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[Page 455]

Shat
(Šėta, Lithuania)

55°17' 24°15'

(All photos were supplied by Joseph Woolf and Shelomoh Kurliandshik)

Shat (Seta) is situated in the center of Lithuania. A dirt road of about 17 km connected it with the district town Keidan (Kedainiai).

Shat is first mentioned on historical documents during the 17th century. Early in the 18th century it was burnt down during the Swedish invasion. In 1785 the town was granted permission by the ruling king to hold two fairs per year.

Until 1795 Shat was part of the Polish–Lithuanian Kingdom, when the third division of Poland by the three superpowers of those times – Russia, Prussia and Austria – caused Lithuania to become partly Russian and partly Prussian. The part of Lithuania which included Shat fell under czarist Russian rule, firstly as part of the Vilna province (Gubernia) and from 1843 part of the Kovno province. In the 19th century Shat developed at a very fast pace, holding large trade fairs and weekly markets. During this period there were approximately 40 stores, bars, wine distilleries, a factory preparing pelts, flour mills and a drugstore. Towards the end of the Russian rule and the period of Lithuanian independence (1918–1940), Shat was the center of the county in Keidan district. During the autumn of 1915, heavy battles took place between the armies of Germany and Russia in the vicinity of Shat and a fire caused heavy damage in the town. For a short period in 1919, it fell under Bolshevik rule.

Once again in the Second World War the town was burnt down by the Germans. In the years 1941–1944 Shat was under Nazi rule with all its atrocities and murders.

 

Jewish Settlement until after the First World War

The Jews first settled in Shat at about the middle of the 17th century. It is recorded that the Karaites settled there in 1664 and in the eighteenth century there was a blood libel against a Karaite resident. Shat was one of the few towns in Lithuania where the Karaites lived for many years.

For a number of years at the beginning of the eighteenth century, the Karaite rabbi Joseph ben Yitzhak had lived in Shat, and the last time the Karaite community was mentioned in historical documents was in 1709. In the years 1679–80 there was a blood libel against the Jewish community.

During the period of the autonomous Jewish Council of Lithuania (Va'ad Medinath Lita) (1623–1764) Shat was most of the time included in the Keidan Circuit.

Being far from a railway and from a highway it was difficult for Jews of Shat Jews to make a living. They were in trade and crafts and in transport as coachmen. In the nearby villages of Bukantz –Bukonys (10 km away) and Truskava (15 km away) Jews were engaged in farming. In 1847 there were 802 Jews living in Shat.

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lit4_456.jpg
Kovno Street, on left the house of Kurliandshik family

 

The town suffered frequently from devastating fires from time to time. In the years 1860 and 1878, 100 homes were burnt down, including the synagogue and Beit HaMidrash, and in 1892 again 115 homes were burnt down. The squire Montvila assisted those made homeless by the fires and in 1868–69 also assisted many in the years of drought and hunger. Every year he donated 25 rubles to the fund for Maoth Khitim which provided Matzoth for the poor during Pesakh. In 1876 he also built a new the house of the Hakhnasath Orkhim (“Lodging for Travelers”). In 1889 the new bath was erected.

In 1897, 1640 people lived in town, of them 1135 Jews (69%).

Numerous lists of Jewish residents of Shat, census, revision, candle taxes, box taxes, rabbi electors, etc., including one containing over 1,000 names in the latter half of the nineteenth century are to found in “Lithuanian Archival Documents” in the JewishGen web site (www.JewishGen.org).

Jewish children were depended on their learning at the Kheder, until 1898 when a Jewish school was established by the initiative of the Rabbi Yisrael Levin. He rented a large wide house and partitioned the rooms to provide a separate room for each class. He also hired experienced teachers of various subjects, including Hebrew and its grammar, the Bible, etc.

The large Beit HaMidrash and the Synagogue were the center of the religious life of the Jews of Shat.

For a list of the Rabbis who served in Shat see Appendix 1.

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lit4_457a.jpg
Shat Synagogue 1937

 

In 1900 the institution Linath HaTsedek (“Righteous Lodging”) was founded to assist the poor. The same year the Zionist Council was established by Elkhanan–Ya'akov Ritenberg and Betsalel Meitkis the first chairman being Zundel Rubensohn. Of those who donated to assist settlement in Eretz Yisrael from the years 1900 to 1903, quite a number of names from Shat are recorded. The fundraisers were A.Y.Wittenberg, Betsalel Hirsch Meitkis and in 1903 a Kurliandshik.

 

lit4_457b.jpg
A Street in Shat

The HaMeilitz database below lists 32 Shat donors in the years 1898–1900.
The reporters in HaMeilitz from Shat were Sh. Rabinovitz and Ya'akov Glik.
At the old Jewish cemetery in Jerusalem a tombstone of a Shater Jew exists: Duber son of Avraham Segal, died in 1871.

[Page 458]

The Bund (the Anti–Zionist Workers Organization) was organized towards the end of the 19th century followed in 1903 by the Young Bund. On the first yahrzeit of the mourning for the pogrom at Kishenev, the members of the Young Bund climbed onto the bimah of the synagogue and prevented the cantor from intoning the prayer for the health of the Tzar.

 

The Period of Lithuanian Independence (1918–1940)

According to the autonomy law for minorities, issued by the new Lithuanian government, the minister for Jewish affairs Dr. Max Soloveitshik ordered elections to be held during the summer of 1919 for community committees (Va'ad Kehilah) in all towns of the state.

According to the regulations, in towns where the Jewish population counted less than 1,000 people, like in Shat, only the chairman of the committee and his deputy were elected. In 1922 the chairman was Ze'ev–Wulf Yofeh, the deputy L.Grinblat and the secretary Hayim Katz. At the end of 1923 the chairman was Yosef Leib Kagan (see an example of the correspondence of the Committee below)

The committee, active till the end of 1925 when the autonomy was annulled, collected taxes as required by law and was in charge of all aspects of community life.

 

lit4_458.jpg
Jewish school children in the 1920s

Standing from left: ––––, Rachel Yankelevitz, Sarah Glass, Yokheved Ginsburg
Sitting from left: –––––, Leah Isakovitz, Tsiporah Bernshtein, Sarah Bernshtein

[Page 459]

lit4_459a.jpg

 

According to the first census conducted in 1923 by the Lithuanian government, the population of Shat totaled 877 people and of them 440 (50%) were Jewish.

 

lit4_459b.jpg
Shat girls 1930

Standing from left: –––––––, Tsiporah Bernshtein
Sitting from left: Sarah Bernshtein, Yokheved Ginsburg, Sarah Glass, Leah Isakovitz

[Page 460]

lit4_460.jpg
Wedding of Basa Vulf and Shemuel Koren in Shat 1930

Top Row from left: fourth–Pesha Vulf, fifth–David Riklis, sixth–Feige Raizman
Second Row: third–Pesha Teper, fifth–Leah (Koren) Rigler,
Third Row: first–Mrs.Teper, fourth–Rachel Vulf, fifth–Oga (Katz) Vulf, sixth–Eli Vulf, seventh–Khasiah (Koren) Nadel
Fourth Row sitting from left: Sheine Taube (Gordon) Vulf, Shemuel Vulf, Ya'akov–Hirsh Vulf, child sitting on his lap–Yosef Vulf, the bride Basa Vulf, the groom Shemuel Koren, Avraham Koren
Fifth Row sitting on ground: fourth–Rachel Riklis

 

During this period the Jews earned their livelihood from trade, crafts and transport. The weekly market was on Tuesdays and two fairs were held per year, both being important for the livelihood of the Jews of Shat. They would buy agricultural products from the peasants and transport them to Kovno, about 50 km away, where they sold them for higher prices.

According to the census of 1931 conducted by the Lithuanian government, of the 12 stores and other business enterprises of Shat, 9 of them (75%) were Jewish.

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Type of the Factory Total Owned
by Jews
Butchers and cattle dealers 2 0
Restaurants & inns 3 3
Furs, clothes & textile stores 4 4
Radio, electrical goods & sewing machines 1 1
Iron & steel, tools 1 1
Other 1 0

 

The same census listed factories for soft drinks, wool combing and felt, all Jewish–owned. The two cousins Hirsh Yofe and Yosef–Leib Kagan owned a limekiln in the nearby village Pilkalnis.

In 1937 there were 37 Jewish craftsmen as follows: 8 tailors, 5 stove and fireplace builders, 3 glaziers, 3 carpenters, 3 blacksmiths, 2 bakers, 2 tinsmiths, 2 butchers, 1 felt–boot manufacturer, 1 knitter, 1 shoemaker, 1 barber, 1 leatherworker, 1 shoe stitcher, 1 other. The Jewish Peoples Bank (Folksbank) played an important role in the economy of the town; in 1927 there were 129 depositors. Two years after that there were only 105.

In the mid 1930's the Jewish population decreased and the economic crisis which caused it was due to the boycott and pressures organized by the Lithuanian Merchants Association (Verslas). Those who left sought a livelihood in other places. A large portion of them emigrated to South Africa; some attempted to emigrate to the U.S.A. For many years a “Shatter Association” existed in South Africa and the one in New York was formed in 1909, officially still exists but is inactive.

In 1939 there were 13 telephones in Shat, 7 of them were owned by Jews.

30 Jewish children studied at the Kheder and 70 at the Hebrew elementary school belonging to the Tarbuth network. There was also a Jewish library which contained approximately 500 books in Hebrew and Yiddish but very few Jewish residents of Shat used them. There were very little cultural activities, no theater and no cinema, mainly because of the difficulty in reaching Shat, especially during periods of rain. There was no decent road and also no railway line. Electricity was non–existent.

For some time a Jewish soccer team acted in town and a Jewish fire brigade.

[Page 462]

lit4_462a.jpg
Volunteer Fire Brigade about 1925

Back Row: 1) Unknown, 2) Meishke Rodblatt, 3) Borke Milner, 4) ? Milner, 5) Ben Zion Ginsburg, 6) Jankele Greenblatt.
Second Row: 7) Abke ?**, 8) Chilke Bloch**, 9) Elke ?, 10) Unknown, 11) Unknown, 12) Jankele Rodblatt, 13) Leibke Milner.
Third Row: 14) Nochke Glick (medic), 15) Feivke Goldman, 16) Chaimke ?, 17) Leibke Kolanchick, 18) Motke Schneid, 19) Unknown from another shtetl, 20) Ziske Kolanchick, 21) Chilke Der Gleser, 22) Judke Katz, 23) Shmulik Kolanchick Kolanchick 24) Chonke ? (signaler).
bottom row: 25) Fievke (Der Smid) Aharon, 26) Mishke Glass*, 27) Meike Reis, 28) Hirshel Strauss (commander), 29) Jankele Bloch (deputy commander)*, 30) Saike Milner, 31) Leibke Woolf*.

 

lit4_462b.jpg
The Beth Midrash
(Picture supplied by Ada Green)

[Page 463]

lit4_463a.jpg
Drinks shop of Glass–Strazh family at Keidan Road

 

lit4_463b.jpg
Youth group next to the river Obelis

From left: Sarah Glass, Tuviyah Bernshtein, Leah Isakovitz, Yokheved Ginsburg, ––––––, Tsiporah Bernshtein, David Rotblat, Sarah Bernshtein, Ben–Zion Ginsburg

[Page 464]

lit4_464.jpg
The Glass Family in about 1935

Standing from left: Reizel, Hanah–Ella (Glass) Straus, Hershel Straus, Shelomoh–Itsik, Sarah (Glass) Isakson, Leah Glass
Sitting: Rokha–Shula (Shtrom) Glass, Orchik Glass

 

Of the Jews of Shat who participated in Zionist activities, most belonged to Zionist parties. In 1925 a branch of the Zionist Socialist Party consisting of 10 members was formed. Many activities were organized by the “Grosmanists” and there were a number of Zionist Youth Groups, amongst them Benei–Akiva and HaShomer–HaTsair. The proportion of members of the various Zionist organizations was influenced by the voting patterns of the Zionist Congresses between the years 1929–1939. The following chart reflects this:

 

Congress
Nr.
Year Total
Shekalim
Total Voters Labor Party
Z”S Z”Z
Revisionists General Zionists
A B
Grosmanists Mizrahi
16 1929 32
17 1931 16 15 2 2 8 3
18 1933 25 16 1 6 2
19 1935 125 59 1 16 49
21 1939 29 23 1 National Block
5

[Page 465]

lit4_465.jpg
Shat Jewish soccer team

Standing from left: Hayim Mankovitz, a Lithuanian, Shelomoh Kurliandshik, a Lithuanian, a German, Barukh Balatin, Aba Teper, Berl Blekher
Sitting from left: Henakh Riklis, Mikhael Yankelevitz, Manes Kurliandshik

 

The religious life of Shat was centered around the Synagogue, Beit HaMidrash and Kloiz (prayer room). Following the resignation in 1935 of the Rabbi Shelomoh Rabinovitz after 30 years' service to the community, the town was without a rabbi for some time until the election of Rabbi Elkhanan Vainer, who was the last rabbi of the Shat Jewish Community. Through all the years of the history of Shat, the Jewish Community always had a Shokhet (ritual slaughterer). The Gemiluth Khesed (charitable loan fund) was also important in the life of the Jewish community in providing interest–free loans to the needy. For a partial list of personalities born in Shat see Appendix 2.

[Page 466]

lit4_466.jpg
Shat Youth Group

Top row from left: Esther Garun, Pesia Vulf, ––––––––, Feigale Raizman
Standing: Manes Kurliandshik, Avraham Garun

[Page 467]

lit4_467a.jpg
The Bernshtein Family

Standing from right: Zalman, Sonia
Second row sitting from right: Sarah Bernshtein Grinblat, her son Arik
Third row from right: Adv. Shimon Bernshtein
From left: Frumah Bernshtein, her daughter Masha.

 

lit4_467b.jpg
The Vulf Family

From left: Rachel, Yehudah–Leib, Basa, Eli (in uniform of the Lithuanian army), –––––.

[Page 468]

lit4_468.jpg

 

The Second World War and After

In June 1940 Lithuania was annexed to the Soviet Union and became a Soviet Republic. Following new rules, the majority of the shops belonging to the Jews of Shat were nationalized and commissars were appointed to manage them. Also several Jewish houses whose area was more than 220 square meters were nationalized and their owners forced to vacate them. All the Zionist parties and youth organizations were disbanded and Hebrew educational institutions were closed. Some Jewish youth integrated into the new regime and became members of the Comyug (Communist Youth Organization).

In the Yiddish newspaper Shtraln (“Rays”) of the tenth of August 1940, a report was published by the Shater A. Garun about the festive meeting on the occasion of the integration of Lithuania into the family of the great USSR which took place in Shat on Sunday the fourth of August with the participation of about 3,000 people. There were songs and dances and among others M. Kurliandschik delivered a speech as the secretary of the local Comyug, Y. Grinblat in Yiddish on behalf of the peoples committee and Sh. Kurliandschik on behalf of the Comyug organization.

Supply of goods decreased and, as a result, prices soared. The middle class, mostly Jewish, bore most of the brunt, and the standard of living dropped gradually. Many families remained without any income. In the middle of June

[Page 469]

1941 Shimon Bernshtein and his wife were exiled to Siberia. After 30 years, in 1971 they returned to Vilna where, 2 years later, he passed away.

In 1940 there were about 250 Jews of the total population of 1450 in town.

It should be mentioned that despite all their hardships and poverty, the Jews of Shat never lost their sense of humor, their determination, and their togetherness.

When the German invasion began on Monday 23rd June 1941, local Lithuanians were already armed and on the rampage, and terror spread amongst the Jews. Their fear was great. The younger people tried to escape to the town of Vilkomir, but were intercepted by the armed Lithuanians who poured out of the forests, and brutally forced the young Jews to return to Shat.

On Tuesday morning 24th June, German tanks arrived from the direction of Keidan and were met by large forces of the Russian Army, resulting in a bitter battle. The Jews fled from their homes with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Some of them congregated next to the Jewish cemetery, and some escaped to the estate of Aba Ziv, about 6 km from Shat. Others tried to find refuge with local farmers known to them. Only a score of people remained in the village itself.

The first act of the Germans was to round up Yehoshua Aharon Levi, a respected local Jew. They took him to the Synagogue and ordered him to tear the Torah scrolls. When he refused, they shot and killed him.

The Lithuanian activists, together with the Germans, then went from house to house and forcefully assembled the remaining Jews for hard labor. They were tortured and beaten cruelly. Those Jews who had found shelter amongst known local farmers were forced to leave.

Each day, some Jews returned to their village, but they were killed by the wild mobs.

Old people were dragged out of their homes, tortured and then passed on to the two village madmen, who paraded them through the village, and on to the neighboring village of Vilkalnai, where most of them were murdered.

[Page 470]

On the 20th August, the remaining Jews were rounded up, put on trucks and taken to Keidan. At the same time, all those who had hidden on Aba Ziv's estate, including Aba Ziv himself, were also trucked to Keidan. Together with the Jews of Keidan and other villages of the area, (Zeimiai and others) they were held under terrible crowded conditions for thirteen days at the Zirginas, riding school stables.

Except for so called “coffee” they were not fed, the men being taken daily to various forced labor works.

Meanwhile Russian prisoners of war had dug a massive pit on the banks of the Smilga stream.

On the 28th of August they were taken to the pit. The first group of 60 old people were thrown mercilessly into it and fired upon by the Lithuanians with automatic weapons.

Of the next group of 60, some of the Jews of Keidan and Shat resisted, inflicted wounds on some of the murderers and fought until the end.

To avoid any further resistance, the next groups were reduced to 20 victims, for easier control. The last groups were mothers and their children. The mothers and older children were shot and the infants were used as balls by the Lithuanians, being thrown from one to the other and then thrown alive into the pit.

The Russian prisoners were made to throw lime over the bodies, many of them still moving. After the pit was covered, the ground heaved from the mass of victims still being alive. The Germans brought steamrollers to flatten the surface and subdue the victims.

Involved in this massacre were two Lithuanians from Shat (their names are held at the archives of Yad Vashem).

According to the Yaeger Report, a total of 2,076 persons were murdered there; however, the correct figure is bound to be more.

After the war, the few survivors of Keidan and Shat placed a Memorial Stone on the Communal Grave, inscribed in Yiddish, Russian and Lithuanian, which stated: “Victims of the Fascist Terror”.

In the 1990s the tablet was replaced by a new one with the inscription in Yiddish and Lithuanian: “Here the Hitler murderers with their local helpers on August 28th, 1941 murdered 2076 Jews.

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lit4_471a.jpg
The monument on the mass grave in Keidan
From left: Yudel Ronder, Joseph Woolf

 

lit4_471b.jpg
The tablet on the monument with the inscription in Yiddish and Lithuanian

 

The Jewish cemetery was erased during the Nazi rule and the tombstones used by the Lithuanians for building purposes. [Ada Greenblatt's note: according to elderly Lithuanians currently living in Seta, the Jewish cemetery was erased during the Communist rule in 1949 and the tombstones used by the Russians for building purposes]. The photos below show the cemetery as photographed in 1937 and the empty site with the monument as photographed in the nineties.

[Page 472]

lit4_472a.jpg
The Jewish cemetery in 1937

 

lit4_472b.jpg
The site of the Jewish cemetery in 1992 with a monument.
The inscription on it in Yiddish and Lithuanian says:
“At this place till 1941 was the Jewish cemetery of Shat”.

[Page 473]

The survivors of Shat Jews were: Haim Burshtein, who managed to join the partisans in the forest near Keidan; the brothers Shelomoh and Manes Kurlandchik, Khaim Mankovitz, Avraham Garun and David Rotblat who escaped to Russia and fought the Nazis in the Lithuanian division of the Red Army. Kh. Mankovitz and Manes Kurliandschik fell in battle.

The following also survived: the sisters Mirah and Liuba Vidutsky, who had successfully escaped from the Kovno Ghetto and remained in hiding.

Leah Aizikovitz and Sarah Grinblat, having been sent to Stutthof concentration camp from Kovno.

Tuviyah Goldberg was another still alive when the Ghetto was emptied.

Fruma Bernshtein, Yehudith Kamod and Rachel Yankelevitz also emerged alive, having been in Russia during the war.

For the list of Shat Jews before World War II, as prepared by Shelomoh Kurliandschik, see Appendix 3.

Bibliography:

Yad–Vashem Archives: 0–3/2276; M–33/989; M–1/E–1509/1415; 1700/1569.
Koniukhovsky Collection 0–71, File 40.
YIVO, New York, Lithuanian Jewish Communities Collection, File Keidan, pages 44179, 44200, 44201, 44247, 44248.
Shat. Its history and destruction, unpublished article by Shelomoh Kurliandschik.
HaMeilitz (St. Petersburg): 26.8.1887; 13.2.1888; 28.4.1897;12.7.1898; 21.1.1900; 1.8.1903 (Hebrew).
Folksblat, Kovno: 17.7.1935 (Yiddish).
Di Yiddishe Shtime (The Yiddish Voice) Kovno: 18.7.1933 (Yiddish).
Yiddisher Hantverker (Jewish Artisan) Kovno: Nr.3, 1938 (Yiddish).

[Page 474]

lit4_474.jpg
A group of Jewish soldiers of the Lithuanian Division of the Red Army 1943

First line kneeling from right: Sgt. Shelomoh Kurliandschik, Sgt. Hanan Levin, Corp. Zlate Miller, First Sgt. Reuven Levitan, Fania Ribak.
Standing from right: Lt. Yudl Bendet, First Sgt. Zelbovitz, Blekher, Segal, Nadel.
Three Shatter born young men, Sydney Levy (Gaddie), Hymie Schakhman and Joseph Woolf came with the 800 South African volunteers to participate in Israeli's War of Liberation 1948/49.

[Page 475]

Appendix 1

Partial list of the Rabbis who served in Shat

Eliyahu ben Yakov Ragoler (1794–1849) who served as rabbi in 1821 and who also established the large yeshiva of Slobodka in Kovno;
Naftali bar Ephraim;
Meir–Mikhel Rabinowitz (1830–1901) who served in Shat for 20 years, author of the book HaMeir L'Olam, published in Vilnius, 1903, on the logic system of studying the Torah;
Nahum Shapiro (1818–1902) prodigy of Rabbi Israel Salanter;
Zev–Wolf Avrekh (1845–1922) served in Shat in 1875;
Avraham Druskowitz (served Shat 1897–1902);
Shelomoh–Dov Hacohen Shprintz served in Shat in the 1890's;
Shelomoh son of Meir–Mikhel Rabinovitz (served in Shat from 1903), died 15th July 1933 (15 Tamuz), age 63, as per entry in the metrical register of the Kedainiai Rabbinate, Central Metrical Archives, Vilnius;
Elhanan Wiener, the last Rabbi of Shat, murdered in 1941.

Appendix 2

Partial list of Personalities Born in Shat

Rabbi Yehoshua Rabinovitz (1818–1887), son of Eliyahu Ragoler, from 1847 head of the yeshivah of Kletsk;
Rabbi Mosheh–Yitzhak Rabin (1834–1902) who served for 40 years as the authorized rabbi of Ponevezh and for many years the principal of the famous Ponevezh Yeshiva;
Ben–Zion Shater, head of a Yeshiva in Vilna during the 1880's;
Shemuel ben Meir–Mikhel Rabinovitz, Rabbi in U.S.A., published in Hatsefirah complex problems in geometry, died 16th September 1925 (27 Elul 5685).
Mordehai–Manes Monashevitz (1857–1927), an educator and author who founded a well–known school in Liepaja, Latvia, which existed for 38 years. From 1919 in the U.S.A., where he became a school teacher and latterly in New York. From 1870, publisher of poems, essays, Hebrew educational books and plays;
Meir–Yitshak Goldberg (born 1871), Rabbi in Ostrova and Vitebsk;
Ephraim Kaplan (1879–1943) who emigrated to the U.S.A. in 1904, published articles on historical issues and edited Der Morgen Journal (The Morning Journal) in New York;
Yb”a Ziv, lived in the second half of the nineteenth century, writer of novels in Yiddish and also poems in Hebrew.

[Pages 476-478]

Appendix 3

List of Shat Jews before World War II

Nr. Surname Name Wife Children Remarks
1 Beten Shelomoh + 2 sons blacksmith
2 Kurliandschik Khayim Masha Shelomoh, Manes, Hanahh  
3 Milner Shaye Sore Etel Pesia, Volf & grandmother[1]  
4 Garun Avraham –––––––––– sister Esther and mother  
5 Yankelevitz Meir Rachel mother  
6 Khases Leib +    
7 Grinblat Lipe + daughter and husband[2] tailor
8 + –––––––– Khane–Base[3] Fradke  
9 Goldshmidt Manes Khasi–Beile Khaya, Keile Rivka, Libe, Tila, Jakob–Mendel and 5 other children  
10 Randman Chone Chiene son Mikhael[4] from 1938 in USA
11 Vidutsky Eli Reizl Miriam, Liuba, Hanahh, Avraham  
12   Aizik –––––– 2 daughters  
13   Meir Sara   carpenter
14 Vulf Yankel Sheina–Taube Elke, Pesia, Shmuel  
15 Goldberg Markus Dobre Tuvia, Nakhman  
16   Khatskel[5] Hayah   the Shamash
17 Kurlandshik Shimon Simche Aizik, Base, Yente  
18 Strazh Hirshel Hanahh    
19 +   + 2 daughters shoemaker
20   Meike +   tailor
21 Blekher     Berl, Yekhiel, Ester–Malka, Yankel, Efrayim  
22   Beile   with mother  
23       3 brothers grain merchants
24 Reznik Khayim + 1 daughter Shokhet
25 Ginsburg Mendel + Yokheved  
26 Bernshtein Zalman Sonia    
27 Grinblat Yankel Sarah Aharon, mother–in–law  
28 Burshtein Itsik Roza Khayim, Shimon, Zelda, Leah  
29   Hanah–Rachel   Aba, Bath–Sheva, Pesia  
30 Balatin Barukh   sister Ita  
31 Aron Feivel + Bela, Kopel blacksmith
32 Kurliandchik[6] Leib + Mina  
33 Lurie Alter Sora Moshe[7]  
34 Kamod   Beile Minke  
35 Levin Aharon + Reuven, Shmerl, Moshe  
36 Raizman     Meike, Feigele[8]  
37 Land   Matle Yitzkhak, Shmuel David  
38 Yankelevitz   Pesia[9] mother  
39       Yonah, David, 2 sisters  
40 Bernshtein Yeizel Toibe Tuvia, Shimon, Fruma, Tsipora, Sheva, Hanahh  
41 Glass Aharon + Rachel, Leah, Rivkah, Shelomoh, Barukh  
42 Rotblat David   brother Nathan, father and mother  
43 Riklis David Blume Henakh, Sore[10]  
44 Kidesh Aba   father and mother  
45 Mankovitz Khayim   mother Feigel  
46 Tubiansky Gershon[11] +   tailor
47 Kagan Volf + Rachel, Avraham  
48 Aizikovitz Nokhim Hinde–Gitel Leah, Rivkah  
49 Sadinsky Alter   Esther, Golda, father, mother  
50 +   + daughter shoemaker
51   Leib     barber
52 Shnaid     Nakhman, Pesakh[12]  
53 Rabinovitz   widow[13] 3 daughters Rabbi

  All together are in this list 195 names. Mr. Shelomoh Kurliandschik estimates that there were may be about 30–40 more Jews in town he couldn't remember. Joe Woolf contends that there were even more. About 94% were murdered.

Notes added by Ada Greenblatt:

  1. Shaye Milner and Sore Etel nee Kurliandschik also had son David Nisan. Return
  2. Lipe Grinblat's daughter's name was Zelda, the wife of David Schwartz. They had a daughter, Chase, and a son, Chonel. Lipe Grinblat was also the father of Yankel (Nr. 27 above), in addition to another son, Leib, and another daughter (name unknown). Return
  3. This could be Hanah–Base Vinik, wife of Elias Vinik. If so, they also had a son, David Leib Vinik. Return
  4. Chone Randman and wife Chiene nee Rogalsky also had daughters Leah and Roche. Return
  5. There was a Chatzkel Kan and wife Hayah nee Skurkovich (Hayah died in 1936). They had a daughter Feige. Return
  6. There was a Leib Kurliandschik, wife Feigele nee Shachman, and daughter Hayah. Return
  7. Alter Lurie and wife Sora nee Altmuner also had children Rachil and Benjamin. Return
  8. Meike and Feigele Raizman also had sisters Etel, the wife of Hayim Yofe, and Tamara. Their parents, Hayim Leib Raizman and Rochel nee Grinblat, were probably also still living. Return
  9. There was a Hayim Yankelevich and wife Frume nee Meltzer with daughter Pese. Return
  10. David Riklis and Blume nee Bank also had son Abram and a daughter Nese, who was married to Hilel Segal. Return
  11. There was also a Hayim–Leizer Grinblat and wife Roche–Zlate nee Tuviansky with children Hertz Yosel, Gershon, and Shifre–Leah. Return
  12. There was an Izrael Shnaid and wife Yente nee Kapulnik, with sons Manes and Pesakh. Return
  13. The widow of Rabbi Shelomoh Rabinovitz was Rochel, daughter of Movsha Meltzer. Her daughters were Sora Sheina, Leah Rasha, and Gitel. She also had a son, Hayim. Return

 

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