On February 16, 1918, the establishment of the Lithuanian State was proclaimed. Consequently the German army withdrew from the area, and life in Naishtot gradually returned to normal.
Following the law of autonomy for minorities, issued by the new Lithuanian government, the minister for Jewish affairs Dr. Menakhem (Max) Soloveitshik ordered elections to community committees (Va'ad Kehilah) to be held in the summer of 1919. In Naishtot, the elections took place in 1919 and a committee of 11 members was elected: 5 were elected from "Poalei-Zion", 2 from General Zionists and 4 from "Agudath Yisrael". This Naishtot committee was one of the first elected in Lithuania.
The committee, active till the end of 1925 when the autonomy was annulled, collected taxes as required by law and was in charge of all aspects of community life.
At left: Stamp of the Minister for Jewish affairs. At right: Stamp of the National Council of the Jews of Lithuania.
According to the first census performed by the government in 1923, there were in Naishtot 3,067 people and of them 981 Jews (32 %).
At the elections for the municipality council in 1931, four Jewish members were elected: Shimon Fink, Berl Mitkovsky, Avraham Epshtein and Hirsh Osherovitz. At the elections of 1934, only three Jews were elected.
The Jewish "Folksbank" of Naishtot with 60 members was established in 1920. Its role in the restoration of the post-war Jewish businesses was important, as were loans from the "Joint" organization. In 1927, membership went up to a record 216, but during the 30-ties there were only 150 members accounting to 75% of all Jewish families in town. For many years, Z.Tompovsky was the director. One of the more active agencies in town was the branch of "The United Jewish Agrarian Credit Society ".
According to the data provided by the 1931 government survey of business stores in the state, Naishtot had 64 stores, 55 of them owned by Jews (86%). Division of the stores by type of business is given in the table below:
|
Type of the business |
Total |
Owned by Jews |
|
Groceries |
6 |
6 |
|
Grains and Flax |
6 |
6 |
|
Butchers and Cattle Trade |
12 |
8 |
|
Restaurants and Taverns |
5 |
3 |
|
Food Products |
12 |
12 |
|
Beverages |
2 |
2 |
|
Textile Products and Furs |
4 |
4 |
|
Leather and Shoes |
1 |
1 |
|
Haberdashery and Home Utensils |
1 |
1 |
|
Medicine and Cosmetics |
2 |
1 |
|
Watches, Jewels and Optics |
2 |
2 |
|
Bicycles and Sewing Machines |
1 |
1 |
|
Tools and Steel Products |
4 |
4 |
|
Heating Materials |
4 |
4 |
|
Overland Transportation |
1 |
0 |
|
Stationary and Books |
1 |
0 |
According to the same survey Naishtot had 14 light industry factories, all owned by Jews, as can be seen in the following table:
|
Type of the Factory |
Total |
Jewish Owned |
|
Metal Workshops, Power Plants |
1 |
1 |
|
Chemical Industry: Spirits, Soaps |
3 |
3 |
|
Textile: Wool, Flax, Knitting |
2 |
2 |
|
Food |
1 |
1 |
|
Barber shops, bristle processing, and photo shops |
7 |
7 |
Transfer of regional offices from Naishtot to Shaki caused a slump in the economic situation causing many Jews to emigrate abroad.
The big flax processing plant established by the Lithuanian cooperative center- "Lietukis" employed no Jewish workers, except for 3-4 clerks. The bristle industry employed only 10-12 workers. Jewish people working in various trades were represented by 8 bakers, 7 butchers, 4 watchmakers, 3 barbers, 3 hatmakers, 2 cobblers and 1 tailor. Several families made their living in the transport business until this type of activity was taken away from Jews in 1936.
One of the Jewish businesses untouched by reforms since before the war was agriculture. 25 families owned an area of 320 hectares and continued to cultivate the land. However, only half of the families were able to make a living in agriculture, while the other half had to seek additional work to supplement their income. There were other Jews who rented land for cultivation .
The Nazis took over the rule in Germany in 1933 and in subsequent years, they imposed economic pressure on Lithuania negatively affecting a great number of Naishtot Jews. The border passing with Germany was closed, ultimately resulting in the closure of 24 shops and 2 custom clerk offices. Businesses such as stores, bakeries, and butcher shops, photographer shops and others saw a significant decrease in income attributed largely to the fact that Germans from the other side of the border stopped coming.
In 1935, Naishtot had 193 Jewish families with a total number of population numbering about 750 people.
Their occupations are detailed in the table below:
|
Occupation or Business |
Number of Families |
% |
|
Commerce |
87 |
45 |
|
Craft |
30 |
15.5 |
|
Agriculture |
20 |
10.5 |
|
Different professions and Clerks |
15 |
8 |
|
Non professional trades |
5 |
2.5 |
|
Religious Ministers |
5 |
2.5 |
|
Industry |
3 |
1.5 |
|
Free professions |
3 |
1.5 |
|
Without defined occupation |
25 |
13 |
|
Total |
193 |
100 |
According to telephone book of 1939 there were 60 subscribers to telephone service, 16 of them were Jews
Education and Culture
In the twenties of the 20th century the "Va'ad HaKehila" established and maintained a Kindergarten and an elementary school in which the language of learning was Yiddish. Later a Hebrew school of the "Tarbuth" branch was established in Naishtot. This school was located in one building together with the Lithuanian school. It was a two-storey building with water supply, sewage and central heating. It was the only building in town boasting such conveniences.
For nine years the Hebrew progymnasium of Naishtot existed. It was established by a former Naishtot Jew named Fain. One of the directors of the school was Dr.Shlomo Kodesh (he died in 2000 in Israel). After the closure of the gymnasium only a few of Naishtot children studied in Hebrew high schools of the adjacent towns. Several families sent their children to the local "Kheder". Shortly before the Holocaust the local Rabbi opened a "Yeshivah Ketanah", a small yeshiva school for boys.
After WW1, local Jewish youth established a Yiddish library. In 1925 this library was transferred to "Libhober fun Wissen" (Fans of Knowledge) society ultimately accumulating a collection of about 1,100 books. In addition to the library the town boasted an evening school, and was known to organize literature and drama evenings, lectures and a drama group performing plays in Yiddish. The Jewish theaters of Kovno seldom visited Naishtot. Not only was there a Yiddish library but there was also a Hebrew Library, founded by the "Eretz Yisrael HaOvedeth" league. In the middle of the 30- ties the "Hekhalutz" and "Sirkin Society" drama group was formed, which on occasion performed a light repertoire of Yiddish plays
Through the years the majority of Naishtot young people left town settling all over the world bringing the town’s cultural activities to a gradual decline. Among the Jewish population, there were only 40 subscribers to the 4 Yiddish daily newspapers published in Kovno
Zionist and other activities
The general political leanings among the Jewish population of Naishtot are reflected in the October 1922 elections to the first Lithuanian Seimas (Parliament). The Zionist list got 358 votes, "Akhduth" (Agudath Yisrael)-47 votes and the Democrats-2.
Almost all Zionist parties and youth organizations were represented by town branch organizations. The "HaShomer-HaTsair" branch was established in 1923 and was in operation until 1940 when it was closed by the Soviets. In 1936, this branch had about 50 members. Naishtot also had branches of "Betar", "HeKhalutz" and "Maccabi" with 124 members by the end of the 20-ties.
The results of the elections to 5 Zionist congresses (1927-1935) are presented in the table below:
|
Congress Nr. |
Year |
Total Shekalim |
Total Voters |
Z"S______Z'Z |
Revisionists |
General Zionists A __ B |
Grosmanissts |
Mizrakhi | |||
|
15 |
1927 |
34 |
23 |
|
|
-- |
9 |
-- |
-- |
2 | |
|
16 |
1929 |
51 |
51 |
|
|
-- |
16 |
-- |
-- |
4 | |
|
17 |
1931 |
66 |
54 |
|
|
8 |
22 |
-- |
-- |
7 | |
|
18 |
1933 |
-- |
245 |
|
49 |
22 |
-- |
4 |
24 | ||
|
19 |
1935 |
-- |
335 |
|
-- |
4 |
58 |
22 |
53 | ||
In 1934, a committee was organized with a mandate to establish a "WIZO" branch in town. A committee of 7 members and one representative of every youth organization organized fundraising for KK"L (Keren Kayemeth LeYisrael).
Many Jews of Naishtot were members of the "Volunteer Fire Brigade". The administrator of the Brigade was Kh.Rosenfeld.
Religion and Welfare
The public institutions of the Jewish Community included a magnificent Synagogue, the Beth-Midrash, the "Kloiz", the BathHouse and the Mikveh. The community employed a Rabbi, two "Shokhtim" (slaughterers) one of which was also the "Khazan" (Cantor). The list of Rabbis who served in Naishtot is presented in Appendix 2.
At the Beth Midrash and the "Kloiz", daily lessons in Talmud were offered by the "Shas" society and in Mishnah by the "Mishnayoth Society". The community also had a "Tehilim" society, "Ein Ya'akov" society, "Menorath HaMaor" society and a "Khevrah Kadisha".
For the lay out of the Jewish institutions in town see map below.
Welfare distribution was organized by "Ezrah" (Help) society, which took over most of the functions of the previous "Va'ad HaKehilah". "Ezrah" owned the building of the "Talmud-Torah", the "Hakhnasath-Orkhim" and the BathHouse. Its budget came mainly from donations and from the "Aliyoth LaTorah" contributions . "Linath HaTsedek" and two "Gemiluth Khesed" societies of Naishtot were formed with the help of former Naishtot Jews of South Africa and America. These societies provided financial help to needy families. The "Bikur Kholim" society cared for the sick people. But the decrease of the Jewish population and the worsening of the economic situation halted the activities of the community organizations of Naishtot.
For a partial list of prominent personalities who were born in Naishtot, see Appendix 3.
Two parts of Naishtot map prepared by Ralph (Yerakhmiel) Goldberg in 1971, Chicago, Ill.
In the Future: Click here for enlarged versions of these maps: Map 1, Map 2. Note that each is about 1 MByte in size and will take some time to down load depending on your Internet connection and modem.