At nr. 73 , at Dariaus ir Gireno gatve, lived Goras Kaufmanas. He lived in a wooden house and kept a small shop, where he sold shirts and cotton. The house doesn´t exist, anymore.

At nr. 72 lived Benjaminas Kacas. Here, one could find the ´monopoly of vodka´. 

At 68, next to Benjamin  Katz´s house, lived Joselis Kacas. He kept a butchery. Joselis Kacas was married to Liebe. (source: Valerie Koseff, descendants’gallery)

mid 1920’s, Pakroy, The Katz boys

 Behind the house of Joselis Kacas was a property where Rachmilis Klioras lived. On the map it is nr.69. ( at the right side of the small street leading to the synagogue).

Klioras Rachmilis

Across the small road leading to the synagogue and entrance of the former “ghetto”of Pakruojis, we see house nr. 66 on the map. The two brothers Benjamin and Motel lived in this house which doesn’t exist, anymore.

On the map of 1935 the house is listed under Zalmanas Grinblotas who lived at no. 55.

Other names, mentioned by people who lived near the river Kruoja, at the same side as the two brothers, mentioned above,  were Baltius Keklis and Zydu Bendruonienis. They lived at 61 and 64.

Their names are not to be found on the map of 1935. Their houses are gone, just an empty spot near the river.

In the commentaries is written, that in 1935, house nr. 71  was under supervision of Va(e)inelis  (Vincelis) Rubinsteinas. The latter lived in the house 65 on the map, across the street, almost opposite house nr. 71. Also, the young Velve Rubinstein lived in house nr.65.. He was murdered at the Swedish Hill by the Germans.

A28) late 1920’s, Pakroy, Hena Lega Ligumer

Alongside, at the back of house nr.71, we see a right angle unmarked, between 71 and 78. This right angle represented the barn of Frada Sapiriene, the mother of Ruth Shapiro-Igdal and the grandmother of Frieda Igdal. The barn is still there and we took some photos.

At nr. 78 lived Frada Sapiriene and her family. Unfortunately, the house/ hotel doesn’t exist anymore. Something else was built on this spot. In her hotel, Frada had a billiard table, a novelty in those days. The question arises: What destiny the billiard table got after the war? Is it still somewhere in Pakruojis? Or elsewhere? That’s what people are talking about...

Frada had always a lot of guests and she even had a paying customer (a pupil) for a very long period.

Hotel Europa

house 78 (starting from the stairs to the right); Šapinienė Frida (= Frada Shapiro)

We are back now at the Vytauto gatve and we pass house nr. 78. We encounter house nr. 76 on the map. Firdas Armonas rented this house to the families: Katz and Fogel.

Fogel Child

We continue our walk on the map and house nr. 75 appears,  owned by a non- Jewish citizen of Pakruojis. Two Jewish families lived in this house: Har Beryl and Balser. Har Beryl kept a grocery.

A23) 1925, Pakroy  Sotcha Balser-Rudnik.

In the middle is the mayor of Pakruojis, at the left doctor Sreiberis, opposite of him Mrs Sreiberis, his wife (encircled)

On the picture: Antanas' brother  Zenonas

During the time of the massacre in the summer of 1941,  Berta Gegeckiene , already, didn’t live anymore in house nr. 75. She had moved to “New Pakruojis”.   After the war,  Berta Gegeckiene testimonied  as an important witness of the massacre at Morkakalnis. 

Finally, the house on the corner, next to house nr.75, was  house nr. 74; it belonged to Jenkelis Majus.

Now, this all is an empty spot.

We turn back and pass Frada's house and turn to the left. On our right we see houses 80, 82 and S. 

S is the Storage building belonging to the families Rabinovitsj, house nr. 80, Danisjevskij,  and Kaplan, house nr. 116.

Kaplan and Danisjevskij were brothers-in-law.

The families  Kaplan and Kolitzman , house nr. 121, were transported to Siberia by the Russians, just one week before the Germans occupied Lithuania. It saved their lives. The families Kaplan and Kolitzman emigrated to Israel at the end of the eighties, at the beginning of the nineties.

Rabinovitsj and Danisjevskij and Kaplan had the idea of having built a mill for producing electricity, but because of the war, they couldn’t make their dream come true.

Between the Storage and the house of Rabinovitsj is house nr. 82 to be seen on the map. It belonged to Ita Kaciene.

In house nr. 80 at Vytauto gatve, lived Chaimas Rabinovicius. The family consisted of: Rabbi Chaim Rabinovitsj, (non-practicing), his wife Rochel Leah, their daughters Nechama and Sora (Nechamka and Sorka), their son Yitzhak Yankel (It-zi-kle). 

1930’s, Pakroy, Nechama Rabinowitz, Soraleh Rabinowitz