Vu zol ikh geyn ?

Jewish families often asked themselves this question, especially in times of disaster.After the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in the year 70 AD by the Romans, the Jews travelled all over the world to find a new home (Diaspora). Some of them settled in Lithuania and lived a quiet life there till the end of the 19th century. From 1900 onwards the influence of Czar Nicholas II and his government on the population became more and more perceptible. A part of Lithuania was ruled by the Czar and his ancestors ( since 1795) . Nicholas II was known for his anti-semitism. He supported e.g. the pogroms (riots organized against the Jews). More and more Jews fled, they left Russia , including the Baltic States, to emigrate to the USA ; a country which was known in those days for its open policy towards immigrants.

This was also the case for the Jews of Pakruojis. We are in the year 1905. Ten years later (in 1915) the Russians regarded the Lithuanian Jews as a threat to the safety of their czardom, because many Jews spoke German,they traded with Germany and were interested in German culture.

This is the reason why the Russians forced them to leave their houses and to move to an area far away from the German border. This measure caused a lot of problems and misery for the Lithuanian Jews and in this way also for the Jews of Pakruojis. The latter had to leave Pakruojis and to settle somewhere else. 

During the first World War from 1914 till 1940 some Jewish families of Pakruojis emigrated to South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, Palestine and the USA. The majority were young people.

In the years around 1930 the situation for the Lithuanian Jews had grown even worse. Lithuania had become a Republic (on 16-2-1918) and its policy towards its Jewish citizens was a hostile one. This hostility had already started at the end of the 19th century, when the industrial revolution started.  One of the leading anti-semitic newspapers at that time was ‘Varpas’, edited by Kudirka. In this newspaper  one proclaimed, that the bad economic situation in Lithuania was caused by the Jews. This had to change. It was said: The economy of Lithuania belonged to the Lithuanians only and not to the Jews. Kudirka, the editor, supported many writers of these articles. He was the leader of the Lithuanian National Movement which characterized itself  by (1) hatred against the Jews, (2) adoration and laudation regarding the farmers and (3) the glorification of the Lithuanian language. The Lithuanian Jews in general didn’t speak Lithuanian, but Russian, Polish and German, because they needed these languages for their profession. (traders, bankers). This fact caused a lot of problems.

Kudirka was the writer of the Lithuanian anthem. His influence was widely spread all over the country. He wrote a book on his theories,called: Rastai ( Writings ). Thus a small town like Pakruojis must have heard of him, of his theories and his influence.

Since 1990 the Republic of Lithuania has been an independent state.  

The first Jewish families, to my knowledge, settled in Vilnius , the capital of Lithuania , at the beginning of the 14th century. The highest number of Jews, living in Lithuania , was to be found at the end of the 19th century. During the German-Nazi Occupation in Lithuania from 1941-1944 of the 250.000 Lithuanian Jews only 2000 survived. (Less than 1 %). The other 99 % were killed, shot, murdered, thrown into fire, burned alive in a locked building, transported to concentration camps where they were either put to death or subjected to all kinds of atrocities. The German Nazis fulfilled their task thoroughly, assisted by Lithuanian, Ukrainian and Latvian people. They destroyed a wonderful and interesting culture and society, which had reached a very high standard.