chapter 9
pharmacyThe ‘Vaistine’, the pharmacy belonged to the Jewish family Baras. The husband was a pharmacist and his wife was a doctor. They had one daughter called Ljuba. As Karolina, one of our eye-witnesses, recalls: Father Baras was very fond of his daughter and hugged and kissed her very often. The family was v one (the only one in the whole village ) and therefore attracted a lot of young children . They liked it very much to press the bell button and make a run for it. Karolina worked in Baras' household for one year. All of the Baras family were shot in 1941.
After the big fire of 1930, Shapiras and his family had to look for another house, because their own house (between housenr. 100 and 101, see map) was burnt down. It was a big house divided into two parts. The two Jewish families who lived there were related to one another. Schmuel Shapiro and Sotcha Lang were brother and sister).
late 1920’s, Rozalia, clockwise
from top left, Teibe Shapiro, Schmuel Shapiro,
Chaya Shapiro, Mary Shapiro Leibman (from Boston, Mass.) – on the side could
be Etaleh, Chono,
Moishe, or Mayer
late 1920’s,
Rozalia, l to r, Teibe Shapiro, Schmuel Shapiro, Chaya Shapiro, Mary
Shapiro Liebman, Lazar Lang, Yitzhak Lang, and
Sotcha Lang
Shapiro's
house (41)In 1930, Shapiras bought another house in Rozalimas. This beautiful house (number 41) belonged to a landlady called Konstancija Bagdonaviciene, who returned to her homeland Poland. Lang and his family left Rozalimas after the big fire, they settled in Panevezys. All of them were murdered in 1941 except for Yitzhak who emigrated before the war to his aunt Mary Shapiro Leibman.
People told us that there was a beautiful fence around family Shapiras'house. Near the house there was a barn without walls but with a roof. In this barn the family kept a tame roe. The children of Rozalimas often visited the barn to see this interesting and exciting animal. Shapiras was a trader and middleman in crops. He sold his goods in Panevezys. He owned horses and carts. He was one of the richest men of Rozalimas. He and his wife had one daughter and a few sons. (our eye-witnesses couldn't recall the exact number of sons). We do know now the names of their children. They were Etka, Moishe, Chono and Mayer. One of the sons is shown in the following picture.
group
with Shapira's sonHe is the third boy from the left. He was a member of the young firemen-brigade. The picture was taken in 1935. All of the family Shapiras were shot in 1941.
late
1920’s, Schmuel Shapiro
early 1930’s,
Rozalia,Schmuel
Shapiro and son Chono Olius Aleksandras recalled how one of the policemen brutally took one of Shapiras son’s bag. Olius didn’t like this at all. Shapiras' son and Olius played football together with the other children of Rozalimas on the footballpitch near Rozalimas’ pine wood. There is no picture of housenr. 89, because it collapsed after 1944.
Franciskus
Svetikai, in his older daysFranciskus Svetikai was the foreman in Shapiro's household. He was Danute's father-in-law. She remembers that he told her, that Shapiro was a good employer, e.g., when the cow of Franciskus' parents died, they were deprived of certain food. Shapiro gave them money and said : "Why didn't you tell me, earlier?" Shapiro was also friendly and he loved his children very much. He liked horses, but he was a bit afraid of them and Franciskus Svetikai had to take care of the horse trading. Franciskus did all kinds of work for Shapiro and when Shapiro was elsewhere, Franciskus was the person in charge. Franciskus was very fond of Shapiro and he was terribly shocked when he heard Shapiro and his family were murdered in 1941.
The Jewish family Leizeris lived at housenr. 89. Husband and wife were already of age. Their grown-up daughters still lived at home with them. As one of our eye-witnesses, , recalls: the Leizeris-daughters were beautiful, and that she liked the family very much. They always gave her matzos at Pesach and she loved eating them.
In the Pakruojis’ birth records (1881-1914) the family Leizeris was called Lazer. One of their daughters was born in a very small village near Rozalimas. Later on they moved to Rozalimas. I presume Lazer = Leizeris. Only one daughter is mentioned in the birth records, but I presume it must be the Leizeris-family of whom I was talking before. All of the family were shot in 1941.
Copyright
© 2005 Dora Boom