VILKAVISKIS
A small town in Southern Lithuania
Where the Jewish Community is no more
A small town in Southern Lithuania
Where the Jewish Community is no more
The Exhibition of "Lost Jewish Vilkaviskis "
at the Vilkaviskis Community Center
at the Vilkaviskis Community Center
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| Mr. Antanas Zilinskas, Director of the Vilkaviskis Regional Museum, the driving force behind the exhibition | Mr. Antanas Zilinskas, Director of the Vilkaviskis Regional Museum |
I believe the idea was born when Algis and Antanas visited the Diaspora Museum earlier in 2009.
Much credit must also go to Mrs. Zippi Rosen, Director of Visual Archives who gave every possible support to this project.
Much credit must also go to Mrs. Zippi Rosen, Director of Visual Archives who gave every possible support to this project.
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| Antanas and Algis at the Diaspora Museum in Tel Aviv | Antanas and Algis and their wives at the Diaspora Museum in Tel Aviv |
Vilkaviškiečiai first saw the old city photos
Algis Vaškevičius
2009-09-23
Algis Vaškevičius
2009-09-23
On Wednesday, noting that this was the Lithuanian Jewish Genocide Day, from the former Jewish community Vilkaviskis town residents received an incredible gift - at the Palace of Culture opened an exhibition of photography in commemorating the old town that was Vilkaviskis, city views, and people. .The exhibition "Lost Vilkaviskis: People and Buildings" for this week and referred to the European cultural heritage week.
From Israel's city Tel Aviv, near the city university is the Jewish Diaspora Museum are protected nearly 300 photographs, which commemorates Vilkaviskis before the Second World War. Approximately in 1960 Vilkaviskis residents living in in Israel was choose to release album of photographs of their native city. Then, from a variety of people were gathered in hundreds of photos, but the book was never released, and the pictures came to the Diaspora Museum.
The opening of the exhibition saw many Vilkaviskis residents gasp, seeing the many unique pictures from their town. The photographs commemorates Vilkaviskisš disasters, a huge fire in 1926, and a huge flood, and a variety of festivals and organizations. . Some older people where in tears, when they saw in the photos, and recognize one Vilkaviskisš doctors who have been treated by the now gray-headed Vilkaviskis residents.
Were tears and more - in the exhibition's special group of Jews arrived and whose parents come from this city. Israeli settlers first came to Lithuania, said that the exhibition - the biggest sign of respect.
Since the sixteenth century Vilkaviskisš lived Jewish community. Even before the Second World War, over 60 percent of the city the population were Jewish, but almost all of them were murdered in 1941's June-September, when the community of hundreds of years was wiped off the earth's surface.
All these photographs were selected when in the spring of this year, the National Museum of Vilkaviskio Director Antanas Zilinskas visited Israel. . The exhibition could fit only about 40 of more than a hundred of pictures - the rest of the exhibition visitors could see on the screen. .
The exhibition was helped to develop Vilkaviskis Jewish history scholar, an Israeli kibbutz member [a kibbutz near to the Jordanian border resident ] Ralph Salinger . Already last year in the old Jewish cemetery Vilkaviskio he deciphered more than one hundred names of Jews buried there, the sum of the information into a specially designed web site, and now more and more people whose relatives were born in this city, come visit Vilkaviskis.
For the opening of the exhibition also arrived and Yossi Ankorion, whose father, was born Vilkaviskis, who went to Palestine and later for two terms as a member of Israeli Knesset, and Israel tried to release a book with old photos of the city and gathered them. The book then has not been released, but A.Žilinskio promised that the Journal will appear in Lithuania, and all will be able to see the unique old photographs of the city.
From Israel's city Tel Aviv, near the city university is the Jewish Diaspora Museum are protected nearly 300 photographs, which commemorates Vilkaviskis before the Second World War. Approximately in 1960 Vilkaviskis residents living in in Israel was choose to release album of photographs of their native city. Then, from a variety of people were gathered in hundreds of photos, but the book was never released, and the pictures came to the Diaspora Museum.
The opening of the exhibition saw many Vilkaviskis residents gasp, seeing the many unique pictures from their town. The photographs commemorates Vilkaviskisš disasters, a huge fire in 1926, and a huge flood, and a variety of festivals and organizations. . Some older people where in tears, when they saw in the photos, and recognize one Vilkaviskisš doctors who have been treated by the now gray-headed Vilkaviskis residents.
Were tears and more - in the exhibition's special group of Jews arrived and whose parents come from this city. Israeli settlers first came to Lithuania, said that the exhibition - the biggest sign of respect.
Since the sixteenth century Vilkaviskisš lived Jewish community. Even before the Second World War, over 60 percent of the city the population were Jewish, but almost all of them were murdered in 1941's June-September, when the community of hundreds of years was wiped off the earth's surface.
All these photographs were selected when in the spring of this year, the National Museum of Vilkaviskio Director Antanas Zilinskas visited Israel. . The exhibition could fit only about 40 of more than a hundred of pictures - the rest of the exhibition visitors could see on the screen. .
The exhibition was helped to develop Vilkaviskis Jewish history scholar, an Israeli kibbutz member [a kibbutz near to the Jordanian border resident ] Ralph Salinger . Already last year in the old Jewish cemetery Vilkaviskio he deciphered more than one hundred names of Jews buried there, the sum of the information into a specially designed web site, and now more and more people whose relatives were born in this city, come visit Vilkaviskis.
For the opening of the exhibition also arrived and Yossi Ankorion, whose father, was born Vilkaviskis, who went to Palestine and later for two terms as a member of Israeli Knesset, and Israel tried to release a book with old photos of the city and gathered them. The book then has not been released, but A.Žilinskio promised that the Journal will appear in Lithuania, and all will be able to see the unique old photographs of the city.
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| Candles | Opening ceremony | Yossi at the opening | Looking at the pictures | From the exhibition | Ralph and Yossi |
After opening the exhibition, all were invited to Vilkaviskis site of the mass graves, where in 1941 the city was murdered, all Jewish people, as well as a Russian, Lithuanian - in total over 7000 people. . Here Mr. Ankorion read a special Hebrew prayer for the dead. On the monument to Holocaust victims was placed flowers and lit candles.
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| Algis and Antanas | Yossi saying Kadish | Site of the Holocaust in Vilkaviskis |
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| Flowers | Plaque | Holocaust Memorial Site |
