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“It is an undeservedly forgotten story that we want to tell everyone today. In 1918, Jews deliberately chose to be citizens of the nascent independent Republic of Lithuania, actively participated in public life and brought many important innovations. All of this is now forgotten. Our goal is to remind them of their stories and names, personally, I hope this leads to the end of talking about Jews as strangers, with others. We have been and are co-creators of Lithuanian stories “, says Faina Kukliansky, President of the Lithuanian Jewish Community, That started the debate.
It has the support of the journalist, book author Vilius Kavaliauskas, who is actively interested in the period of the War of Independence and shares the information and accumulated discoveries: “Some have a date of birth and a date of death, while others They have survived and contributed to the creation of the later prosperity of Lithuania. Jewish stories are especially interesting because they were both providers, doctors, and organizers for our army; This shows that the Lithuanian volunteer army was well organized and manned by highly qualified people.
It is especially important to assimilate: Lithuania has always valued skills and knowledge ”. According to the expert, the representatives of Lithuanian Jews were sent to various diplomatic missions because they included excellent lawyers, advocates, had acquaintances and were involved in various diplomatic missions to help achieve international recognition for Lithuania. Vilius Kavaliauskas shares the most interesting and unexpected stories that took place during the changing period of the struggle for independence in 1918-1920.
Weapons store
“When the Lithuanian army was being formed, there was a long way to go. There were not enough soldiers, so many officers volunteered, especially weapons were needed ”, recalls Vilius Kavaliauskas. Several people took the initiative to buy weapons from the German units that remained in Lithuania at the end of the war. One of the buyers of such weapons was Herman Aronson, a wealthy businessman who officially bought weapons from the Germans and even established two gun depots. In this way, he was also able to supply arms to the Lithuanian army. “An interesting fact is that Herman Aronson had his own mansion and fed the Lithuanian army there, and after the battles he was presented to the Vytis Cross. This award honored the deserving people of the Lithuanian army,” says V. Kavaliauskas.
Ilijošus Zizle, a professional police officer and former deputy commander of the Kaunas militia, was also presented for the Vyties cross award. In 1918, while the German soldiers were still in the city, Zizle did important work: he resolved conflicts, patrolling and taking measures to prevent the Germans from capturing the Lithuanian soldiers. Both personalities were examples for Jewish communities, valued by their contemporaries, but both died during the Holocaust. “Now we don’t even have photos of these people, and at the time they contributed to the strengthening of the Lithuanian state,” says V. Kavaliauskas.
From Balbieriškis shoemaker to Swiss doctor
Jews, as well as Lithuanians, voluntarily flocked to volunteer forces, so now Jewish names can often be found on volunteer commemorative tables revealed in Lithuanian cities. “Jews took very different positions, sometimes they had special tasks. Isakas Kantaravičius, for example, was a military officer. Coming from a wealthy and influential family, he became a volunteer in the Lithuanian Armed Forces. There he was entrusted with the task. of resolving conflict situations with the Germans, and also helped unravel the murder of Pran Ekimitis. Eimutis was one of the first volunteers to die: he was guarded by German soldiers guarding the United States Catering Commission, who was staying at the Kaunas Metropolis Hotel. Four years after his death, Isakas Kantaravičius in 1924. was declared a Lithuanian volunteer and later received the Vyties Cross “.
In addition to educated Jews who saw the world, ordinary members of the community joined the ranks of volunteers. Chaimas Silkinelis served in the Baltgudžiai battalion (many Jews served in it), which operated on the territory of Belarus, but was part of the Lithuanian army and also fought for the independence of Lithuania. Later, after the Poles disarmed the battalion, Silkinelis somehow made it to Kaunas, where the fighting continued. After the War of Independence, he was famous as an engraver. Another volunteer, Wolf Kagan, was an illiterate shoemaker from Balbieriskis. In the army he learned to read, write, became a noncommissioned officer. He received the first Vytis Cross for fighting the Bolsheviks and the second for fighting the Bermontians. “He was wounded in the last fight, but he remained on the battlefield until the end of the victorious battle. Then he was taken to the hospital and there his tracks disappear. Little is known about the later fate of this volunteer, but unfortunately it seems that he too he died in the Holocaust ”, says V. Kavaliauskas.
One particularly interesting personality is Berel Strasbourg, a Knight of the Vytis Cross, a native of Ariogala, who graduated from the University of Bern in Switzerland. After joining the Lithuanian army as a volunteer, he served as a military medic. “Vytis received the cross with swords because he dragged himself from one wounded to another in battle and tied the wounded with gunshots. He worked at the Military Hospital, then the Kaunas Civil Hospital, and was a recognized and valued doctor.
Their story ended in 1944. In the Dachau concentration camp, ”says V. Kavaliauskas, recalling that there were more Jewish military doctors in the Lithuanian Armed Forces. One of the most famous is Mošė Berman, former director of the Lithuanian Military Hospital and, in the years of World War II, director of the Kaunas Ghetto Hospital. 1940 The Berman Mosque received the Order of Vytautas the Great; he was the last Lithuanian citizen to receive this order.
It is necessary to mention Libra Mednikienė, a businessman from Širvintos, who greatly helped the intelligence of Lithuania. She became the only Jewish woman honored with the Vytis Cross. A monument was recently erected in Širvintos in memory of the Lithuanian Enlightenment and the Lithuanian Jewish community. And this brave woman was killed during the Holocaust in the Pivonian forest near Ukmergė.
The last volunteer to die was a Jew
“No one knows that Jews were among the last volunteers to die in the struggle for independence. A 1923 ceasefire with Poland led to the establishment of a neutral zone, which was sometimes violated by both parties. Near Leipalingis, 5 men were guarding the territory at the post when they were suddenly attacked and cut with a sword by Polish soldiers. They were the last sacrifices, like the end of all those struggles for independence. Among those 5 men were the two Jewish Motel Motel and Abraham Strom. After the event, all 5 received the Vytis Cross and were declared heroes. The Jews were buried in the old Jewish cemetery of Alytus ”, recalls V. Kavaliauskas.
However, according to V. Kavaliauskas, it is worth knowing the whole of Lithuania about Alexander Bero’s story: “After graduating from military school, he received the rank of lieutenant and was sent to attack the people of neighboring Leipalingis. Along with the platoon, Beras drove them out of there, but he himself died. Alexander Ber is the last soldier killed in our fight for independence. “
Belief in the future of the young state
V. Kavaliauskas regrets that many of these stories have been forgotten, and if you enter these names of people who deserve Lithuania, you will not find any photos or bio in the search engine. “We seem to forget the importance of the Jewish community in interwar Lithuania. 1918 In government, a minister’s portfolio was even devoted to Jewish affairs, it went to the president of the Vilnius Jewish community, Jakov Vygodsky. This portfolio was very important and it existed before the Smetona coup in 1926 ”.
“If these stories seem small to anyone, the memories of contemporaries show that since the proclamation of Lithuanian independence, the Lithuanian Jewish community has had a strong patriotic attitude towards Lithuanian statehood and the belief that democracy is it will develop and prosper in a free and independent state. It was believed that Jews would also live in this state, so they fought for it. Let’s not forget that, “concludes F. Kukliansky.
