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A map of Lithuania, with Yiddish captions. Jonava is circles.

	Places, structures, communal institutions 1. Bridge 2. Train bridge 3. Forest 4. Train pass 5. Sawmill and flourmill 6. Memorial monument 7. Oran match factory 8. Train station 9. Christian cemetery 10. Basketball field 11. Jewish cemetery 12. Water mill 13. Swirling mountain (Hebrew: Har Hasecharchoret) 14. Small bridge 15. Brick kiln 16. Slaughterhouse 17. Fire station 18. Beach 19. Synagogue 20. Hospital 21. Maccabee Hall 22. Vylia 23. Cooperative store 24. Pharmacy 25. Hospital 26. Progymnasium 27. Bus station 28. Passageway 29. Billiard hall 30. Beach 31. Apportioned field	32. Barracks 33. Town hall 34. Horse and cattle market 35. Sawmill and flourmill (Opnitzky) 36. Park 37. Sawmill and flourmill (Segalovsky) 38. Post office 39. Lithuanian school 40. Lithuanian culture hall 41. Synagogue 42. Synagogue 43. Synagogue 44. Synagogue 45. Tarbut School 46. Jalinovich house 47. Market 48. Two storey house 49. Movie theater 50. Two storey house 51. Two storey house 52. Two storey house (Burstein) 53. Hall 54. Two storey house (Weiner) 55. New Beis Midrash 56. Madis sawmill 57. Synagogue 58. Street of the Road 59. Breizer Street 60. Synagogue 61. Kovno Street 62. Residence 63. Village
Map of Jonava by memory

{Note: this title page is in Hebrew, the one on the following page is in Yiddish. That explains the duplication. Image 11 repeats some of the material on Yiddish 10, once again in Hebrew.}

{Image 10} –

{Image 11} – Jonava on the Banks of the Vylia

[Page V]

{Image 13 –}

On January 17, 1967, we unveiled the memorial plaque for the martyrs of Jonava that had been set up in the Holocaust Cellar. On that winter day, when snow covered the streets of our capital with a white blanket, about 30 natives of our town gathered for a modest ceremony to honor our martyrs of the Holocaust after 26 years. Those who were present will never forget those moving moments of unity.

At that gathering, the members of the organizing committee decided to publish a book that would perpetuate our town for future generations. An opinion was expressed not to publish a book. The reasons were that the end of the elders who remember Jonava will be death, and the younger generation, the children of those who came from the town, born in Israel, America, or Russia are not interested in such a topic. Therefore, it would be a shame to invest so much energy and money into this. The majority stood firmly on their opinion with the hope that the 350 natives of the town, scattered in the Land and throughout the Diaspora, would leaf through the book and read it with feelings of honor and love. Their town would spread out for a second time before the eyes of their spirit – with its cultural and social institutions, buildings, activists, and common folk. They claimed that no small number

A meeting of the book committee. October 20, 1968. From right to left, from top to bottom: Hasia and Baruch Kursnik, Moshe Barron, Zeev Ofek, Daniel Rikless, Menachem Levin, Shimon Noy, Baruch Lin, Rabbi Aryeh Lipshitz, Panirsky, Yitzchak Burstein, Dina Rikless, Shmuel Bolnik

[Page VI]

Zeev Opnik, Sheinka Friedland, Shlomo Gerber, K., Pinchas Shapira, K., Shlomo Perlstein; K., Izik Reibstein, Elka Untershatz, Sheinka Klibansky, K., David Veps, Leah Klibansky, K., Leah Yudelevich, Chanka Jalinovich, Leah Grodsky, Shimon Gorfein, X, Netanel Shapira, K.

Miriam Zakhary (Lomiansky-Wulf) wrote to us from California: In response to your request, I have decided to write memoirs. In this I wish to fulfil the request of my son Morton, who was born in America, who asked me: “Mother, write your memoirs. I want my children to know about your roots.”

Riva Shalovitz lives in Bat Yam. She is a teacher in the Geulim School, and a native of Jonava. She came here as a child. Her mother is Yentl Solomon. When the schools began exercises about destroyed communities, she recalled Jonava. How much effort did she put in to gather together the natives of the town, and to make contact with us! How much interest did the teachers and students display in their meetings and sharing of ideas with Zeev Ofek, Sara Burstein, Eliahu Kagan, Mordechai Rashkes, Chana Zimrani, and Yitzchak Burstein. The school dedicated a special corner to our town, and this served also as educational material.

As we began our efforts, we were astonished at the required monetary sums and the great effort involved in the gathering of material and fundraising. The Society of Jonava Natives of New York, founded in 1906, should be mentioned for praise. The chairman of the organization Yisrael Goldberg and the secretary Efraim Zilberman answered us positively and promised us their full assistance. They thereby strengthened our hands. We also received a warm and positive response from the Vinitzky brothers – Julius and Maurie Vinton from Hartford, U.S.A. They aroused their wide-branched family to activity, including the second and third generations. Sara Baker (Solomon) and Alan Salkan (Bin) of Johannesburg must also be singled out for praise. Without the spiritual and material support of all of these and others, perhaps our hands would have weakened.

Unlike other towns of Lithuania, Jonava had something unique. The reader will certainly discover its unique characteristics, about which he had not yet learned, as he reads through the book. To the Jewish residents of this town, to its youth who were educated with Mapu's novels and who dreamed of the Land of Israel, to those who have a part in what transpired and what is transpiring here in the Land, and to the scattered natives of Jonava wherever they are – to you this book is dedicated.

In the name of the Book Committee
Yitzchak Ben-David [Burstein]

[Page VII]

I commenced the work of editing with awe and trepidation, and I conclude it with mixed emotions; from seeing what this book has and does not have.

Those who toiled and labored to bring the book to print realize that the material is not balanced. It is possible that we elongated where we should have shortened, while other subjects came out brief and truncated. However, this matter was not dependent on us, but rather on account of the response to our request that we received from no small number of people, who for some reason did not pick up their pens and give of their time to write chapters, segments of life and memories of days gone by. If we had to visit all of these people to record what they had to say, the publication of the book would have been delayed for too long. For the most part, the lacunae are due to the fact that some of those who could relate a great deal about the life of the Jewish community of Jonava are no longer alive.

We attempted to fill in the lacunae with many pictures, which also tell a great deal. As the Chinese motto says, a picture is worth 2,000 words.

More than sixty people participated in the book.

You will not find literary works in the content of this book, but rather material dredged from loving and sorrowful hearts, which were glancing backward with anger and longing. Each person has his own style. As much as possible, we attempted to leave the material in the manner that it was written, as well as to make it easy to read, and to remove extraneous material that bogs down the reading, and repeats material that others, who wrote earlier, had already dealt with.

We could not provide too much material in Yiddish and English, for we were restricted by budgetary constraints that restricted the dimensions of the book.

We included in English the three articles that were given to us. These were fine, broad and exhaustive articles. They have also been translated into Hebrew. English speakers will be able to make up the lacunae in the long Yiddish section, provided that they have not forgotten that language. With regard to the second generation of our natives overseas, as their interest increases they will have to learn Hebrew.

In 1968, when the idea of the book was first presented in a meeting that was called for that purpose, we were of small faith. What before what – material or “material”, that is to say, articles or money, or vice versa? Now that we have come to give our blessings to the completed task, we must first and foremost thank the dedication of Yitzchak Burstein who was the living spirit in this matter, and dedicated all of his free time and great effort to this endeavor.

All of those who answered us and assisted us must be thanked – and these are not few. We must primarily thank Daniel and Dina Rikless, who gave over themselves, their home and their car to the activities on behalf of the book. Even though not everything is in it, one can turn it over again and again, and the years of our lives from our common past will be revealed once again.

First and foremost, this book should serve as a memorial to our dear ones, who were prematurely cut off from the land of life.

[Page VIII]

Bitter Events in the History of the Jewish Community of Jonava

1895 – The first great fire.
1904 – The second great fire.
1915 – The expulsion (on the eve of Shavuot).
1941 – The day of murder in the forest, 20 Av, 5701, August 13.

[Pages IX-XII]

[Pages XIII– XV]

Y[israel] . Y[aakov]. Pogir and his wife Chana [USA]	3
Sh[imon]. Noy (Gorfein) [Kibbutz Amir]	6
Miriam Zakhary (Lomiansky-Wulf) [USA]	8
Sholem the Balagole, wagon driver	9
Youths on a raft	11
Y[itzchak Ben-David] Burstein	12
Blacksmiths	13
Sh[muel]. Goldshmid [London]	15
Noach Stern	22
The cemetery	24
Yitzchak B[en-David (Burstein)]. and Zelig Epstein	33
Meir Tzoref (Goldshmid)	38
At the play “Yankel the Blacksmith”	41
Students of the Culture League	49
Summer holiday in Sponenai	52
The Street of the Road (Hakhvish Street)	55
Gorfein’s house	56
Mendel Gorfein	57
Sara Burstein	58
David Burstein (Drawing)	61
The Burstein family	67
Dov Blumberg	68
Ala Daltisisky-Abramovich	70
Zelig prepares sulfur	71
Zeev and Beila	72
Rabbi Yehuda Movshovich, Aryeh Solsky	73
Shoshana and Mordechai Rashkes	74
Rachel Rashkes	76
Father (drawing)	77
David Rubin	78
The Rubin family	79
The Levin family	81
The Goldshmid family	83
Baruch Lin (Ilinevits) [Ramat Gan]	88
Moshel	89
Perlstein’s parents	90
Zisla’s parents	97
Chaim Khermoni (Munits)	98
Leib Opnitsky, Batya Tauba Opnitsky	102
Rachel Ben-Yehuda (Mintz)	106
D[aniel]. Rikless [Tel Aviv]	109
Rikless family	111
Shimon Shapira	114
Reb Chaim Mratchk	117
Morris Vintshevsky	117
Yisrael Davidson	118
Dov Zisla	120
Y[eshiyahu. Kulbiansky	122
M[oses]. Ivensky	125
Gordonia	128
N[oach]. Stern in Kibbutz Amir	130
Golda Sirek (Sakar) (Givataim)	134
Moshe David Mar (drawing)	140
Maccabee Sportsmen	143
Eliahu Kagan (Tel Aviv)	144
Members of Tzeirei Tzion – Hitachdut	148
With soldiers, the “Brit Hakhayil” organization	149
Members of the Hashomer Hatzair Chapter	150
The teachers Yoselevich and Dov Zisla	152
Shlomo Ber Meirovich	156
Reb Menachem Mendel Deitz, Hashomer Hadati	157
Memorial Plaque	165
Yerachmiel Garber	171
Nachum Blumberg	173
“I took up an axe..” (drawing)	177
As the shepherd sees life…	179
Lipa Berzin	188
Chaya Leah Kravchok[2]	189
Miriam Lan	197
In the destroyed cemetery	201
Shmuel Sofer	218
Sinai Persky	227
[Sidney Iwens] (Yeshayahu Ivensky)	229
Dovid Friedman	241
Shlomo Berzin	242
Tzvi Levin	243
Chana the partisan (drawing)	246
David Burstein (drawing)	263
Yitzchak and Miriam [Ben-David] (Burstein) in Siberia	271
Eidel Burstein (drawing)	273
Batya Perevoznik (nee Goldshmid)	276
The girls of the Geulim School on the memorial day	280
The students of Geulim at the identification event	282
Yitzchak Pogirsky and his family	283
Yerubaal and Hillel Lavie	284
Mordechai Herman	285
In the Yiddish Section
Y[Israel]. Pogir	291
Efraim Zilberman	294
A Maccabee March in the Girelka Forest	295
Mari Vintman (Moshe Vinitsky)	307
Yudel and Tzipora Vintman	309
Avraham-Yitzchak the Shochet	310
Make Hamotzie, child (drawing: A. Kanan)	314
Dovid Friedman	317
Shacharit Service (illustration)	318
The Wagon Driver (illustration)	327
Leiba the Water Carrier (illustration)	328
The Fine Singer, Yosel the Tzimes (illustrations)	329
Mende the Head of Hair (illustration)	333
The Water Carrier (illustration)	335
Avraham Yitzchak Avrahamovich	337
Meita the Baker (illustration)	339
The Policeman (illustration)	344
Shmerl Stern	359
Shmuel Balnik	362
A Wedding in Siesiki	364
At the Monument	371
Reizl David (Rashkes)	376
Yerachmiel Garber	382
Chana Leah Gutler (Kravchok)	392
Rachel Spigler-Mankovsky	397
Hershel Levin	402
Shaultufer and Greenblatt with Tzeirei Tzion	409
A share of the Jewish Colonial Bank in the name of Basha Tartak (Perlstein), 1901	410
Memorial script in the Holocaust Cellar	412
Managing Committee of the Jonava Organization of New York with the participation of Y[Israel]. Pogir	427
In the English Section
Miriam Zakhary (Lomiansky-Wulf)	5
Pretty girls at the waterfall of the mill	6
Yoska Ablaz (illustration)	6
Menda the Head of Hair	10
Tarbut School, teachers and students	12
The water carrier (illustration)	14
[Sidney Iwens] (Y[eshiyahu]. Ivensky	15

[Page XVI]

General views on the Vylia	8
On the Street	24
People of various ages and generations	32
A party of the carpenters	36
The Shapira family and the grandmother	86
With the Achva Chalutzim, Hechalutz and Hechalutz Hatzair	104
Drawings by A Kagan and [Yeshiyahu] Kulbiansky	120
Drawings by Shifra Lomiansky	124
Images	128
Floods	136
Organizations and parties	144
Young Zion, Hashomer Hatzair, Revisionist Zionists	148
Schools: Tarbut, Yavneh	152
Fire in the Town, Smiths	160
Jonava in flames	168
Next to the memorial monument	240
In Siberia	272
Batya [Perevoznik (nee Goldshmid)] in Siberia	276
Those making efforts, and the room of perpetuation	280
Shmidan	298
The four Voves and Pogir	308
Siesiki	364
With A. Zilberman	428

Translator's Footnotes

1. In all the pictures, the people are to be identified from top to bottom, from left to right. Return
2. In the table of contents, this was 'Chana'. One of them is obviously a typo. Return

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