Jewish Ramygala

In an article entitled The murder of Lithuanian Rabbis By Joseph Zack (Zera Kodesh), the author writes about the killing of the rabbi's:-

"It would be difficult to find the appropriate words to describe the extent of the suffering endured by the rabbis before they returned their souls to their almighty. Despite claims made after the war, these crimes were not committed by a select band of thugs but by people from all walks of life and professions who were eager to demonstrate their loyalty to the newly installed Nazi regime. Following are just some of the incidents of torture and abuse inflicted on rabbis by local teachers, doctors, engineers, lawyers, farmers, soldiers, police and others".

Ramygala 

“The Lithuanians singled out the local rabbi, Zissel Steinfeld for special attention. They tied him to a wagon and then dragged him through the cobblestone streets until he finally died.”

Read the full article here:-

http://www.lithuanianjews.org.il/HTMLs/article_list4.aspx?C2014=14314&BSP=14307&BSS59=13971  

The rabbis who officiated included Shemuel-Mosheh Shapiro who was i Ramygala from 1869; Joel Haitovsky, from 1892 and Zisl Shteinfeld who was murdered.

Jewish Ramygala

The  Encyclopaedia of Jewish  Communities in Lithuania shows the decline in the Jewish population as a percentage of the total population, which remains constant:-  

Year General
  Population Jews Percentage

1897      1,329        650        49%

1923      1,246         480       38%

1940      1,300     +/-350        27%

Between the wars, the Jews of Ramygala made their living as small traders. In 1929 there were thirty small shop owners, twenty five orchard and farm tenants, twenty craftsmen and eight peddlers.  

According to 2005 estimate, Ramygala had just below 1,700 residents.

On August 24-25 1941, (1-2 Elul, 5701), the rest of the Jews remaining in the town were led by foot towards Panevezys and were murdered in the Pajuoste forest, about 8 kilometers east of Panevezys. 

"In this place the Hitlerists and their helpers in August 1941 murdered about 8000 Jewish children, women and men"

Yiddish transliteration:    Di fir masn-kvorim fun di yidn fun Ponevezh un umgegnt vos zaynen dermordet gevorn fun di daytsh-litvishe fashistn in avgust 1941  

English:- The four mass graves of the Jews from Ponevezh and the surrounding areas  

See More:- http://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/pinkas_lita/lit_00640.html 

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