Zhager

Emigration and Extermination

A major theme of Žagarė Jewish history is that of emigration, with Jews leaving for larger towns in Lithuania or very often leaving the country altogether. There are economic and political reasons for this movement. For example, in spite of economic growth, Jews suffered greatly under Tsarist rule. Over 600 anti-Jewish laws were enacted from 1825 to 1855. These ranged from expulsions from towns and villages where they lived for generations to a conscription edict issued in August 1827 making Jewish communities responsible for delivering up young males between 12 and 18 for twenty-five years of service to the Tsar's army. There are many stories about efforts to save children from being impressed into the army. For example, Rabbi Elijah Schick took matters into his own hands and freed Jewish children who were to be impressed; also, he would hide, in his own house, the children in greatest danger of being impressed.

Partly in a response to the conscription edicts, there was a wave of emigration from Žagarė to South Africa, and to America, in the decade 1880-1890. There were also "economic emigrants"; it was usually the poorer Jews, the ones who did not participate greatly in economic growth, who left for foreign lands. In 1887 a society of Žagarė émigrés was established in Philadelphia, and another in Johannesburg in 1895.

Of course, the final decimation of the Jewish community came about during World War II. As the Germans moved into Lithuania in 1941, after Hitler ended his peace treaty with the Soviet Union, Jews were moved from other nearby towns to join the Jews in the Zhager ghetto that was now fenced off with barbed wire. Estimates of the number of Jews in the ghetto at this time range up to 9,000. Work parties were arranged for those who could work. In general, the Germans were actively helped by armed Lithuanians, who called themselves "Anti-Soviet National Partisan Fighters".

During the first week of October 1941 all the Jews were marched to the market square by the Germans with the help of Lithuanian auxiliaries. An eyewitness account tells how the Jews were rounded up in the central market with a German officer in charge and surrounded by Lithuanian men with firearms in their hands. As soon as the German officer finished speaking they opened fire on the masses and many died instantly. Jews that survived were loaded onto trucks and brought to a nearby park where they were massacred.

A secret report by the commander of the Einsatzkommando 3/A detailing executions carried out in various Lithuanian localities lists an "Action" in Žagarė on October 2, 1941where 2,236 Jews (men, women, and children) were killed. Other estimates of the total number of Jews killed over the next three days range up to many thousands more. View a translation of this report.

The events of October 1941 saw many Lithuanians participating in the murder of their Jewish neighbors. It has been said that Žagarė ceased to flourish when the Jewish community was destroyed.

Here is a link to the Yadad-in Unum webpage that documents the execution sites of Jewish Victims:
http://www.yahadmap.org/#village/agar-zhager-zhagare-scaron-iauliai-lithuania.680

Žagarė, Lithuania

Zhager

Zhager [Yid], Zhagare [Rus], Żagory [Pol], Žagarė [Latv]

Emigration and Extermination

Introduction

History

Notable personalities

Righteous Among the Nations Award Ceremony

- March 2013

Žagarė Cemeteries

Former Jewish Buildings Today

Family Histories

General