Town Histories from Selected Yizkor Books

1.  Rokishok (from Pinkas HaKehillot Lita)

Rokishok was written by Raphael Julius and is included in Pinkas HaKehillot Lita [Encyclopedia of the Jewish Communities of Lithuania], Editor Prof. Dov Levin and Assistant Editor Josef Rosin, Yad Vashem, Jerusalem, 1996, pp. 647-653, translated by Haim Pogrund.  For this publication, several changes have been made to better align the translation with the original Hebrew text.

Rokiškis (in Yiddish, Rakishok), (in Russian, Rokishki.)

A Provincial Town in Northeastern Lithuania.

The town of Rokishok is situated on both sides of the Laukipe River, 22 km. from the Latvian border, and 3 km. from the railway line connecting Dvinsk, Liepaja, and Riga in Latvia with Ponevez, Shavli, and Kovno in Lithuania. Because of the distance from Kovno, Rokishok was called “Kamchatke.”

The earliest reference to Rokishok by this name is found in records dating back to 1499 and belonged to the noble family of Kroshinski and later to the Count Tizenhaus. In 1780 Rokishok passed into the hands of the Pashdiatzki [Przezdziecki] family. The business manager of this family opened connections with the Jews in the vicinity, and invited them to settle in the area.

In the Nineteenth Century Rokishok changed from a country seat to the provincial center. A large market, which opened on Mondays, led to the expansion of economic ties from the town. In 1824 there were 28 houses in the town, and in 1825 more than 200 inhabitants were living there, the majority being tradesmen, while others were businessmen. By 1859, the numbers had doubled, beer being manufactured, flour mills, built and operated by wind and water, while woodcutting, a hotel, and an old people’s home were established. In addition to the weekly markets, an annual trade fair was incepted. A hospital was opened in the middle of the nineteenth century, while in the second half, the town expanded rapidly, following the creation of a direct rail link in 1873. As a result of this wood exports increased tremendously as did that of wheat and linen. The town became the agricultural business hub of the district. The linen trade was especially successful with exports to foreign countries, including Holland and England via Riga.

By 1885 there were 187 houses in Rokishok. In 1908 the town boasted 100 shops mostly owned by Jews. A music school was created in the Tyzenhaus mansion.

Until the First World War Rokishok was a county capital in the Novo-Aleksandrovsk (in Lithuanian:  Zarasai) District. [Note:  The name of Zarasai was adopted in 1929.  From 1919-1929, the town was known as Ezherenai (in Lithuanian:  Ežerėnai).] During the German occupation (1915-1918) Rokishok became the provincial capital. When the Germans departed they burnt the railway station. On 13 December 1918, a Soviet government was installed which lasted until June 1919. Even during the period of an independent Lithuania after 1920 Rokishok retained its urban rights as well as its status as the provincial capital and continued to flourish. Roads and alleys were paved and sidewalks were completed. The number of houses increased and in 1923 there were 29 streets with a total length of 10 km., 551 houses (of which 48 were made of stone). There was a power station, three flour mills, a woodcutting mill, a dairy, a factory for starch production, a metal working factory, a hospital with 65 beds, and two pharmacies. The town boasted ten doctors. In 1918 a progymnasium was established which in 1919 became a full-fledged gymnasium (high school.)

The Jewish Settlement until the Second World War in Rokishok

According to local tradition, the Jewish settlement was originally a half kilometer from the present site, but was moved to its present position because of a tragic circumstance which involved the local countess by name Ishevna, her business manager, his son, and the son of a Jewish tailor, who was an only child. Due to an argument between the children in 1730, the countess, who hated Jews, decreed that when the Jewish boy marries, he and his bride should be burned on their wedding day. The Jews boycotted the place and moved their settlement some distance away. This place became the cemetery of Rokishok.

Once there was the threat of a pogrom against the Jews, many of whom heeded the advice of the local police chief and left the town. The wealthy members of the community hid their valuables as well as the Sifrei Torah of the community in the cellar of the home of the local priest, but the Cossacks discovered the hiding place as a result of information from the priest’s servants, and stole the valuables and desecrated the Sifrei Torah.

In January 1885 a local farmer murdered a Jew named Zelig Krok while robbing him of three hundred rubles. The murderer was found and convicted and ordered to be deported to Siberia for seventeen years with hard labour. In addition, he was ordered to pay the widow one thousand rubles in compensation.

In 1889 a Bikkur Holim Society was established and one of its first tasks was to aid victims of the cholera epidemic in the early nineties.

In 1905 Hillel Idelson set up a loan fund which later became a bank. He also established a merchant bank. In 1906 a society for assistance to the poor was incepted.

During the First World War many of the Jews moved to Russia. Those who remained suffered from restriction of movement, confiscations and forced labor, which was imposed upon them by the Germans.

At the end of the war a portion of the Jews returned and amongst them were some from the surrounding districts. With the help of the Joint [the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee] and the People’s Bank (established in 1923 for the purposes of mutual loans; in 1927 it had 466 members, and in 1929 – 357), as well as relatives from abroad, the Jews rebuilt their homes and their businesses. This period was noted for rapid development and building projects. At the same time, many Lithuanians from the surrounding villages settled in Rokishok.  They opened many businesses (before the war there were only 3 shops owned by non-Jews), as well as Lithuanian cooperatives. Lithuanian tradesmen and merchants came to the town, and one of them opened a shop for metal implements.

Most of the Jews made a living from small businesses and peddling. On market days they used to buy linen, beef, poultry, eggs, and other agricultural crops from the local farmers, and sold them groceries, cloth, machines, and haberdashery. In Rokishok there were a number of prominent merchants who controlled the trade in linen, grain, and cattle. Others had wholesale businesses in metal goods, textiles, agricultural machinery and so on. Before the First World War the merchants imported their goods from Dvinsk [today, Daugavpils, Latvia]. During the period of independent Lithuania (1918-1940), after the contact with Dvinsk stopped because of the creation of independent Baltic states, trade was done with Ponevez, Shavel, and Kovno. 

After a number of years of development and building, a depression set in for the Jews. The reasons were the nationalization in trade of linen and grain, competition from the Lithuanian cooperatives, the burden of taxation and boycotting of tradesmen and Jewish merchants. Amongst others, a Catholic bank (or cooperative) was set up in order to undermine Jewish trade. Lithuanian merchants sold goods at especially low prices and caused substantial damage to Jewish tradesmen. This was done with the support and clandestine encouragement of the local government. After the Catholic bank went bankrupt, it burnt down and the Jews were blamed. In 1925, there was a wave of bankruptcies of Jews, and many emigrated to South Africa and the U.S. Some went to Israel (in 1929-1930).

According to a government survey in 1931 there were 177 businesses in Rokishok Eighty- nine (76% were Jewish owned) as follows:

According to the same survey there were 33 light industries in Rokishok, of which 26 (79%) belonged to Jews as follows:

In 1937 there were 101 Jewish tradesmen: 33 shoemakers and leather stitchers, 24 butchers, 16 tailors and dressmakers, 7 metalworkers, 3 bakers, 3 barbers, 3 leatherworkers, 2 milliners, 2 knitters, 2 painters, 2 watchmakers, a carpenter, a photographer and two others.

A few hundred Jews made a living from small businesses -- tanning, flour milling, sausage making, metal casting, as well as from a factory for sweets and saccharine, a workshop for agricultural machinery, a wood mill, and a power station. A number of Jews were porters and and waggoners. Also under Jewish ownership were two hotels, two photography shops, and the cinema. Almost all the doctors and pharmacists in Rokishok were Jews. Although Rokishok developed rapidly, the Jews had stiff competition from the Lithuanians who were supported by the local authorities. In 1939, there were 130 telephones in Rokishok, 40 belonging to Jews.

The majority of Jews in Rokishok were Hassidim (Lubavitch, Bobroisk, and Lade.) Rokishok was one of the few places in Lithuania where there was a center for Hassidut Habad. The rabbi of Lade passed through Rokishok after his release from jail in Russia. Before the First World War there were two rabbis in Rokishok, one for the Hassidim and the other for the Mitnagdim, and two ritual slaughterers. One of these was a great scholar and a Talmud chaham. In February 1931, many visitors came to see the Lubavitcher Rebbe who was then visiting the town.

In the main street [note: Synagogue Street] there were three Batei Midrash, all belonging to Habad: The yellow Beit Hamidrash was for the scholars, the green was for property owners, and the red, which was the biggest, for the common people. (These colors were those of the Lithuanian national flag).  In all of them Shiurim (studies) were held. The synagogue was at the edge of the town. Additional houses of worship were at the Talmud Torah of Rabbi Dober Zelkind, the Zionist Forum which gathered on festivals, and a minyan of youths which gathered throughout the year.

Before the First World War, most of the education was in heders or yeshivot. A few of the youth studied in the Russian gymansium. In 1910, a private progymnasium for girls was established (of the Misses Gurevitch and Rabinovitch.) During the period of independent Lithuania there was a yeshiva and a smaller one (of Rabbi Moshe Siderer,) where local youths also studied. An elementary school belonging to the Tarbut group (where 200 pupils studied); a school belonging to the Yavne group; and a Hebrew progymnasium (where 40 pupils studied), were also established. Pupils were accepted to the first three grades of the Hebrew progymnasium. Children from other shtetlach enjoyed substantial reductions in tuition fees here. Quite a number of Jewish boys studied at the Lithuanian Gymnasium. In Rokishok there was also a library and a drama club.

Rokishok had a very vibrant political life. In 1905 there was activity in the Revolutionary underground which distributed pamphlets and organized demonstrations against the regime of the Czar. In 1921 a communal committee was formed according to the autonomy granted to the Jews under the constitution for the independent Lithuania. It comprised 15 members, 4 General Zionists, 7 from Achdut, and 4 Poalim. The committee dealt with taxes as well as the maintenance of educational and charitable bodies. After the committee was disbanded, these functions were performed by private companies and societies.

At the beginning of the period of independent Lithuania, two Jews were appointed deputies to the mayor of the town at different times, (Itzhak Serber, and Wolpert.) In 1924, 7 Jews were elected to the town council, which comprised 14 members. At that time the mayor and his deputy were Jews. The Jewish faction on the council cooperated with the progressives. In 1931, 5 Jews and 7 Lithuanians were elected to the council.

Amongst the communal institutions were Linat Zedek, Bikkur Holim, an orphanage for 40 boys and girls (under the management of Hannah Shadur), and a Society of Pious Women that nursed the sick, aiding the poor, as well as bankrupts. In the summer of 1928, the Central Helping Committee distributed money to help the needy. The committee allocated 3,800 Lit. as non-interest loans. The distribution of the money was undertaken by the local branch of the Jewish People’s Bank (Folksbank), which created a special committee for that purpose. One of the topics discussed by the central committee was how best to organize the charitable works in Rakishok. A local philanthropist, Hanoch Chmelnik, donated for this purpose 5000 Lit., which was also distributed by the People’s Bank. The bank granted sums of 200 Lit. for three months and up to 300 Lit. for six days. The capital sum was held by the bank in trust for a period of one year. In recognition of the significant contribution of Hanoch Chmelnik, the management of the bank decided to call the fund by the name of Hanoch and Dvora (his wife) Chmelnik.

An American millionaire philanthropist by name Abraham Shapiro who stemmed from Radute, a nearby town, visited Rokishok and on his return to the US sent 19 boxes of clothing and shoes to be distributed to the needy, both Jewish and non-Jewish. He also requested to be involved in the construction of an old people’s home and donated $500.00 for this purpose. Although the Rokishok town council hesitated to accept this donation for the intended purpose, the Jewish subcommittee established for this purpose, decided to use it for the building of a mikve (ritual bath) instead.

 
During the 1930s, branches of various General Zionist Movements including Zadik Zadik, Zadik Samech Jugend Verband, and Maccabi (which had 128 members), and Ha'Poel were active. There were 2 libraries and a reading room. In one library (belonging to the Liebhaber fun Wissen) [Seeker of Knowledge], there were housed 600 volumes, with only 50 readers. In the second library, belonging to the Zadik Samech Jugend Verband, there were housed only 300 volumes with an even smaller reading public. In the mid-1930s a literary trial took place for the first time in Rokishok by Zadik Samech. Besides the Zionist movements in Rokishok there was a branch of the Yiddish Culture League, as well as leftist organizations. In addition, the religious organizations had branches – Tiferet Bachurim, Young Mizrachi, Agudath Yisroel, and Young Agudath Yisroel. All the religious movements supported the settlement of Eretz Israel [the Land of Israel]. In 1935 a Yavneh group was active in Rokishok. In addition to the above, all the youth movements which were to be found in Lithuania were represented in Rokishok, e.g., Hashomer Hatzair, Gordonia, and Betar

At the time that the agricultural fair [“yirid”] was held in March 1921 anti-Semitic pamphlets appeared, calling for Lithuanians to come out against the Jews. In April 1929, stones were thrown at Jews, windows were smashed and Jews were beaten. In October 1931 the opening of the Hebrew Gymnasium and the setting up of the Independence Monument were celebrated. The Lithuanian minister of defense praised the part taken by the Jews in the war for Lithuanian independence.

During the elections for the nineteenth Zionist Congress in 1935, the shtetl was at the center of a civil uprising. The Jewish inhabitants who until then had lived peaceably with each other became enemies, as if they had no other problems, such as earning a living, difficulties with the cotton monopoly, or indeed even being excluded from all sources of income.

On 19th June 1935 Yudel Mark (one of the leaders of the Peoples Party in Lithuania), appeared before the tradesmen’s organization and urged them to set up a working committee to oppose the anti-Semitism which had reared up in Germany. The members of the organization asked for directives from Kovno.

Among the rabbis who served in Rokishok were: From the Mitnagdim, R. Eliahu Margaliot (who had served previously in Radin), and his son, R. Isser (Asher), the son-in-law of R. Isser, R. Shmuel Levitan, the founder of a yeshiva prior to the First World War. The yeshiva was reestablished afterwards by R. Dobar Zelkind. Amongst the heads of the yeshiva was R. Klein, and the junior yeshiva was headed by R .Moshe Siderer. The last rabbi of Rokishok was R. Zelig Orelowitz, who perished in the Holocaust. Among the Hassidic Rabbis, R. Bezalel the son of Yosef Katz, of the Lubavitcher Hassidim, who reached a good age and died at 96 years after he had worked at Rokishok for many years. His son-in-law R. Abraham Meyerowitz, a pupil of the yeshivas of Mir, Voloshen, and Slobodka and a founder of the Jewish People’s Bank, went on to become the rabbi of Abel [Obeliai] in 1928.

Among the well-known communal personalities were Hillel Edelson and his sister Hannah Shadur, Ch. Ersh, David Rosenstein (the school principal), his wife Yaffa Rosenstein-Kaplan, Pesach Ruch, Harmatz, R. Dobar Zelkind, Moshe Westerman, and Avigdor Glombitzki, among the leaders of the Hebrew Scout Movement.

Some famous personalities who were born in Rokishok included: The Chief Military Rabbi of Lithuania, R. Shmuel-Abba Snieg, the industrialist Avraham Shapiro, who was mentioned previously, the journalist and writer Levi Shalit, the future Chief of the Soviet Airforce, Yaakov Smushkevich, who was born in 1902. He joined the Communist Party in 1918 and was amongst the founders of the Soviet government in Rokishok. When Soviet domination came to an end he traveled to Russia where he took part in the Civil War. He graduated from the Senior Aviation College and in 1936 took part in the Spanish Civil War. He distinguished himself in air battles and became known as “General Douglas.” He returned to Russia in 1937, became chief of the air force, and distinguished himself in battle against the Japanese. In 1940 he was arrested, and in October of 1941, executed. Joseph Harmatz was one of the activists in the Vilna Ghetto and a partisan, and eventually became the General Director of World ORT.

On the eve of World War Two there were about 3,000 Jews in Rokishok, together with some hundreds of refugees from Poland. In June 1940 the Red Army occupied Lithuania and Rokishok came under Soviet control.

During the Soviet occupation (1940-1941) the authorities confiscated Jewish businesses and a number of shopkeepers and property owners, such as Harmatz and Klingman, were exiled to Russia. During this period in Rakishok, in the place of the Hebrew-language Tarbut school, a school was established in which teaching was in the Yiddish language. This school was founded with the help of “The Volks Hilf,” the parents committee, and the Communist Party. This institution managed to produce two graduate classes, in all, 60 pupils.

After the Germans invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, the Red Army managed to hold out in the town until Friday, 27 June 1941. Even up until the day before, the Russians were preparing an attack against the German army and Jewish youth helped as well. Weapons were distributed to the latter and they were positioned and ready for defense and attack (it was not without good reason that the Jews of Rokishok attained the nickname of “The Rokishoker Tzimblers,” in other words, ready to strike, or to be aggressive. However, on Friday morning the Red Army departed, taking with it the local government and party operatives. The Jews realized what fate awaited them and many attempted to flee with the departing Red Army to Russia. However, at the Latvian border the Russian Border Guards prevented them from crossing, and the majority had little alternative but to return to their homes. The few that managed to cross, found refuge in Uzbekistan and other places in Central Asia. The more able enlisted into the Lithuanian division of the Red Army, which was founded at the end of 1941.

With the entry of the Nazis into Lithuania in June 1941 an armed and organized unit was formed in northeast Lithuania, whose members were originally operatives in the Communist Party. Amongst them were many Jews from Rokishok. On 26th June, the unit attempted to push back the Lithuanian Nationalists who had infiltrated into the area (prior to the arrival of the Germans). About thirty members of the unit were killed and amongst them Yossel Shorper, a senior operative in the Communist party of Ponevezh. On the way to Rokishok, Lithuanian hooligans accosted the Jews and a number of the latter were killed. A few young men continued the fight with their weapons.  A number of combatants fell on both sides.

The German army entered Rokishok on the evening of the same day but stopped in the middle of the town, because the official entry was supposed to have been on the following day, Shabbat, 28^th June 1941. The next day the Germans marched through the streets of the town and were welcomed with cries of joy and flowers.

Amongst those who returned to Rokishok from the border were many Jews from the surrounding towns. One of the first decrees issued by the Germans was for the “foreigners” to return to their places of origin and so, on 30 June 1941, all of the latter were expelled from the town.

The first Jewish victim to fall immediately after the entry of the Germans was Jacob Jacobson who watched the marching Germans from a window and was shot. On the return from the funeral of the latter, a second Jew, Katriel Shomer, was shot and killed. This was the beginning of the suffering and humiliation, which awaited the Jews of Rokishok.

The Germans separated the men from the women and children and delegated work to each group. Many farmers arrived to obtain Jewish workers. It is probable the Jewish males were held in the stone stables of the Count Pashdiatzki [Przezdziecki]. The women and the children up to the age of 8 years were gathered at Antanaše, the holiday resort of the inhabitants of Rokishok, not far from the town. The Lithuanian governor of the Rokishok area published a decree warning the farmers not to allow the Jews to be slack at their work and to curtail their movements.  Those who violated this law were subject to punishment. The Lithuanian nationalists who collaborated with the Germans, physically and cruelly maltreated the Jews and even shot them. For a short time a Judenrat functioned in Rokishok with Ozinkovitz and Jacob Kark at its head.

The Jewish males were shot to death on Friday and Saturday the 15th and 16th August 1941. (Chaf Beth and Chaf Gimmel of Av Tash''a). They were assembled at a certain point and were even allowed to bring some personal belongings. They were then taken to a place 5 kilometers from Rokishok, near the village of Viziomka, where three-meter deep pits had been prepared. They were ordered to half undress. The men obeyed. R. Zelig Orelowitz spoke to them and called upon them to die with heads held high and with “Sheket Nafshi” for the Sanctification of the Name [the peace of mind of knowing that they were being martyred for their faith]. The women started wailing. The Jews were forced to jump into the pits and were shot by the murderers who surrounded the pits. According to another witness the Jews were made to lie down in the pits in groups of one hundred. Whoever raised his head was immediately shot. Following this, the rest were machine-gunned. Between every layer of victims 20 to 30 cms. of sand was scattered, prior to bringing the next group. On the first day some thousands of men were killed. A few days later, on Monday 25th August 1941 (Bet b'Elul Tash''a) the women, the elderly, and the children were murdered; the number was about 2000. According to other witnesses, this took place on 20th August. Besides the Jews of Rokishok, those from Abel, Suvinishok, Ponedel, Panemunek, Kamai, Raduta, and from surrounding smaller townlets were also killed. Doctor Gundelman poisoned his family and himself, and likewise did Ita Schwartzberg.

The one survivor, Rachel Zagai, happened to be in the Kovno Ghetto, and later received certification from the church that she was a gentile. With their help she drifted from village to village, later working in East Prussia. After the war she immigrated to Israel.

In the spring of 1944 the Gestapo arrested a Lithuanian by name Vladas Andonas, accusing him of giving shelter to Jews. A farmer’s wife called Veisejiene from the town of Kadeliai hid 5 Jews who were ultimately saved from the slaughter. The farmer’s wife and the Jews were captured by the Gestapo. It is not known what became of them. A Lithuanian woman named Šniokienė from the nearby village of Rudeliai hid four Jews in her home and cared for them. In 1942 she was arrested with the Jews and placed in Rokishok Prison. Leonardas Garzas from Rokishok hid Reznekov, who was a Jewish volunteer in the Lithuanian army, together with three members of his family, amongst them two children.

In the vicinity of Rokishok there are 4 communal graves (by another account 7): in Antanoše 5 km. from Abel, about 200 metres from the left side of the road are buried 1160 who were murdered on 25^th August 1941; in the village of Vyzuonai about 200 metres to the left of the road leading to the settlement of Juodupė, are buried 67 who were murdered in July 1941; in the town of Steponiai 5 km. from Rokishok about 150 metres to the right of the road in the direction of Svedushch [Svėdasai] are 981 graves of those also murdered in July-August of 1941; in the forest of Velniaduobe 5 km. from Rokishok, not far from the village of Baiorai, 400 metres to the right of the road which leads to the road to Juodupė, are buried 3207 men, women, and children, who were killed on 25-26 August 1941. According to these facts the number of those murdered was between 4,700 and 4,800. After the war, those remaining from the surrounding villages erected monuments over the communal graves. On that in the Steponiai forest the following is inscribed: “At this spot are buried 981 citizens who were murdered by the fascist German occupiers and nationalist bourgeoisie between 27/6/1941 and 14/8/1941.”

After the war a small number of Jews returned to live in Rokishok. In 1959 there were 36 Jews in the town. Over the years the numbers decreased. In 1989, only ten Jews remained in Rokishok.

 2.  Rokishkis (from Lite, Volume I)

 
Rokishkis was written by Yudel Gapanovitz and is included in Lite (vol. 1), Editors: Dr. Mendel Sudarsky, Uriah Katzenelenbogen, J. Kissin, and Berl Kagan, Jewish-Cultural Society, New York, 1951, pp. 1590-1592. It was translated by Judie Ostroff Goldstein and Dr. Sonia Kovitz.

You can see this selection at Lite - Description of Rokiskis from Lite by Dr. Mendel Sudarsky, Uriah Katzenelenbogen, J. Kissin, and Berl Kagan or on the Jewishgen Yizkor Book Site.