Siauliai Ghetto II WW2
Before World War II, more than 8,500 Jews lived in Šiauliai. At the beginning of the Soviet-German war, about 1,000 of them managed to flee to the East, but about 14,000 Jews still remained in the city, including refugees from Poland, the Klaipėda region, and cities and towns in southern Lithuania.
After the German army occupied Šiauliai on June 26, 1941, various Nazi institutions were established in the city: the 819th Field Command, the secret field police, the 2nd operational unit of Operational Group A, the third company of the 65th German police battalion, and other units. The persecution and murder of Jews was led by SS Hauptscharführer Werner Gottschalk.
The first wave of repression lasted from June 27 to July 5, when more than 1,000 socially prominent Jews were arrested. The first mass killings took place on June 29 in the Luponia Forest near Kužiai, where several thousand people were killed during the summer. Later, massacres also took place near the village of Pročiūnai.
The occupation authorities introduced strict regulations that discriminated against Jews: they were forbidden to fly Lithuanian flags, own radios, and use the labor of people of other nationalities. From July 20, Jews were required to wear a yellow Star of David and could only walk the streets from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The establishment of the ghetto was organized by the deputy mayor of Šiauliai city, Antanas Stankus. On August 15, 1941, 4-5 thousand Jews were housed in two ghettos: in the Kaukazo suburb and in the Trakų-Ežeros street area. The internal life of the ghettos was managed by the Jewish Council (Judenrat), headed by Mendel Leibavičius. The council took care of food, sanitation, labor distribution, and other daily matters.
In early September 1941, new mass killings took place near the village of Bubiai and in the Gubernija forest, where about 1,500 people were killed. After these killings, the ghetto was relatively calm until 1943. At the end of 1942, engineer Joselis Leibavičius founded a secret self-defense organization, which, although it accumulated weapons, did not carry out armed actions. The underground published secret newspapers "Masada", "Hatechija" and "Mimamakim".
The Wenclauskas family provided significant assistance to the ghetto residents, hiding Jewish children and establishing workshops for women. The Frenkel leather and shoe factory, where most prisoners worked, was particularly important for the survival of the ghetto.
In September 1943, the ghetto became a concentration camp under the SS. Sub-camps were established at the Zokniai airfield, the Linkaičiai arms workshop, the Paventiai sugar factory, and elsewhere. On November 5, 1943, a brutal "action" was carried out - 570 children and 260 elderly people were taken to the Auschwitz concentration camp.
As the front approached, the ghetto was finally liquidated in July 1944. In several stages, all prisoners were taken to the Stutthof concentration camp, from where the men were transferred to Dachau. In April-May 1945, the concentration camps were liberated by Allied troops. Out of more than 8,000 Šiauliai Jews, only 350-500 survived the Holocaust.
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Righteous Among the Nations Square (Monument)
On October 22, 2021, the Righteous Among the Nations Square was opened in Šiauliai, at the intersection of Ežeros and Vilniaus Streets. This is the first monument to the Righteous Among the Nations in Lithuania. The author of the monument is designer Adas Toleikis, originally from Šiauliai, and the initiator is the chairman of the Šiauliai County Jewish Community, Sania Kerbelis.
The created monument “Union” features the names of the Righteous Among the Nations of the Šiauliai County, immortalizing 148 rescuers of Jews, and artistic accents mark the locations of the gates of the Šiauliai ghettos. Two ghettos were established in the city of Šiauliai: in the so-called Kaukaza quarter and in the Ežero–Trakų g. quarter. Physically strong and fit persons were sent to the first ghetto, and specialists (doctors, mechanics, and others) to the second. The ghetto in Šiauliai was established in the summer of 1941 by order of the military commandant of the city of Šiauliai, and was liquidated in 1944, when Nazi Germany retreated and the remaining Jews were transported to the Stutthof and Dachau concentration camps. More than 5,950 Jews were imprisoned in the ghettos. During the interwar period, about 6,500–8,000 Jews lived in Šiauliai, some of whom voluntarily fled to the depths of Russia, and after the Holocaust, only about 350–500 residents of Jewish origin remained.
Venclauskiai House-Museum
Venclauskių House-Museum is an exclusive residential house of interwar historicist architecture located in the city of Šiauliai. The building, nicknamed the White House, was built in 1926. in the former Šiauliai suburb lands for the family of Kazimieros and Stanislavas Venclauskiu. Kazimieras and Stanislava Venclauskiai - actors of the Lithuanian national movement and the restoration of the Lithuanian state, also famous as guardians of many strays and orphans.
During World War II, Stanislava Venclauskienė and her daughters Danuta and Gražbyle became famous as saviors of Jews. Despite the fact that the German commandant's office was located in their house during the war, they helped the Jews imprisoned in the Šiauliai ghetto and hid them at home. Danutė Venclauskaitė had permission to enter the Šiauliai ghetto, visiting there secretly bringing food and medicine. All three women have received the title of Righteous Among the Nations and have been awarded the Cross for the Rescue of the Perishing.
in 1991 Gražbylė and Danutė Venclauskaitė donated the family home to the "Aušros" museum in Šiauliai. In the building in 2019 after the reconstruction, the Venclauskių House-Museum was established. The permanent exposition of the museum tells the story of the Venclauski family, and the rooms in the basement are devoted to the themes of the Holocaust and the rescue of Jews.
Šiauliai History Museum
Šiauliai History Museum is located in Aušras Alley, in the central part of Šiauliai city. The museum opened its doors after reconstruction in 2022. It is located in the historical building of the "Aušra" museum, built in 1932 according to the project of the local architect Vladas Bitė. At first, the building housed a school, and in 1933 part of it was given to the museum.
Today, the Šiauliai History Museum meets the latest technologies and traditional museology, a modern exposition of open storages is open, and the history of the city of Šiauliai from the first knowledge of the area to the declaration of the independent Republic of Lithuania in 1918 is presented.
Part of the exposition is devoted to the theme of war. In the hall on the first floor, a re-enactment documentary film about the Battle of the Sun that took place in Šiauliai is presented, as well as exhibits (things, documents, photos) related to the First World War, because during that time the city was heavily devastated, both residents and infrastructure were affected. The exhibition also presents the battles with Bermontininkai, 1919. occupying the city, rampaging and looting houses.
The contents of the Šiauliai History Museum exhibitions are expanded by educational spaces and outdoor exhibitions. An exhibition-event hall is also intended for multi-functional museum activities.
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During World War II, Miriam Javnaitė-Voronova survived the Holocaust thanks to many Lithuanians who, risking their own lives and the lives of their loved ones, hid, fed, and cared for persecuted Jews.