VILKAVISKIS
A small town in Southern Lithuania
Where the Jewish Community is no more
2021 - 80 years since the destruction of Jewish Vilkaviskis
The Director of the Visual Archives at the Diaspora Museum Mr. Haim Ghiuzeli, gave me access to the entire archives of pictures of Jewish Vilkaviskis.
Some of these pictures showed Jewish volunteer firemen from Vilkaviskis.
Together with our friends in Vilkaviskis we discussed how to best bring these pictures to be seen in Vilkaviskis today. Our desire is to create an exhibition dedicated both to the Jewish volunteer firemen of Vilkaviskis and to show a little of Jewish life before the Holocaust. The pictures will include text in 3 languages, English, Lithuanian and Hebrew.
Our dear friend Mrs. Irma Mauriene discovered that the original fire station still exists [today it is an electrical goods store] gained permission both from the owners and the Municipality to create a photographically exhibition on 3 of the unused external walls.
Background to the project to remember the Jewish Volunteer Firemen of Vilkaviskis
From the 1940 map of Vilkaviskis showing the site of the Fire Station
In 1941 most of the town was destroyed but this airiel picture from 1944 shows the fire station survived
Ingrida, the graphic designer for the Vilkaviskis Cultural Center did all the hard work to get this project "off the ground.
They are on their way taking the pictures from the Culture Center to the site of the old Fire Station
Ingrida supervises the hanging of the pictures.
Pictures of the Jewish Volunteer Firemen of Vilkaviskis
Additional pictures of Jewish life in Vilkaviskis
This plaque appear in 3 languages English, Lithuanian and Hebrew and accompanies the pictures
This site was built by Ralph Salinger of Kfar Ruppin, Israel
It is built to the glory of the Jewish Community of Vilkkaviskis
You can contact me with any comments at salinger@kfar-ruppin.org,il
