Accounts
Joy Hall
The Culmination of a Great Adventure
In
1995 I travelled from the UK with my sister Suki
to Žagarė,
looking for “roots” - a trip born out of
curiosity. Our father, Louis Towb, had
painted a rosy picture of the town, though he'd
never visited.
He knew of it only from the tales of
his father, David Towb (our grandfather) who had
been very fond of his birthplace, which he left in
the l890’s to avoid conscription.
When
we arrived, we found a depressed little place
seemingly in the middle of nowhere. We met
some local people who were at a loss to know how to
live full and fruitful lives, having endured 60
years of often brutal Nazi and Soviet
occupation.
So, with friends, I started a charity, Lithuania
Link (LL), to assist the town in its development of
many small self help projects – for example starting
the youth club, and founding the annual Cherry
Festival. In supporting its work LL was fortunate to
enlist many outstandingly gifted and generous
individuals to visit Žagarė,
in order to teach and to pass on their skills and
experience by demonstrating best practices in
administration, business, crafts and other areas.
Lasting friendships were made, including two
marriages! Much goodwill was extended to
LL by the people of Zagare and the people of
Cumbria in north west England
How
marvellous it is to see how things have moved
on. Lithuania and Žagarė
are now part of Western Europe. There is life and
hope in the community, and it's really a lovely
place to visit.
Lithuania
Link was wound up in 2009. But during
its years of involvement, I had always longed to
find a way of formally remembering the massacre in
1941of Žagarė’s
many Jewish citizens.
Valdas
Balciunas, a native of Žagarė,
who came to the UK in 1999 on a LL scholarship
became and has remained a close friend. He
instigated the memorial event in July 2012 when
several descendants of that vanished Jewish
community attended and contributed to this
significant happening.
The
ceremony was a triumph. To
be able to mark formally the Žagarė
tragedy of 1941, alongside
others whose families were
killed, and not to overlook the
bonding between the other
descendants which took place
over those two days was
extraordinary. Most of us
had never met. We became
so close - weeping, laughing and
especially talking! It was the
most wonderful climax to my own
particular and very personal
journey, which is
described in our booklet “A Great Adventure”
published in 2009 to mark the end of Lithuania Link
as an UK charity.
It had achieved its principal aims and
objectives. Anyone wishing to research further
into its activities between 1995 & 2009 should
consult the detailed records that are now held at
the Cumbria Archive Centre in Carlisle.
http://www.cumbria.gov.uk/archives/recordoffices/carec.asp
Thank you Valdas, and Cliff, Rod, Rose, Hazel, Raymond, Urs, Roger and Saulius and Sarah in Žagarė, Alex and Egle in Vilnius (Lithuania, USA, Australia, UK and Israel).
Introduction
History
Notable personalitiesMemorial Plaque Dedication - July 2012
Righteous Among the Nations Award Ceremony - March 2013
Žagarė CemeteriesFormer Jewish Buildings Today
Family Histories
General
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Copyright © 2009 Cliff Marks |