importance of remembering and commemorating The Holocaust.

Here is a new video of the students of ORT Tallinn, Estonia singing The Holocaust Survivors’ Anthem, in Yiddish, the language it was written in.

Zog nit keyn mol, az du geyst dem letstn veg,
Khotsh himlen blayene farshteln bloye teg.
Kumen vet nokh undzer oysgebenkte sho,
S’vet a poyk ton undzer trot: mir zaynen do!

Fun grinem palmenland biz vaysn land fun shney,
Mir kumen on mit undzer payn, mit undzer vey,
Un vu gefaln iz a shprits fun undzer blut,
Shprotsn vet dort undzer gvure, undzer mut!

S’vet di morgnzun bagildn undz dem haynt,
Un der nekhtn vet farshvindn mit dem faynt,
Nor oyb farzamen vet di zun in der kayor –
Vi a parol zol geyn dos lid fun dor tsu dor.

Dos lid geshribn iz mit blut, un nit mit blay,
S’iz nit keyn lidl fun a foygl oyf der fray,
Dos hot a folk tsvishn falndike vent
Dos lid gezungen mit naganes in di hent.

To zog nit keyn mol, az du geyst dem letstn veg,
Khotsh himlen blayene farshteln bloye teg.
Kumen vet nokh undzer oysgebenkte sho –
Es vet a poyk ton undzer trot: mir zaynen do!

As part of World ORT‘s attempts to introduce the song to new generations, students at ORT schools around the world are this year making videos of the poem and the song.

ORT Tallinn Jewish School, Tallinn

ORT Tallinn Jewish School, Tallinn

Source: prospectus.ort.org/countries/europe-and-former-soviet-union/estonia/

The Tallinn KehilaLink

Home

Source: kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/Tallinn/Home.html

#WeRemember: WJC reaching out to millions on social media in campaign to raise awareness of Holocaust

#WeRemember: WJC reaching out to millions on social media in campaign to raise awareness of Holocaust

Join the World Jewish Congress in an unprecedented campaign: Take a photo of yourself holding up a sheet of paper with the words “We Remember” and post it to social media with the hashtag #WeRemember.

Source: www.worldjewishcongress.org/en/news/weremember-wjc-reaching-out-to-millions-on-social-media-in-honor-of-international-holocaust-remembrance-day-1-1-2017

 

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The Partisan Song Project News

Zog Nit Keynmol

ORT CIM Mexico

New videos have arrived:

ORT Compilation

Mexico CIM ORT

King David High School Victory Park, Johannesburg

Press reports:

Australian Jewish News 27 April 2017

Lithuanian Jewish Community

ORT and Non-ORT Schools Join in Partisan Anthem Project

From the SASIG Newsletter

SA-SIG – Southern Africa Jewish Genealogy: SA-SIG Newsletter

The SA-SIG Newsletter

Source: www.jewishgen.org/safrica/newsletter/index.htm

 Including:

Update on Southern African KehilaLinks sites

A reminder that there are a number of South African KehilaLinks pages which can be found on the JewishGen’s KehilaLinks project web site. (The KehilaLinks project provides a set of web pages which commemorate the places throughout the world where Jews have lived.)

The full list of South African KehilaLinks pages can be found at:

http://kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/Asia.html

The list now includes the following towns: Benoni, Bloemfontein De Aar, Cape Town, Germiston, Graaff Reinet, Grahamstown, Kwekwe (Que Que) in Zimbabwe, Johannesburg, Kimberley, Muizenberg, Oudtshoorn Pietersburg, Port Elizabeth, Pretoria, Springs, Stellenbosch, Uniondale, Upington, and Witbank.

Eli Rabinowitz, who has created and maintains most of these KehilaLinks sites, is currently in the process of setting up the following new pages: Paarl, South Africa; Maputo, Mozambique; and Mauritius, Africa.

Eli invites you to send him your stories, memories, photos, family biographies, and articles on Jewish life in any of these places, or for any of the existing pages. As examples of the kind of material he is looking for, Eli suggests you refer to the following links:

http://kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/kimberley

http://kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/graaff_reinet/We rtheim.html

http://kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/nasielsk/Kurtz.ht ml

You can find more information on Eli’s complete set of KehilaLink pages at:

KehilaLinks


You can contact Eli at eli@elirab.com

For reference, the KehilaLinks project home page can be found at:

http://kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/

and

Lions Shul is a special place

The Lions shul is Johannesburg’s longest standing synagogue, still a vibrant, active, and dynamic congregation. The 108 year old synagogue is in pristine condition and the chavershaft (solidarity/equality) is warm and family-oriented. The services are inspirational and the ambiance magnificent.

A video about the synagogue can be found at:

A description of the synagogue on the Johannnesburg KehilaLinks page can be found at:

http://kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/johannesburg/Li ons_Shul.html

and

FIRST COUSINS REUNITED

The story of how Eli Rabinowitz finally found his first cousin, Zara Smushkovich, after being separated for over 35 years

We love hearing stories of families reunited through Geni. Recently, Eli Rabinowitz finally found his first cousin Zara Smushkovich after being separated for over 35 years! The discovery was made thanks to the help of a friendly person on Facebook who found the family tree on Geni.

Read the SA SIG newsletter link for more.

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Teaching the Partisan Song to a New Generation

Recite and understand the meaning of the poem.

Zoe Nit Keynmol was written as a poem in Yiddish by 20 year old Hirsh Glik in the Vilna ghetto in 1943.

The words are powerful and inspirational.

It is the anthem of the Survivors.  Our goal is to teach it to the next generation of school students so that the legacy can continue!

I have found translations in 14 other languages with some variations within these languages – see Lyrics below.

You can recite it as a poem as it was originally written!

Here is Freidi Mrocki, a teacher at Shalom Aleichem College in Melbourne, reciting Aaron Kremer’s English translation.

Zog Nit Keynmol – The Poem

Here is an idea for your school students or youth group: Recite the poem, Zog Nit Keynmol, written by Hirsh Glik 20, in the Vilna ghetto in 1943. Do it in your own language! And then SHARE it with …

Source: elirab.me/zog-nit-keynmol-the-poem/

Here is a combination of Yiddish, Hebrew and English.

Here it is being sung by the Herzlia School Vocal Ensemble in Cape Town during an online class with five schools in the Former Soviet Union in Kiev, Chisinau, Vilnius, Kedainiai and Kalvarija.

The ORT Videos

ORT Videos

King David High School Victory Park, Johannesburg

For more languages and versions, click on the link:

Lyrics

 Lyrics in Different Languages English Aaron Cremer’s version Lithuanian Žydų Partizanų Daina arba Partizanų Himnas Mes Esame Čia Niekad nesakykite kad jūs išeinate į paskutinį kelią… Tik nie…

Source: elirab.me/lyrics/

Schools & Students Sing & Recite – We Share

We invite you, your school choir or group to sing or recite Zog Nit Keynmol, the Partisan Song. Please record it then share on YouTube, Facebook or Vimeo or send to me by Dropbox and I’ll pos…

Source: elirab.me/schools/

For more info, visit:

Zog Nit Keynmol

Menu Zog Nit Keynmol  –  Main Page – scroll down The Legacy of the Partisan Song Hirsh Glik by Phillip Maisel Schools & students  sing or recite the anthem, record it and post it on…

Source: elirab.me/zog-nit-keynmol/

The Cape Jewish Chronicle

Finally, here is a full page article in the  April edition of the Cape Jewish Chronicle, Cape Town, written by Tali Feinberg.

Source: cjc.org.za

Also on Facebook:

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Updated Zog Nit Keynmol

Hi All

I have added new items to my Jewish Partisan Song portal.

Click on the link –  Zog Nit Keynmol below

Zog Nit Keynmol

I have additional resources thanks to the numerous people who wrote to me after I posted messages on JewishGen. Thanks so much.

Have a look at Other Resources as well as Our Vision for this project.

Please share this site with your contacts. You are welcome to subscribe to elirab.me.

Regards

Eli

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Workshop at the Holocaust & Genocide Centre

On 15 February I gave a couple of workshops at the Johannesburg Holocaust and Genocide Centre.

One session was for survivors and the other for staff and members.

(L-R). Eli Rabinowitz & Don Krausz

This was the first time I had presented specifically to a group of survivors, although I had filmed several survivors’ testimonies in the past.

I showed photos from my trips to the Baltics & Eastern Europe as well as some videos from my Zog Nit Keynmol project for King David & Herzlia Schools.

The most noticeable outcome was the positive reaction to my initiative to get our youth learning and singing Zog Nit Keynmol, the Partisan Song.

(L-R). Eli, Veronica Phillips, Barbara Berman

For more details on Zog Nit Keynmol, please visit:

http://elirab.me

The two key videos to watch are:

the Phillip Maisel Interview

Herzlia’s Vocal Ensemble Sings:

Below is a video of Freidi Mrocki reciting the poem in English. Freidi is the teacher at Sholem Aleichem College in Melbourne, who recorded the interview with Phillip Maisel in 2015.

IMG_5500.MOV

(L-R). Shirley Sapire, Betty Slowatek, Eli, Margaret Hoffman

Slideshow:

IMG_5458 IMG_5450 IMG_5462 IMG_5463 IMG_5467 IMG_5468 IMG_5480 IMG_5481 IMG_5447 Holocaust Centre
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