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Pusalotas Photograph Series

The Pušalotas (English spelling: Pusalotas) Photograph Series includes two photographs, one of a scene in a Jewish cemetery, and another of a group of children. The photograph taken in the cemetry is presumed to have been taken later, as it was captured in colour. The group photograph is of children of primary school age in a classroom from the Yiddish school in the town with their teacher.

This was a very small town from its conception, but it is known that Jewish communities were present from the 19th century at least. The town has been reported by previous residents to have had cordial relations between Lithuanians and Jewish settlers before the First World War. However, as with many other shtetlach, Soviet occupation in 1940 lead to tension between Lithuanians and Jews, which was followed by a collaborative process of systematic murder of the Jewish residents left in this shtetl by the time the German army started taking control of Soviet territories. In 1941, as news traveled that German troops were advancing, Soviet troops retreated, leaving Lithuanian nationalists and Jewish communities in the shtetl, awaiting German arrival. Lithuanian nationalists did not wait long before murdering their Jewish neighbours, not even waiting for the Nazis to arrive. this left very few Jewish residents by the time the Nazis arrived, but they were not saved from murder, instead being taken to a ghetto and shortly after a forest to be shot. [Source: https://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/Pusalotas/Pusalotas.html].

The town of Pušalotas (English spelling: Pusalotas) is named as such in Lithuanian, as Pushelaty in Russian, as Puszołaty in Polish, and as Pushelat in Yiddish.

Svedasai Photograph Series

The Svėdasai (English spelling: Svedasai) Photograph Series includes three photographs, one of which depicts the visit of President Antanas Smetona, and the remaining two include the Arsch family from Svėdasai in various scenarios and with different family members in each photographs.

The chaotic pattern in Eastern Europe and nearby regions in the first half of the 20th century – mostly as a result of the two World Wars – consisted of sporadic occupation, independence, and reoccupation of territories. Following the same pattern as many shtetlach in Eastern Europe, particularly in Lithuania, Subacius was part of the Russian Empire until the First World War when it was occupied by Bolsheviks. The Russian declaration for all Jews to be driven out of their towns applied to Subacius, decreasing the population significantly. However, relations between Jews and Lithuanians in this town were relatively harmonius, with considerably minor looting of empty homes of Jews, so that when they returned from Russian exile their homes were in tact. In the interwar years, the town was part of the Independent Republic of Lithuania, under which even more Jews left as economic conditions declined, mostly immigrating to Israel due to the strong Zionist presence in this shtetl. Lithuanian independence was disrupted by Soviet invasion in 1940, and once again by Nazi invasion in 1941 at the start of the Second World War when Soviets and Nazis declared war. There were very strong nationalists in Lithuania who turned very cruel upon Nazi occupation, with some even acting before Nazi troops arrived, acting with extreme violence against Jews. This mass violence was carried out as a masscare within the town, including inside the shops owned by Jews, but also through extended massacre whereby Jews were transported under the pretense of going to work nearby in Rokiskis, where they were instead murdered. [Source: https://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/lithuania6/lit6_327.html]

The town of Svėdasai (English spelling: Svedasai) is named as such in Lithuanian, as Sviadostse in Russian, as Świadoście in Polish, and as Svadushtsh/Shvidostch in Yiddish.

This Series was originally donated to the SAJBOD Archives by Ethel Aarons in 1988, after she moved to Johannesburg.

Klaipeda Photograph Series

The Klaipėda (English spelling: Klaipeda) Photograph Series includes photographs of two different youth organisations: Haesharah and Hechalutz. While this organisations differ slightly in the finer details of their aims, both are Zionist in ideology.

The chaotic pattern in Eastern Europe and nearby regions in the first half of the 20th century – mostly as a result of the two World Wars – consisted of sporadic occupation, independence, and reoccupation of territories. Jewish-Lithuanian relations before World War I were not overtly hostile, but Jews were unable to hold positions of community leadeship or government. In 1914, as part of being occupied by the Russian Empire, an order was given for all Jews in this town and others under the Russian Empire to be expelled, with Jews from Klaipeda being exiled to an island in the Baltic Sea. In the interwar years of Independent Lithuania, Jews were permitted to return and were given citizenship, however their activities and organizations were located in one part of town, not to be mixed with the rest of the town. Many German citizens lived in this town, giving its most wellknown moniker, Memel. This complicated the process of occupation when Nuremburg Laws were passed in Germany that restricted rights of Jews. In1938, an election in the local Seimas lead to Nazis holding the majority vote, and many Jews left in response to this, knwoing they were unwelcome. The last Jews left the town in 1939, having had property and capital confiscated, and being threatened. [Source: https://kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/memel/oldmemel/memel2.html].

The town of Klaipėda (English spelling: Klaipeda) is named as such in Lithuanian, as Klaypeda in Russian, as Kłajpeda in Polish, and as Memel in Yiddish and German.

Marijampole Photograph Series

The Marijampolė (English spelling: Marijampole) Photograph Series includes four photographs, with two including members of the Leibowitz family who are originally from Pikelai but who spent some time in Marijampole, and the other two of a Passover celebration and unnamed women posing for a photograph. The Leibowitz family photographs include one of Yaakov Leibowitz at his wedding celebration, and another of the Leibowitz men in a flax refinery factor.

The chaotic pattern in Eastern Europe and nearby regions in the first half of the 20th century – mostly as a result of the two World Wars – consisted of sporadic occupation, independence, and reoccupation of territories. Following the same pattern as many shtetlach in Eastern Europe, particularly in Lithuania, Marijampole was part of the Russian Empire until the First World War when it was occupied by Bolsheviks. Importantly, Jews formed a crucial part of the economy in this town, with many involved in community positions, leading in the education field, and contributing meaningfully through the Jewish Folksbank. There was also a considerable Zionist and Bundist presence in the town. This explains immigration patterns being mostly to Israel. In the interwar years, the town was part of the Independent Republic of Lithuania, under which many Jews left as economic conditions declined, mostly immigrating to Israel and overseas. This independence was disrupted by Soviet invasion in 1940, and once again by Nazi invasion in 1941 at the start of the Second World War when Soviets and Nazis declared war. The treatment of Jews under Nazi occupation was decidedly cruel, with Lithuanians turning their backs on their neighbours to welcome German troops upon arrival. Jews were humiliated and made to defile their dignity and religion in many instances, with many being publicly killed almost immediately. Others were forced to march to barracks where they were made to do exercises including digging ditches, and later these same ditches served as mass graves for 8000 Jews and 1000 other victims who were murdered.

The town of Marijampolė (English spelling: Marijampole) is named as such in present-day Lithuanian (since 1989), as Kapsukas from 1956 to 1989 in Lithuanian, as Mariampol in Russian and Yiddish, and as Maryampol in Polish.

Moletai Photograph Series

The Molėtai (English spelling: Moletai) Photograph Series includes 13 photographs, with a photograph of a street in the town, some young Jews in the forest, Jewish men at the timber works office, mourners at a Jewish funeral, a few photographs of men outside the sawmill, some men near a river, a group photograph of some members of the Yiddish folk bank, and class photographs of Jewish students. The Jewish students are either part of the Yiddish folk shul school, including the pre-primary and primary school children, or from the Tarbut school.

The chaotic pattern in Eastern Europe and nearby regions in the first half of the 20th century – mostly as a result of the two World Wars – consisted of sporadic occupation, independence, and reoccupation of territories. Following the same pattern as many shtetlach in Eastern Europe, particularly in Lithuania, Moletai was part of the Russian Empire until the First World War when it was occupied by Bolsheviks. The Russian declaration for all Jews to be driven out of their towns applied to Moletai, decreasing the population significantly, more so because Russians murdered many Jews on their way to Russia. In the interwar years, the town was part of the Independent Republic of Lithuania, with Jews contributing significantly to the economy via the Jewish Folksbank. However, the population of Jews decreased more since Jews left as economic conditions declined, mostly immigrating to Israel and South Africa. This independence was disrupted by Soviet invasion in 1940, and once again by Nazi invasion in 1941 at the start of the Second World War when Soviets and Nazis declared war. Germans and Lithuanians treated Jews with various kinds of cruelty and hatred, with some Jews being killed upon immediate arrival of Nazi troops, and others being forced to gather and wait without food and water to be killed three days later. [Source: https://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/lithuania6/lit6_166.html].

The town of Molėtai (English spelling: Moletai) is named as such in Lithuanian, as Maliaty in Russian, as Malaty in Polish, and as Maliat in Yiddish.

Vainutas Photograph Series

The Vainutas Photograph Series includes two photographs, with one depicting the road entering the town and the other depicting a wedding celebration. The wedding photograph includes the newlywed Mr and Mrs Shefke (alternative spelling: Sefikel) with their wedding guests surrounding them.

The chaotic pattern in Eastern Europe and nearby regions in the first half of the 20th century – mostly as a result of the two World Wars – consisted of sporadic occupation, independence, and reoccupation of territories. The chaotic pattern in Eastern Europe and nearby regions in the first half of the 20th century – mostly as a result of the two World Wars – consisted of sporadic occupation, independence, and reoccupation of territories. Following the same pattern as many shtetlach in Eastern Europe, particularly in Lithuania, Ukmerge was part of the Russian Empire until the First World War when it was occupied by Bolsheviks. In the interwar years, the town was part of the Independent Republic of Lithuania. However, the population of Jews decreased more since Jews left as economic conditions declined, mostly immigrating to Israel and South Africa. This independence was disrupted by Soviet invasion in 1940, and once again by Nazi invasion in 1941 at the start of the Second World War when Soviets and Nazis declared war. Nazis made selections from the Jewish residents, whereby those unable to work were killed immediately, and those able to work were transported a short distance, afterwhich some were killed, and the remaining few were sent to the Heydekrug camp. This camp was emptied of prisoners in 1943, with transportation to Auschwitz resulting in murder of 100 Jews, including 10 from Vainutas and 90 from other towns. The surviving men were used for slave labour, including vacating ruins in the Warsaw ghetto, where many died of typhus. Only 3 men from this town survived WWII, being freed by the American army at the end of the war. [Source: https://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/lithuania6/lit6_371.html].

The town of Vainutas is named as such in Lithuanian, as Wojnuta in Polish, and as Vainute in Yiddish.

Vilnius Photograph Series

The Vilnius Photograph Series includes four sombre photographs throughout the town of Vilnius, including a photograph of a near-empty street, a painting of another city street, a young child in the street, and an elderly man on the side of the road. With these photographs being taken quite close to the end of the interwar period, the sombre tone is appropriate, since at the brink of war, Eastern European Jews were suffering severe poverty and exclusion from society. Aside from these, there are also three photographs of Jewish organisations and clubs, including one Haskalah school photograph, a scene from an inter-Jewish school athletics event and a Jewish football team. With ever-increasing anti-Semitism and exclusion, Jewish community members would form their own organisations, which served as meeting points for Jews who were largely shunned in other realms of society and therefore unable to join mainstream organisations of a similar kind. This exclusion, primarily based on anti-Semitism, made these organisations necessary if Jews were interested in taking part in these activities, but also promoted an in-group sense of belonging in a highly community-oriented group.

Jewish people in Vilnius made made up a considerable proportion of the population, and contributed significantly to the economy mostly through their role as merchants, tradesmen and manufacturing owners. Vilnius was also known for its strong 19th century Bundist movement, and later an even stronger Zionist presence in the early 1900s whereby this town housed the Zionist Committee of Russia from 1905 to 1910. Economics and politics aside, Jews were perhaps strongest in their cultural and educational contribution in Vilnius. The Haskalah movement (Jewish Enlightenment) spread through the town and outwards from there, it was the seat/centre of the Torah for many years, it was home to many progressive thinkers and writers and also attracted similar talents to its cultural haven, and was known to be a particularly vibrant hub for Hebrew literature. [Source: https://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/exhibitions/vilna/overview.asp].

The chaotic pattern in Eastern Europe and nearby regions in the first half of the 20th century – mostly as a result of the two World Wars – consisted of sporadic occupation, independence, and reoccupation of territories. Vilnius was part of the Russian Empire prior to World War I, whereby it flourished in many ways. In the year 1915, during the Yom Kippur period, Germany occupied Vilnius, bringing about widespread poverty and starvation, thereby eradicating the flourishing economy that existed here. Jewish folk were forced to work for Germans, and were treated with much cruelty, only inspiring further comraraderie among this community-oriented group. Jews supported one another in finding employment opportunities in the scarce market, and made strides in education and culture despite the harsh conditions. Immediately after WWI, there was a complex period of transition out of German rule when Germans retreated at the end of 1918. Polish citizens in Vilnius were given leadership roles, but this did not last long as the Bolshevik troops invaded and took control for a short period. In April 1919, Polish troops entered Vilnius, taking control and 'liberating' the town, although doing so with a fair amount of ill treatment of Jews. This 'liberation' saw the election of Jews to town council positions, but this was disrupted by another invasion by the Red Army in July 1920. Only one day later, Lithuanians entered the town and tried to occupy, but the Russians only handed over control to Lithuanians at the end of August 1920, with Lithuanians promising autonomy to Jews. Polish troops arrived and took control in that same year, conquering other leaderships and severing ties with Lithuania who had formed an Independent Republic by that point. Under Polish rule, the economy was stagnant and many Jewish community leadership positions were faded out, alongwith much emigration to America and other overseas countries. Throughout this hardship, Jewish education continued to thrive, with Jews fighting for rights and freedoms since only Polish high school diplomas were accepted initially, thus making it difficult for Jews to attend university, yet many Jewish students still managed to obtain a university education. Unfortunately, this tumultuous period lead to Vilnius losing its position as the home of Hebrew literature, but Yiddish certainly took an important position. Anti-Semitism was rife, worsened by internal divides between Socialist Bundists and Jewish Nationalist Zionists. At the beginning of World War II, as part of the agreement between Germany and the Soviet Union, a portion of Poland (including Vilnius) was occupied by the Soviet Union, who handed over control to Lithuania in October 1939. As war developed, the Soviet Union reoccupied Vilnius in August 1940, and Jews were treated with violence and exiled to Siberia in amny cases. Nazi Germany occupied Vilnius in June 1941, soon after which anti-Semitic measures were put into place. In collaboration with Lithuanian locals, Nazis orchestrated 5000 murders at Ponary forest in July 1941, and another 3500 there in August. The degree of local collaboration by Lithuanians speaks to the murderous anti-Semitism present here. In September 1941, two ghettoes where established in Vilna, with ghetto 1 being for those able to work, and ghetto 2 being for those who were to be killed almost immediately in Ponary, leading to around 40000 total deaths in that forest by the end of 1941. Ghetto 1 occupants were forced to work, and were periodically terrorized by killing sprees in the forest, or by transfers to other labour camps nearby. The large majority of the ghetto occupants were murdered, with only a few Jews left by September 1943 when the ghetto was liquidated. Those too sick to work were killed in Ponary or sent to Sobibor death camp, men who could work were sent to labour camps in Estonia, and women were sent to labour camps in Latvia. Similarly to the strength in culture and community before the Holocaust, there were instances of resistance in the Vilnius ghetto, inspired by organized movements that existed pre-WWII. [https://kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/vilna/vilna.htm]

The town of Vilnius is named as such in Lithuanian, as Vilna in Russian, as Wilno in Polish, and as Vilne in Yiddish. This town also has the moniker of being the "Jerusalem of Lithuania" according to a large proportion of East European Jewry, which seems appropriate considering the strides in Jewish culture and thought that Vilnius was home to.

Lithuanian and Surrounding Towns Collection

  • Collection
  • 2013-

During the period of 1890 to 1930 a great migratory movement took place in Europe (particularly Eastern and Southern Europe). Jewish people fled to other countires due largely to economic hardship and political persecution. South Africa received a large influx of these immigrants with the largest Jewish population in South Africa being of Lithuanian heritage [https://kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/capetown/Jews_in_SA.html].

The large Lithuanian and Surrounding Towns Collection includes photographs taken from towns in Eastern Europe that existed for years prior to, and during, the first half of the 20th century. This collection primarily includes towns that fell under what was previously the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and in interwar years traded titles as part of various powers, but settled into Independent Lithuania after the fall of the Soviet Union. However, there are also some towns that are from surrounding Eastern European countries, all of which had some connection to the Soviet Union, and which had very similar characteristics to the Lithuanian towns in this collection. These towns had considerable Jewish populations, either in number or in presence, referring here to significant Jewish cultural and religious contributions. These photographs have been preserved by survivors of the Holocaust, or by family members of survivors, and have been donated for the purpose of educating and providing comfort to those interested in or invested in the lives of East European Jewry.

Each town is named according to the moniker for that town in Lithuanian, or in the language of the country that the town in question falls under.
In the Series Description for each town, alternative names are given, for ease of reference and for contextual clarity. The number of alternate names is limited to Eastern European countries and Russia, due to the commonplace act in the first half of the twentieth century for these towns to pass from one occupying country to another. This is particularly true for occupation by Russia (then the Soviet Union), and Poland, thus justifying these as the most common alternative provided. Further, being primarily Jewish towns (plural: shtetlekh; singular: shtetl), the Yiddish name is given if it has been identified. This information was sourced from JewishGen, using the Communities page, which provides historical, current and alternative names for various towns. [Source: https://www.jewishgen.org/Communities/Search.asp].

Interconnections between towns, with family and community ties were an extremely important factor deciding where Jewish communities lived and spent time in terms of school and work. This extended from within the little town (referred to as a shtetl in Eastern Europe), to in between shtetlach (plural of shtetl). [Source: https://avotaynuonline.com/2007/01/the-ties-that-bind-jewish-kinship-networks-and-modernization-in-darbenai-and-its-diaspora/]. There has been an attempt to illustrate some of these linkages, with examples of movement between towns and strong community and inter-organisational activities, demonstrating the strength and significance of Jewish life in Eastern Europe.

Importantly, although not always visible in the photographs, various stages of occupation and reoccupation by different powers throughout this period meant conditions for Jewry in these towns could change significantly from one day to the next. Some towns have larger treasure chests of tangible memories in photograph form, while others were unable to preserve as much.

The general pattern of occupation for most of these towns in Lithuania went as follows: The Russian Empire controlled Lithuania until the outbreak of World War I. Bolsheviks (the Red Army) occupied many Lithuanian towns during WWI, which was accompanied by a decree from the Tsar that all Jews were to be exiled deep into the interior of Russia. After the Russian Empire fell at the end of WWI, some of these exiled Jews could return to their original shtetl, but many did not due to having emigrated or died in the transit or by more cruel means. This meant the Jewish population had already begun to decline by the First World War.

During the period of the Independent Republic of Lithuania between WWI and the Second World War, while Jews had some community leadership positions, anti-Semitism was generally quite violent. This Independence was disrupted by Soviet invasion in 1940, which saw the confiscation and nationalisation of economic resources and new governance of these towns. Since Soviet rule had anti-Semitic tendencies, but not necessarily murderous ones, and since some Jews were supportive of communism as part of their Zionist or Bundist ideologies, many Lithuanian nationalists perceived Soviet rule as being beneficial to Jews and saw Jews as supportive of Soviet occupation. Therefore, when Nazis occupied in 1941 at the beginning of war between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, many Lithuanian citizens turned against their Jewish neighbours and either orchestrated or collaborated in massacres of Jews.

Lithuanians saw Jews as threats to their independence in many instances, and saw Nazis as more amenable to allowing Lithuania to govern itself compared to Soviets, and thus Lithuanians were likely to collaborate with Nazis. This is one of the reasons that such a large proportion of Lithuanian Jewry were killed during the Holocaust, as Nazis were not acting alone and were not met with resistance from local non-Jews in many instances. There were periods of mass exodus from Lithuania, whereby some Jews were able to escape in between occupations, or during occupation when borders were still open, with most Jews from Lithuania immigrating to South Africa, America and Israel. [Source: https://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/pinkas_lita/pinkas_lita.html; https://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/lithuania6/lit6_00i.html#Pagexxxivhttps://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/lithuania6/lithuania6.html#TOC]

Whenever possible research has been conducted to enrich the information in these collections, if you would like to add any additional information please contact us.

Pasvalys Photograph Series

The Pasvalys Photograph Series includes seventeen photographs of Jewish people at various group gathering. For example, there are eight photographs of students and staff from the local Hebrew school, and a photograph of some children dressed up for their school play. Some other young people are seen in the youth organisations of the Hechalutz group, the Al Hamishmar division of the Zionist organisation, and a forest group. These organisations were also attended by adults, with this Series including a general Zionist organisation photograph, a Keren Kayemet L'Yisrael member committee photograph, a group photograph of the Organisation for Yiddish culture, and a music ensemble group. Lastly, there is a photograph of people celebrating the opening of a university campus that occurred in Jerusalem.

The chaotic pattern in Eastern Europe and nearby regions in the first half of the 20th century – mostly as a result of the two World Wars – consisted of sporadic occupation, independence, and reoccupation of territories. Pasvalys followed the same pattern of occupation as most of Lithuania, with pre-WWI occupation by the Russian Empire and throughout World War I too, followed by independence in the interwar years with hostility from fellow Lithuanians rising as economic conditions worsened, Soviet occupation from 1940 which intensified anti-Semitism, and the pinnacle of violence against Jews during the Second World War under Nazi occupatio from 1941 until 1944.

The town of Pasvalys is named as such in Lithuanian, as Posvol in Russian and Yiddish, and as Poswol in Polish and German.

This Series of photographs was originally donated to the SAJBOD Archives by Savoy Cohen.

Rozalimas Photograph Series

The Rozalimas Photograph Series includes two photographs, both with particulary Jewish themes, with one depicting a Hebrew school class photograph and the other depticting a Haesharah organization group photograph.

The chaotic pattern in Eastern Europe and nearby regions in the first half of the 20th century – mostly as a result of the two World Wars – consisted of sporadic occupation, independence, and reoccupation of territories. Following the same pattern as many shtetlach in Eastern Europe, particularly in Lithuania, Rozalimas was part of the Russian Empire until the First World War when it was occupied by Bolsheviks. In the interwar years, the town was part of the Independent Republic of Lithuania, which was disrupted by Soviet invasion in 1940, and once again by Nazi invasion in 1941 at the start of the Second World War when Soviets and Nazis declared war. This ended in massacre of the majority of the remaining Jewish population. [Source: https://archive.org/details/nybc314248/page/n270/mode/2up].

The town of Rozalimas is named as such in Lithuanian, as Rozalin in Russian and Polish, and as Rozalye in Yiddish.
This Series was originally donated to the SAJBOD Archives by Savoy Cohen.

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