Birzai, Lithuania

Jewish Community of Birzh

Coordinates: 56°12′N 24°45′E

Go to: JewishGen Communities Database

Alternate names: Biržai [Lith], Birzh [Yid], Birzhi [Rus], Birże [Pol], Birži [Latv], Birsen [Ger], Biržā, Berzai

Region: Kovno

Location: 94 kilometers (58 miles) ENE of Siauliai

Background Information

Article on Birzh, Lithuania by Joseph Rosin

English Edited by Sarah and Mordehai Kopfstein (Haifa, Israel)

Searchable Databases

1. •Find other researchers for your shtetl by searching JewishGen Family Finder (JGFF)
   

2. •Search Yad Vashem
   

3. •United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
   

4. •Search the Litvak ALD
   

5. •Check to see if there is a Yizkor book
   

6. •Check the Cemetery Database
   

Other web sites:

Wiesenthal Center

kapciamiestis.org

The original site compiled by the late Joseph Rosin z”l and webmaster Joel Alpert.

It was originally created on 1 November 2003 and last updated on 15 June 2009.

Memorialization for the Holocaust Victims from the Town of Birzh, Lithuania

On August 8, 1941, 2400 Jews living in the town of Birzh were force-marched to the Astrava forest, 3 Km outside of Birzh, and brutally murdered.  The victims lie buried in the forest in two large mass graves.  A fuller description of this horrific event is found at https://kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/birzai/Birzh_3.html .

A major undertaking to build, at the gravesite, a memorial to the victims is now in process, with the goal of dedicating the memorial in May 2019.   A list of victims has been constructed using data from the Yad Vashem Database of Shoah Victims Names.  However, this list falls well short of identifying a majority of those who died on that fateful day.  The organizers of the memorial project urgently seek people who can contribute names of Jews who were resident in Birzh during WWII or Jews that are known to have perished in the Astrava forest. 

If you have such names or other pertinent information to share, please contact Jonathan Dorfan, jdorfan@yahoo.com .  Alternatively, or in addition to, please fill out the Testimony Form (one form per victim) to capture, in a standardized format, what information you have. 

Many thanks

Jonathan