The Jewish Community of Vilkaviskis

Eliyahu Zeev Lewin-Epstein (1863-1932), Zionist, born in Vilkaviskis, Lithuania (then part of the Russian Empire). He became director of a Hebrew bookstore and publishing firm established in Warsaw by his father. He was an early member of Hibbat Zion and of the secret Zionist order, Bene Moshe. On behalf of the Menuha ve-Nahala settlement society he went to Eretz Israel to purchase the land on which Rehovot was founded. In 1900 Lewin-Epstein settled in New York as representative of the Carmel Wine Company and for a time was treasurer of the Federation of American Zionists. In 1918 he went to Eretz Israel with the American Zionist Medical Unit which he managed. He was also attached to the Zionist Commission and settled in Eretz Israel.

Louis  M. Epstein (1887-1932). Born in Vilkaviskis, he became director of a Hebrew bookstore and publishing firm established in Warsaw by his father. He was an early member of Hibbat Zion and of the secret Zionist order, Bene Moshe. On behalf of the Menuha ve-Nahala settlement society he went to Erets Israel to purchase the land on which Rehovot was founded. In 1900 Lewin-Epstein settled in New York as representative of the Carmel Wine Company and for a time was treasurer of the Federation of American Zionists. In 1918 he went to Palestine with the American Zionist Medical Unit which he managed. He was also attached to the Zionist Commission and settled in Palestine.

VILKOVISHKI, WILKOVISHKI

Surnames derive from one of many different origins. Sometimes there may be more than one explanation for the same name. This family name is a toponymic (derived from a geographic name of a town, city, region or country). Surnames that are based on place names do not always testify to direct origin from that place, but may indicate an indirect relation between the name-bearer or his ancestors and the place, such as birth place, temporary residence, trade, or family-relatives.

The surname Vilkovishki is associated with Vilkovishk (Vilkaviskis), a district town in south western Lithuania, in which a Jewish community existed since early 17th century. The Slavic suffix "-i" means "of/from".

Parade on the streets of Vilkaviskis to celebrate
the Independence Day of Lithuania, February 16, 1923 DAY, The Jewish school children, Maccabi members and
members of the Jewish fire brigade participated along with a military band
Lithuania was granted it indepndence in 1918
(The Oster Visual Documentation Center, Beit Hatfutsot,
courtesy of Rose Shedon-Bialostutski, Israel)

Visit of the poet Saul Tchernichowsky (1875-1943)
to the Hebrew secondary school of Vilkaviskis.
Lithuania, 1925
(The Oster Visual Documentation Center, Beit Hatfutsot,
courtesy of Israel Sperling, Israel)

Typical house in Vilkaviskis, Lithuania, 1928
(The Oster Visual Documentation Center, Beit Hatfutsot,
courtesy of Israel Sperling, Israel)

Yehuda Ha-Etzioni (1868-1938), Zionist, physician, born in Jerusalem, Israel (then part of the Ottoman Empire). After his father's death his mother remarried and took him to Vienna, Austria, where he studied medicine. He helped to promote an exhibition of Eretz Israel products in Berlin and wrote an article supporting Zionism and the revival of Hebrew. Herzl called him "old friend" and sent him the galleys of his book Judenstaat ("The Jewish State") to read. At this point, Ha-Etzioni gave up his Zionist activities and moved to Marrakesh in Morocco where he served as physician to the sultan. After World War I he settled in Lithuania and taught in Jewish high schools in Vilkaviskis and Ukmerge.

Israel Eldad (1910-1996), Israel underground leader and author, born in Pidvolochysk (Podvolochisk), Galicia, Austro-Hungary (now in Ukraine) into a traditional Jewish home. He became a noted Israeli independence fighter and Revisionist Zionist philosopher. During WW I the family was uprooted from their home, became refugees and as a child he witnessed some of the anti-Jewish pogroms in the area. After high school, Scheib (as he was then known) enrolled at the Rabbinical Seminary of Vienna, Austria, and then at University of Vienna where he studied philosophy and history. In 1929 he was deeply influenced by the Arab anti-Jewish riots in Palestine. After graduation he became a teacher at the high school in Vilkaviskis (Volkovisk), Lithuania, published articles in Polish-revisionist Zionist journals and became the commander of a local Betar chapter. Scheib joined the staff of the Teachers Seminary in Vilna in 1937. During his two years there he rose to become regional staff officer of Betar. In 1938, at the Third Betar Conference in Warsaw, when the Revisionist leader Zeev Jabotinsky attacked the militant views of Poland's Betar leader Menachem Begin, Scheib spoke in Begin's defense.

In 1941 Eldad escaped from Soviet occupied Vilna and he made his way to Palestine where he became a leader of the Lehi underground movement. The Lehi was at that point waging their controversial and violent struggle for freedom from British rule and the Irgun would, under Begin, soon join the revolt in hopes of turning Palestine into a Jewish state. After Avraham Stern’s killing by the British, Eldad became one of a triumvirate of Lehi commanders, serving with Natan Yellin-Mor and future prime minister Yitzhak Shamir. It was in this role where Eldad condoned the assassination of Folke Bernadotte, a UN mediator. Yellin-Mor was the diplomatic “foreign minister,” Shamir the operations man, and Eldad the ideologue. For the next six years Eldad wrote articles for various underground newspapers.

Eldad was arrested by the British in 1944 and was detained in the Jerusalem prison. He continued his political and philosophical writing from the hospital ward at the Jerusalem Central Prison. Eventually Eldad succeeded in escaping while on a visit to a dentist’s office. During Israel's War of Independence, Eldad was critical of Menachem Begin's Irgun for not defending itself when its arms ship Altalena was attacked by IDF forces. He was also critical of the IDF for not fighting harder to conquer Jerusalem’s Old City and critical of Lehi fighters who did not rush to fight in Jerusalem.

Eldad eventually got a job teaching Bible and Hebrew literature in an Israeli high school, but was dismissed on account of his radical ideology. Eldad turned to literary work, wrote histories of underground battles, a biography of the mayor of Ramat Gan, a newspaper-style review of Jewish history called "Chronicles", a book of Bible commentary ("Hegionot Mikra"), and various newspaper columns. In 1962, Eldad was made a lecturer in humanities at the Technion in Haifa. He taught there for twenty years. In 1988, Eldad was awarded Israel’s Bialik Prize for his contributions to Israeli thought. By the 1990s, Eldad was known as the doyen of Israeli nationalists.

Pilviskiai

In Jewish sources: Pilvishok

A small town in the district of Vilkaviskis, south-western Lithuania.

Pilviskiai is situated on the banks of the rivers Pilova and Shashufa and on the railway line to Kovno and Vilna. In 1865 there were 976 Jews in the town; in 1897, 1242 Jews, 53% of the total population. The synagogue and prayer house burnt down during World War I (1914-1918) and were rebuilt after the war. The children of the community studied in a heder (religious school) and in the small yeshiva; they continued their studies in yeshivas in the large towns.

During the time of Lithuania's independence between the two world wars there existed a Hebrew kindergarten and a Hebrew school of the tarbuth (culture) network, a Hebrew library and a drama circle.

In the schulhof (the synagogue yard), a kind of village square, there stood the large synagogue and around it a number of small prayer houses. The last officiating rabbi was Rabbi Avraham Reznik.

In the past the Pilviskiai Jews made a living from the trade in corn, flax and agricultural produce and reached all the markets in Russia. There were also peddlers and artisans among the Jews. After World War I Lithuania was cut off from the Russian market; trade was restricted and a number of Jews who lost their livelihood emigrated to South Africa. In 1921 there were 909 Jews in Pilviskiai. The Jewish bank had 194 members.

In independent Lithuania in the period between the two world wars there was lively Zionist activity in Pilviskiai; most of the young people were members of the Zionist movement and sport organizations. During the same period Jews from Pilviskiai went to Eretz Israel.

Prior to World War II there were about 700 Jews in Pilviskiai.


The Holocaust Period

After the outbreak of World War II (September 1, 1939) and the occupation of Poland by the Germans, Lithuania came under Soviet rule and at the end of summer 1940 was annexed by the Soviet Union.

Already on the second day of the German attack on Soviet Russia (June 22, 1941) the Germans entered Pilviskiai. Nationalistic Lithuanians organized to take over the town under German auspices; on June 28 the Jews were ordered to wear a yellow badge. A night curfew was imposed upon them; they were forbidden to use the sidewalks, to enter the market and were taken for forced labor. The Jewish men were separated from their families and kept in a barn. The Jews were exposed to Lithuanian abuse in the streets of the town and on the way to work. The abuse reached such a point that the German commander Kramer interfered after the Jews had complained to him. He ordered the Lithuanians to stop from their brutalities. On Kramer's advice a committee of four Jews was formed; it was responsible for the safety of the Jews and was in direct contact with Kramer. The situation of the Jews improved somewhat; many Jews worked in tailor shops for the German army. At this time Jews who had escaped from Vilkaviskis arrived in Pilviskiai, together with their rabbi.

In August the German commander was replaced and the situation of the Jews worsened again.

On August 29, 1941 200 Jewish men and 20 young educated Jewish women were accused of communism and murdered in a nearby forest after they had dug their own graves. 500 Jews from the nearby settlements were shot to death on the same day, in the same place. The Lithuanian murderers tortured the Jews before their death and divided their valuables among them. Only women and children were left in Pilviskiai, also 10 men who worked in the local headquarters of the German army and about 30 men who were in hiding, among them the rabbi of the community and the Rabbi of Vilkaviskis. On September 15, 1941 all the Jews including the rabbi who came out of hiding in order to join his community were taken to the forest. A few tried to escape but most of them were caught; finally all of the Jews were murdered by the Lithuanians and buried in the same pits. Witnesses tell that the children were thrown alive into the pits.

Virbalis

A small town in the Vilkoviskis district, south eastern Lithuania.

Virbaln is situated on the railway lines Berlin-St. Petersburg near the small town of Kibart (Kybartai) near the former German border, the region on the Baltic coast which was east Prussia until the end of World War II.

The Jewish community of Virbaln was known for its sages. Hebrew was the language spoken there. In the newspaper Hamelitz from 1884 Hebrew Virbaln is mentioned.

In 1897 there were 1,719 Jews in Virbaln. Already before World War I there existed a heder metukan, a modern heder and a Talmud torah for the poor, also an elementary school of the tarbuth network and a Hebrew kindergarten.

Virbaln's closeness to Prussia brought it under the influence of the western movement of enlightenment, and it was the first Lithuanian community to have Jewish-national activities. Although the authorities forbade it there were signs in Hebrew over the shops.

During World War I many Jewish refugees came to Virblan and immediately a Committee for the Refugees was formed; it sheltered them and found work for them according to their profession. The refugees integrated into the community and stayed in Virblan after the war. The writer S. L. Gordon worked as a teacher in Virbaln to the pride of its Jewish inhabitants. The last officiating rabbi was Rabbi Yizhak-Isik Hirshovitz; he perished with his community during the Holocaust. There were the usual charitable institutions in the community.

During the period of Lithuanian independence (1918-1940) a Hebrew high school (gymnasium) was founded in Virbaln and became famous in all of Lithuania; it became the model for similar educational institutions where a Hebrew speaking, Eretz Israel oriented generation was shaped.

Until World War I the economic situation of the Virbaln Jews was steady. The greatest number of them made a living from trade with Germany and in services connected with the frontier. After the war when Lithuania was severed from Russia and became independent (1918-1940), Virbaln dwindled into a small border town; its trade and number of inhabitants decreased. In 1921 there were 1,223 Jews in Virbaln, 30% of the general population.

Virbaln's trade with Germany was based mainly on export of agricultural produce and import of industrial goods (tissue, machines, chemicals etc.) Jews also made a living from agriculture; they leased orchards and dealt in wheat. The women kept shops or taverns. Jacov Filipovsky had a modern nursery which was famous all over the country. Eliahu Kosciovsky brought the chicory plant to Lithuania and built a factory for its drying. All the local industry was in Jewish hands. The local Jewish bank had 342 members.

Between the two world wars there was a busy public life in Virbaln, revolving around Zionism. There were branches of all the Zionist parties in the town as well as youth movements and sport organizations, also a library and drama circle. The Jewish agricultural farms served as training camps (hachshara) for pioneers before their Aliyah to Eretz Israel. Near the town a training farm was erected and it was named kibbush (conquest).

In 1939 there were about 2,000 Jews in Virbalis.

The Holocaust Period

After the outbreak of World War II (September 1, 1939) and the conquest of Poland by the Germans, Lithuania came under Soviet rule and at the end of summer 1940 was annexed by the Soviet Union.

On the morrow of the German attack on the Soviet Union (June 22, 1940) the Germans entered Virbaln and were welcomed with flowers by the Lithuanians. The Germans liberated all the prisoners who had been accused of anti-communist activities. Immediately the local nationalistic Lithuanians organized, led by the physician Zobritzkas from Kibart who had been in a Soviet prison; they banded together in order to avenge themselves on communist sympathizers and Jews and to help the Germans to keep order in the town.

During the first days of the conquest the German army ruled the town and behaved decently towards the Jews, even helping them to recover belonging looted by the nationalistic Lithuanians.

After a few days civilian rule was established and edicts their public functions, ordered to deliver their arms and radios; a curfew was imposed upon them, they were forbidden to communicate with the local population and had to wear a yellow patch. The patch was later changed to a yellow star of David in all Lithuania.

At this time Jews still worked in German services and Jewish women served as interpreters.

Virbaln was situated in the 25 km belt along the German border, where the Gestapo had ordered a systematic extermination of all the Jewish population.

In the night of July 7, 1941 armed Lithuanians evacuated all Jewish men from the age of 16 and up from their houses and imprisoned them in a cellar north of the town. On July 9 the men of Kibart were brought there too and on July 10, 1941 all were murdered in a field north of Virbaln after they had been forced to deepen trenches against tanks which the Russians had built. Their bodies were buried in them.

Later a ghetto was designated in a number of streets without inhabitants; the women and children were taken there together with the women and children from the Kibart community. At their head stood the dentist Dr. Sheine Foijinsky. She was the only dentist in the town and had good relations with the local Lithuanian government. One single food shop served all the ghetto, thanks to an honest Lithuanian food merchant.

Young women and youth aged 12-16 went out to work in the town and its vicinity. A work exchange was instituted where the Lithuanians chose their Jewish workers day by day. There were Lithuanians who maltreated their Jewish workers but others treated the Jews with kindness and some even hid them till the end of the war.

At the end of July 1941, during the night, all the Jews who were not on the working force were taken out of the ghetto. The Germans and their Lithuanian henchmen brought them to the anti-tank trenches, murdered and buried them there.

During the following week the Lithuanians spread rumors that the Jews remaining still in the ghetto would join those members of their families who had been taken away. Lithuanians ostensibly brought greetings and took food and other things for the absent ones and in this way got hold of all the food and belongings the Jews had prepared for their imagined transfer.

On September 11, 1941 Lithuanians with carts entered the ghetto and took all the woman and children to the field of the trenches where they murdered and buried them.


Of the Virbaln community only those few Jews survived who had found shelter with the Lithuanians. Memorials were built over the three mass graves; they had inscriptions in Russian and Lithuanian and a Magen David.