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Lithuanian and Surrounding Towns Collection
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Kremenchuk Ukraine, "Members of the Hechalutz organisation"

Photograph of 12 young Jewish adults who are part of the Kremenchuk Hechalutz organisation. The Hechalutz Zionist organisation aimed to train and prepare youth and young adults Jews to survive and self-sustain in Israel, through practical training in agricultural work and ideological teaching of the Zionism. Due to the harsh political and economic situation in Israel, it was necessary to have these skills. This immigration to Israel is in light of the Zionist sentiment of aliyah (returning to the Jewish homeland). The members of this organisation competed to become Halutzim, which is a Hebrew word that translates directly to “pioneers”. This originally referred to the first Jews who immigrated to agricultural Palestine from the 1880s until the State of Israel was formed in 1948, but was increasingly used in the 20th century to refer to those who migrate to Israel. In other words, members of this organisation were intending to immigrate to Israel, but were competing due to the limited number of travel passes for this kind of emigration at the same. [Source: https://www.yadvashem.org/about.html].

Some of the members are standing in the back row, some of whom have their hands or arms resting on other members in front of them. The middle row has some members sitting on stools, also resting hands or arms on the front row members, who are lying on the ground. All members of this group photograph are looking at the camera, but are not smiling. All of the Hechalutz members are wearing hats or head coverings, which is an indication of the focus of the organisation being on outdoor work to sustain themselves.

Photographer unknown

Luninyets Belarus, "Young adult Purim concert participants"

Photograph of 22 participants of a concert in Luninyets to celebrate Purim in 1913. The members of the photograph are young men and women, with one older adult man seated in the centre of the second row from the front. The participants are looking at the camera, but are not smiling.

The Jewish holiday of Purim surrounds the celebration of the Jews in Persia being saved by Queen Esther from being exterminated by Haman (a prime minister in the Persian Empire) who intended to kill all Jews. The celebration occurs over two days, to commemorate the victory of Jews over Haman. Esther marries King Ahasuerus, who redirects the decree ordering for the extermination of Jews to rather kill Haman, after finding out that his new wife (Queen Esther) is Jewish. The celebration of Purim involves reading the Megillah (meaning 'scroll'), which is the book of Esther. This holiday is extremely festive, and involves celebrations, dressing up, putting on plays, and often dramatizing the story of Purim in a comedic or satirical way. [Source: https://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/exhibitions/purim/index.asp]

Photographer unknown

Luninyets Belarus, "Purim concert child participants"

Photograph of 33 participants of a Purim concert in Luninyets in 1913, with 11 older participants (3 in the centre of the back row, and 8 comprising the entire second from the back row) and 22 children. This photograph depicts the child participants of the Purim concert, with their instructors. All participants are looking at the camera, but are not smiling.
The Jewish holiday of Purim surrounds the celebration of Jews in Persia being saved by Queen Esther from being exterminated by Haman (a prime minister in the Persian Empire) who intended to kill all Jews. The celebration occurs over two days, to commemorate the victory of Jews over Haman. Esther marries King Ahasuerus, who redirects the decree ordering for the extermination of Jews to rather kill Haman, after finding out that his new wife (Queen Esther) is Jewish. The celebration of Purim involves reading the Megillah (meaning 'scroll'), which is the book of Esther. This holiday is extremely festive, and involves celebrations, dressing up, putting on plays, and often dramatizing the story of Purim in a comedic or satirical way. [Source: https://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/exhibitions/purim/index.asp]

Photographer unknown

Pikeliai Lithuania, "Leibowitz family with German officers"

Photograph of the Leibowitz family standing with two German soldiers outside of the Leibowitz household. The German soldiers are in uniform. Hirshe (left) and Yaakov (right) Leibowitz can be seen in between the German soldiers in the back of the photo. The woman in the front right is Sonya Leibowitz. The two children, from left to right, are Hilleurd (as a young boy) and Chana Leibowitz.
This photograph from May 1916 was taken during German occupation of Lithuania in World War I.

Photographer unknown

Rokiskis Lithuania, "Betar group photograph"

Photograph of the Rokiskis Betar youth group, including 17 members and a framed photograph of a man. Both men and women were permitted to join, and are photographed here. While not all the members of the group are named, the caption for this photograph identifies "Daddy Aarons" as the man in the white shirt in the back row.

The Betar organisation is a Zionist youth movement with a strong focus on activism. Similarly, the aim is to train young Jews ideologically and practically for aliyah. This organisation mobilized by providing Zionist education, teaching Hebrew language and culture, training members in self-defence, and ascribing a strong dedication to aliyah. [Source: https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/betar].

Photographer unknown

Svedasai Lithuania, "Visit of President Antanas Smetana to Svedasai"

Photograph of townsfolk gathering to receive the visiting President of the Republic of Lithuania (1919-1920), Antanas Smetona (not visible in this photograph). President Smetona was the president from 1919 to 1920. He later restored himself to presidency once more via a coup d'etat in 1926 and served as a nationalist dictator until 1940, and died in 1944 in the United States of America.

In front of the gathered crowd, a well-dressed man is seen on the left with his hat in his hands, out of respect for the President. To his right, a Lithuanian soldier is saluting the President, and Rabbi Bezalel Katz can be seen to the right of the soldier. Rabbi Bezalel Katz was born in 1843 in Lithuania, and died in 1940 in Lithuania. [Source: https://www.geni.com/people/Rabbi-Bezalel-Katz/6000000028318757367]

Photographer unknown

Salantai Lithuania, "Market square in Salantai "

Photograph of a busy market square in Salantai. Many townsfolk can be seen walking around the market, while others are running stalls that consisted of a horsecart filled with produce. Horsecarts are seen on either side of the square, with shopfronts behind them. Jewish people in Salantai worked primarily in trades and crafts, with market days occuring twice weekly, on Tuesdays and Fridays. The Zusmanovitz family house can be seen on the right hand side, painted in white. [Source: https://archive.org/stream/nybc314248/nybc314248_djvu.txt].

Photographer unknown

Pasvalys Lithuania, "A Zionist forest group"

Photograph of some young Jewish adults seated or lying on some grass, captioned 'Forest Group'. This indicates that they were part of the foresting unit of the Zionist youth organisation.

These young adults spent time in the Lithuanian forests training to defend themselves and to be able to gather food and sustain themselves. The group includes both young men and women, all sitting close to, and some with their arms around one another.

Photographer unknown

Skuodas Lithuania, "A Jewish family in a horse-drawn cart"

Photograph of a family in the shtetl of Skuodas, taken in 1922. The family are on a horse drawn cart, with a young boy in front looking back at the camera, controlling the reigns of the two horses. The 6 other family members are seated in the cart, looking at the camera. This photograph is taken outside the family home in Skuodas.

Photographer unknown

Pasvalys Lithuania, "Pupils of the Hebrew day school with teachers and the headmaster"

Photograph of 28 pupils and staff of Hebrew day school in Pasvalys, taken outside the main school building, on the 4th of May, 1922. Some teachers can be seen in the second row from the back, with the headmaster of the school, Yechiel Blesovsky, in the centre of that row. The pupils are of varying ages, and include both boys and girls.

Photographer unknown

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