“Nemunaitis” - Encyclopedia of Jewish
Communities in Lithuania

54° 18' / 24° 2'

Translation of the “Nemunaitis” chapter from
Pinkas Hakehillot Lita

Written by Dov Levin

Published by Yad Vashem

Published in Jerusalem, 1996


 

Acknowledgments

Project Coordinator

Barry Mann

 

Our sincere appreciation to Yad Vashem
for permission to put this material on the JewishGen web site.

This is a translation from: Pinkas Hakehillot Lita: Encyclopedia of Jewish Communities, Lithuania,
Editor: Prof. Dov Levin, Assistant Editor: Josef Rosin, published by Yad Vashem, Jerusalem.


This material is made available by JewishGen, Inc. and the Yizkor Book Project for the purpose of
fulfilling our mission of disseminating information about the Holocaust and destroyed Jewish communities.
This material may not be copied, sold or bartered without JewishGen, Inc.'s permission. Rights may be reserved by the copyright holder.


JewishGen, Inc. makes no representations regarding the accuracy of the translation. The reader may wish to refer to the original material for verification.
JewishGen is not responsible for inaccuracies or omissions in the original work and cannot rewrite or edit the text to correct inaccuracies and/or omissions.
Our mission is to produce a translation of the original work and we cannot verify the accuracy of statements or alter facts cited.


(Page 407)

Nemunaitis (Lith.)

In Yiddish, Nemunaits

Written by Dov Levin

Translated by Shaul Yannai

A county town (until 1931) in southern Lithuania, 12 km south of Alytus, the district's city.

The town is located on the right bank of the Nemunas River. The settlement originated as a fortress in 1384 that was built by the Prussian Crusade Order. In 1792, it was granted the Magdeburg Rights. In 1847, the town had 225 Jews. In 1897, it had 742 residents, with 361 Jews among them. In 1923, it had 727 residents, with 142 Jews among them. According to the 1923 Lithuanian government census, Jews owned in the town a flourmill and a factory that produced turpentine (in one of the county's villages).

In 1939, there were still 50 families in Nemunaitis; 29 of them made their living by sailing timber on the Nemunas River. There were also 3 Jewish tinsmiths in the town who worked for the farmers in the surrounding areas, and a few other artisans and grocers. In 1939, the town had 6 telephones; 2 of them were owned by Jewish merchants (Leibel Yurkanski and Mordekhai Zupovitz).

The religious and spiritual life of the Jews concentrated around the synagogue, which was a magnificent building that was built in 1838. Five old copper lamps, an engraved closet and a Hanukkah lamp made of copper which is inscribed with the words “The Society of Men” have been preserved in this synagogue. All of those Judaica were hidden in the earth during war and emergency periods. During the period that preceded WWI and also afterwards, there was a strict religious atmosphere in Nemunaitis. The children wore a small talit and fringes which hung out from their pants' pockets. In addition to the compulsory studies that were given in a regular Lithuanian grammar school, they also received traditional Jewish education from a local teacher. One of the Rabbis who headed the Rabbinate in Nemunaitis was Rabbi Pesakh-Hertz Berman, who was born in 1871. Until the end of the 1930's one could still encounter children in Nemunaitis who walked barefooted also during winter. The town was also characterized by Jews who rode their horses as they led their cows to graze in the meadows.

As WWII draw near, there were 15 Jewish families in Nemunaitis. A few weeks after the Germans conquered Lithuania at the end of June, 1941, the last Jews of Nemunaitis were transferred to Alytus, where they were murdered during the autumn of that year together with the Jews of Alytus. Among the victims was also Rabbi Leib Hirshovitz.

Bibliography:

Di Yiddishe Shtime (Kaunas), 18.8.1936.

 Yizkor Book Project    JewishGen Home Page  


Yizkor Book Director, Lance Ackerfeld
Emerita Yizkor Book Project Manager, Joyce Field
This web page created by Jason Hallgarten

Copyright © 1999-2024 by JewishGen, Inc.