Švėkšna

Švėkšna, Lithuania

Petras (Peter) Čeliauskas

Compiled by Esther (Herschman) Rechtschafner

Contact with Peter began when Mr. Ralph Salinger (http://www.jewishvilkaviskis.org/) of Kibbutz Kfar Ruppin went on his yearly visit to Vilkaviskis and agreed to visit Sveksna (which is located very nearby) and try to find information about the Jewish community that was there. (Ralph Salinger is a real Zaddik -- righteous person. He has gone to Lithuania a few times and spends time cleaning gravestones with shaving cream and lecturing in schools.) He met a man by the name of Peter there, who is the local historian. Ralph forwarded me Peter’s address and suggested that I write him a “thank-you note.” I did so.

Thus began a correspondence between Peter and myself. Translations were done by way of the Internet. Peter first made it obvious to me why he thinks Jewish people of Sveksna and Lithuania as a whole were liked by the Lithuanians. The Jews were known for their economic talent and intelligence. The mistrust between the Jewish people and Lithuanians appeared only during the Soviet occupation and the Germans instigated that mistrust and used it.

He sent me a copy of his pamphlet about Sveksna, which contains a bit of information about the Jews. He added a few comments about the Jews and places that were Jewish (Synagogue, cemetery). He was willing to answer my questions about life in Sveksna today and about the past. Sometimes his answer was “It was not documented, we have no records.” He carried on a bit of a correspondence with Naphtali Ziv (Sieff). He sent me the high school records of Naftali and his older sisters. Then he commented that Naftali didn’t finish high school until 1941, as his sisters did. Naftali made comments about some of the facts that Peter wrote.

Peter wrote me that he was writing a book about the history of the town of Sveksna and wanted to use my article as information about the Jews. I discussed this matter with few people, whose opinion I value, and received negative replies. Then, I decided to let him do it; but on my terms. My thought here was that if this may be a way to influence one Lithuanian, that we are a good people, I want to do it!

Peter continues to send information pertaining to the Jews of Sveksna and about life in Sveksna today. He also sent me copies of old maps of Sveksna. These maps show Sveksna at the time when there were Jews there. He wrote that 2011 was the year for the commemoration of the Holocaust in Lithuania and therefore in Sveksna.

Here is a photograph of Peter explaining about the Holocaust in Sveksna to high school students at the Ceremony that year. (Photo courtesy of Monika Žąsytienė.)

Click here (PDF file - 122 KB) for some of the information that Peter has most kindly sent me.

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