During and After World War II
World War II started with the German invasion of Poland on September 1st, 1939, and its fatal consequences for Lithuanian Jews in general and Naishtot's Jews in particular were to be felt several months later.
According to the Ribbentrop-Molotov treaty on the division of occupied Poland, the Russians occupied the Suvalk region, but after delineation of exact borders between Russia and Germany the Suvalk region fell into German hands. The retreating Russians allowed anyone who wanted to join them to move into their occupied territory, and indeed many young people left the area together with the Russians. The Germans drove the remaining Jews out of their homes in Suvalk and its vicinity, robbed them of their possessions, then directed them to the Lithuanian border, where they were left in dire poverty. The Lithuanians did not allow them to enter Lithuania and the Germans did not allow them to return. Thus they stayed in this swampy area in cold and rain for several weeks, until Jewish youths from the border villages smuggled them into Lithuania by various routes, with much risk to themselves. Altogether about 2,400 refugees passed through the border or infiltrated on their own, and were then dispersed in the "Suvalkia" region. The Pilvishok community accommodated and cared temporarily for 100 refugees.
In 1939 there were 2,905 people in Pilvishok, including about 700 Jews (24%).
In June 1940 Lithuania was annexed to the Soviet Union and became a Soviet Republic. Following new rules, the bigger Jewish shops and workshops of Pilvishok were nationalized and commissars were appointed to manage them. The supply of goods decreased and, as a result, prices soared. The middle class, mostly Jewish, bore most of the brunt, and the standard of living dropped gradually.
All Zionist parties and youth organizations were disbanded, the Hebrew school was closed, and in its place a Yiddish school opened.
In the middle of June 1941 four Jewish families were exiled into Russia as "Unreliable Elements", following the nationalization of Jewish businesses in accordance with regulations. These were Yekutiel Fridman and his mother Tova (but they remained in town after the intervention of the workers committee of the fur factory which belonged to the Fridman family, where Mr. Fridman was the specialist in this vocation), Leib Ushpitz and wife Tsilah, Moshe Markson and wife Freidl, Meir Shimberg and wife Sarah, sons Hirshl and Baruch. Most of them returned to Lithuania several years after the war.
On the 23rd of June 1941, one day after the war between Germany and the USSR began, the German army entered Pilvishok. Immediately the Lithuanian police took over the rule of the town, the commander and his deputy were Germans. On the
28th of June an order was issued for Jews to wear a yellow "Magen David" on their clothes, not to walk on side walks and not to be in the street after 8 PM. It was also forbidden for Jews to buy goods in the market. One day, the prominent Jews of the town headed by Rabbi Avraham Reznik, were made to assemble in the market square, where their beards were cut off and they were forced to do "exercises". In the beginning of July the men were separated from the women and children and concentrated in a barn in Antanavas street, from where the Lithuanians would take them out for hard and humiliating labor. On their way back from work they were forced to go through swamps, to do "exercises" and to crawl for several kilometers. The German commander ordered the erection of a sewing shop and appointed Leibl Zeiberg as chief tailor. He also issued an order prohibiting Lithuanians to enter Jewish houses or to remove anything without his permission. Another order given stated that only men up to 50 and women up to 45 would be taken for work. The commander also forbade "exercises" in the swamps and advised the Jews to create a Jewish committee whose were to contact him in order to defend the Jews. A committee of 4 persons was set up, headed by Yitskhak Ushpitz, with Yisrael-Ber Axel in charge of maintaning order. Among the local Jews there were a few who had escaped from Vilkovishk, among them Rabbi Eliyahu-Aharon Grin.
On August 27th 1941, early in the morning, all men aged 14 to 70 years old were rounded up in the market square, the sick being brought on carts. They were kept under heavy guard by armed Lithuanians, who maltreated them during the day. At 9 o'clock in the evening they were led back to the barn.
The next day, Thursday the 28th, at 3 o'clock before dawn, all men were taken out of the barn. The 10 artisans were sent to the sewing shop, whereas 200 were given spades and told that they were being sent to Germany for digging peat. They were taken to a place about 1.5 km from town and ordered to dig two big pits. After completing the job they were shot by order of the local police commander and buried in the pits they had just dug. On Friday, the 29th of August, 500 men including Jews from neighboring villages and 20 young intelligent women from Pilvishok, were shot too. Among the victims was Dr. Moshe Dembovsky, a reserve Colonel of the Lithuanian army, who had fought during the Lithuanian independence war. Before he was shot he told the Lithuanian murderers that their crimes would not be forgotten and that the blood of the innocent victims would forever call for revenge, in response to which the Lithuanians cracked his head with the butts of their rifles. All the victims were piled into one of the pits, the other was left empty. The Lithuanians took the valuables of the victims for themselves.
The women and children were left in town, as well as 10 men who worked for the German "Kommandantur", also 30 men who managed to hide, among them Rabbi Reznik and Rabbi Grin who the women hid in a cellar.
On September 14th it was rumored that the next day something was about to happen. 70 women escaped and hid in surrounding villages. On the next day, the 15th of September 1941 (23rd of Elul 5701) the women and children were ordered to leave their houses and for each to take a small parcel with them, having been told that they were going to be transferred to the Kovno Ghetto. They were assembled in the market square, the 10 men who worked for the German "Kommantantur" and the rest of the men were also included. Among them was also the pharmacist Bolnik, who guessed what was going to happen and swallowed the poison he had prepared before. All, including the two Rabbis, were led to the empty pit. While being beaten, they were forced to undress and then they were shot, and the children were thrown into the pit alive. By evening the murderers returned to the town singing the Lithuanian anthem.
Gestapo men, in civilian dress, photographed the Lithuanian murderers at "work".
The names of the Lithuanian murderers are kept in the archives of Yad Vashem.
According to various sources, between 750 to 1,000 people were murdered on that day. A Lithuanian source says that altogether 1,800 people were murdered in Pilvishok.
In order to catch the Jews who had managed to escape and hide, the German commander announced that all those who had hidden could come back and that nothing bad would happen to them. He also promised them food and a quiet working atmosphere. About 70 Jews continued to work at the sewing shop of the German command.
During the night of the 14th of November 1941, 40 Jews were taken to the village of Baidilis, about 4 km from Pilvishok, and were shot there in a forest. 8 people who worked at the fur factory "Tigras" were transferred to the Kovno Ghetto in May 1942. 26 people who found shelter with peasants in the villages survived. One of the survivors, Barukh Reuven Bialoblotsky, was shot by Lithuanians in 1946.
After the war the survivors of Pilvishok and vicinity erected a monument on the mass graves. In 1986 the former Pilvishok Jews in Israel, together with those of Virbaln and Kibart erected a joint monument for these three communities in the Holon cemetery.
The wall bearing the name of Pilvishok in the "Valley of the Communities" in Yad-Vashem, Jerusalem
Appendix 1
A partial list of Personalities born in Pilvishok.
Eliezer-Dov Liberman (1820-1895), poet, writer and researcher, published many poems, articles and researches of the Bible in the Hebrew press. He also wrote several books.
Aryeh-Leib Bialoblotsky (1851-1881) Rabbi.
Aharon-David Markson (1882-1932), in America since 1904, published articles on literature in the Hebrew press in America, translated Mark Twain's book "The Prince and the Pauper" into Hebrew (Warsaw 1923), died in Detroit.
Ya'akov Klibansky (1888-1950), since 1910 in Eretz Yisrael, editor of the "Hed HaChinuch" journal of the Teachers Organization in Eretz Yisarel.
Shemuel-Shraga Bialoblotsky (1891- ) researcher of the Talmud, head of the Talmud department in Bar Ilan University in Tel-Aviv.
Hilel Bavli (1893-1961), in America since 1912, Professor of Modern Hebrew Literature at the Jewish Theological Seminar in New-York since 1937, Hebrew poet and writer, published poems and articles in the Hebrew press in Eretz Yisrael, published several poems and books, translated Dickens' book "Oliver Twist" and more.
Correspondents from Pilvishok at "HaMelitz": Ts.A.Bialoblotsky, Avraham London, Shemuel Levin.
Bibliography:
Yad-Vashem Archives: M-1/E-1237/1203, 1250/1208,1371/1321, 1670/1554. M-33/987; O-33/58; O-3/3680, 3788, 4161.
Koniuchovsky collection 0-71, Files 154, 155, 156.
Central Zionist Archives: 55/1701; 55/1788; 13/15/131; Z-4/2548.
Yivo NY, Lithuanian Communities Collection, Files 840-868.
The small Lithuanian Encyclopedia (Lithuanian), Vilnius 1966-1971.
The Lithuanian Encyclopedia (Lithuanian), Boston 1953-1965.
Lite (Yiddish), New-York 1951, volume 1 & 2.
Yahaduth Lita (Hebrew), Tel-Aviv, volumes 3-4.
Gotlib, Ohalei Shem, page 151.
Yiddishe Shprakh (Yiddish language), New York 1944, Vol. 4, pages 51-54.
Kli Sharet (Hebrew) Rabbi Avraham-Aba Reznik, Netanyah, 5707 (1947).
Markson Julius, Lisrod (To survive) (Hebrew), Tel-Aviv 1991.
Dos Vort (Yiddish Daily)- Kovno, 3.1.1935, 3.7.1935, 16.1.1939.
Di Yiddishe Shtime (Daily)- Kovno, 29.12.1920, 28.8.1922, 16.8.1928, 17.8.1928, 1.4.1932.
Der Yiddisher Cooperator (Yiddish), Kovno,Nr.12, 1924.
Kovner Tog (Kovno Day) (Yiddish), Kovno, 30.6.1926.
HaMelitz (Hebrew) St.Petersburg, 25.3.1879, 22.3.1881, 29.8.1882, 19.3.1883, 4.6.1883, 6.8.1887, 15.8.1887.
Cohen Berl, Shtet, Shtetlach un dorfishe Yishuvim in Lite biz 1918 (Towns, small towns and rural settlements in Lithuania till 1918) (Yiddish), New-York 1992.
Pinkas HaKehiloth. Lita (Encyclopedia of Jewish Settlements in Lithuania). (Hebrew), Editor: Dov Levin, Assistant editor: Joseph Rosin, Yad Vashem, Jerusalem 1996.
Masines Zudynes Lietuvoje (Mass Murder in Lithuania) (Lithuanian), 1941-1944, vol. 1 & 2, Vilnius.
The Book of Sorrow (Lithuanian, Hebrew, Yiddish, English), Vilnius 1997.
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