When in 1950s the struggle with cosmopolites started [18], I was afraid that husband would get into trouble for his wife being a Jew. In Lithuania Jews were treated much better than in Russia. There many party activists were married to Jews. Even Snezhkus had a Jewish wife.
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Displaying 32401 - 32430 of 50826 results
Sarah Rutkauskene
We knew about doctors’ plot [19] and of course understood that it was tosh.
When Stalin died in 1953 my husband did not cry. Moreover, we even smiled stealthily.
Divulgement of Stalin’s cult at ХХ Communist party congress [20] was for Benis as a breath of fresh air after being in the marsh.
I had always been a housewife. I raised the children. I always had a baby-sitter and housekeeper, whom I supervised.
We liked to mark holidays at home- our and children’s birthdays, memorable dates. We marked no religious holidays neither Jewish nor Lithuanian. I did not like marking soviet holidays. There was no use in that as we always were invited somewhere. We often marked them in the town theatre or at some companies. Benis got the invitations an I accompanied him.
My biggest friend was Janina. She lived in Vilnius. She worked as a secretary of agriminister. Then the minister was transferred in security , but Janina still kept in touch with him. In 1956 Janina met a famous Jewish artist Hona Goldfein. He had a problem. He and his parents filed the documents for Polish visa, wherefrom they wanted to go to Israel. They did not get a visa, so they addressed to Janina for her to contact that minister for him to assist. They even offered her money. Sister did not take the money, but asked for having a fictitious marriage with him so that she could also leave. They agreed on that. Janina convinced her friend to help with the permit for the whole family. He did not want Janina to leave motherland, but still he helped. In 1957 Janina and her fictitious husband left. I said good bye to her, but Benis did not come over for a good-bye party as he feared of getting into a trouble again. Janina an Hona had lived in Poland for half a year. Joint hardship made them closer. When they came to Israel, their marriage was not fictitious any more, they were a real couple. Hona became a famous theatrical artist in Israel. Janina gave birth to a daughter here. Hona died in 1990s having built a wonderful mansion , where Ruth, her family and Janina are living. I have been keeping in touch with my sister all those years.
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After WW2
See text in interview
We moved to Kaunas, where we were given a good apartment. Benis got personal pension. We had enough money, but he was not used to idle and soon he became in charge of security department of Lithuanian television. He had worked there until 1970s.
My children took father’s nationality. First of all it was common, second of all they identify themselves as true Lithuanians. They went to good schools, did well.
Romualdas graduated from military academy. He served in militia, then in state security. She was the chairman of state security committee of Shaulai region. Then he worked for police.
Younger son Andrus finished sanitary and technical college. Then he studied in Kaunas university , but like Lina he had not graduated from it. Now is the owner of sanitary engineering company.
I felt myself alone morally and I came back to my roots as if I got the call from childhood, I started going to the synagogue, mark Jewish holydays, pray. It was so easy and natural to dip into the world of values which have been dear since childhood. There is a Jewish community in Kaunas. It was open in early 1990s. I am an active member of it and I get some help from them. 1990s I regularly went to the synagogue. The last time I was there was on Pesach four years ago. My daughter Lina also goes there, she orders prayers for our kin, buys matzah on Pesach. My children come to me on holidays, paying the tribute to my Jewish roots. I am about to start praying daily like I was taught by my father. I even recalled Hebrew. Probably I had never forgotten about my roots as this is the best knowledge in my time. I read the Bible every day and recollect my childhood, our town, my parent and the Jewish world, I grew up .
Our town was situation in a picturesque place on the river scroll. On one of the hills , at the place, where the river turned, there was a town and on another one there was a village, which was mostly Jewish families lived here. As a rule they were tradesmen and craftsmen. There were the stores in the downtown. Some of them sold manufacture goods, other groceries and pharmaceutical products. There were workshops here- tailors’, cobblers’, hatters’, glazers’ and joiners’. It appeared that the representatives of all crafts lived in Jelva. They Jews and Lithuanians not merely got along, but they were friends and trusted each other. Often, Lithuanians and Poles could not pay for the products purchased in the store. Then the surname and the amount of debt were entered in the book and in the autumn after harvesting the debtors were supposed to come to store and pay back the debt. Nobody was dishonest or fraudulent with the owners of the store.
My grandfather Benjamin Klug was a merchant. He was a grain trader. He did not have his own warehouse. Usually he went from village to village and made agreement to buy the grain from them in the fall. The grain purchased from the peasants, was taken by Benjamin to Ukrmerge in a cart. He sold it to grain traders there and had pretty good interest.
Grandpa Benjamin was loved by everybody. He was of short height, athletic, always neat and tidy. He always wore kippah and tallith when he went to the synagogue on Saturday.
He died from heart stroke instantly at the age of 63. Benjamin was taken to Jelva, where he was known and loved by people. His body was taken to his daughter’s house. When my mother took me in her hands to take me there so that I could say good-bye to grandpa, Jewish ladies were trying to stop her. They said, in accordance with Jewish traditions, babies, whose parents were still alive, were not supposed to see cadavers or even worse say good-bye to them. my mother replied that grandpa loved me very much and deserved that I should say good-bye to him. I remember we entered the room, which was full of people in black clothes. We came close to grandfather, who was lying on the floor. Mother wiped his forehead and told me to kiss it. I was scared as it was unusual for me to see his immovable body.
Father went to the elementary school, then started assisting grandfather with grain trading.
. Grandfather went to cheder, eshiva, and then entered rabbi school. I do not know whether the latter school was. I assume it was in Panevezys. During the studies Iechiel Aria understood that rabbi were usually very poor, depending on the community and parish, who pay for their maintenance. He saw them wearing one and the same clothes all the time, their wives barely scraping through, their children wearing hand me downs. Right before finishing school, before taking final exams, Iechiel refuse to become a rabbi. He decided to be a craftsman. He became an apprentice of one very good tailor and agreed with him that he would pay for accommodation, meals and training after starting making money. My grandfather’s teacher turned out to be a very decent man and when grandfather became a tailor he took no money from him. Besides, he gave good clothes to grandpa and money to start business. In a year or two grandpa had his own tailors’ workshop, where about 8 people were working.
Another mother’s brother Kivi, who also lived with his family in a province, was killed by fascists in 1941. I saw him only once during his visit in Ukrmerge. This is all I know about him. Mother had brother Meyer, whom I do not remember very well. He lived somewhere else and once he came to us with his daughter Sima. Meyer’s family, including Sima also perished during the occupation.
My mother Riva Yashinskaya was born in 1891. She got a home Jewish education. She knew how to read and write in Yiddish and knew the prayers in Ivrit.
My parents got married in early 1916. I never asked them where they were wed, but I know that it was in accordance with Jewish rites.
There was a shed and a land plot with the clover for the cattle. There were nice sheds for fire wood, coops, sheds, stables. Our house was very large , consisting of four rooms and a huge kitchen. There were some more premises in the upper storey, which father leased. The cell was the house length.
Apart from our house, father owned farm land in the village. He hired Lithuanians to work for him and paid them upon harvesting. They had very good relationship. Father paid them well. When the peasants were in Jelva, thee called on us where they could always be accommodated and fed. Father planted wheat, rye, potatoes, carrots, cabbage, beat and the whole land plot for planted. Father planted clover and other feed grains for the cattle. There were several cows in the shed. Their milk was nice and fatty. It was enough for the family and for processed products. Mother made butter, sour cream, cheese and curds. Part of dairy products was sold to regular customers. Mother also bred the poultry. There were a lot of hens, turkeys and geese. Once mother asked me to count them. When I reached 40, I was lost. Father also had horses, which he took care of with the special care. A Lithuanian man helped father with the husbandry. Living with the Jews, he learned Hebrew so well, that he even helped us, children do homework, when we were going to school. Mother had a Lithuanian cook, who learned how to cook good Jewish dishes under mother’s supervision. The kitchen was very large. There was a large stove in the center of the room. It was used for cooking and baking. Mother baked bread as she could not recognize purchased bread.
The four well-furnished rooms, taken by our family, were in the bottom part of the house. It was a good carved furniture made by good mahogany joiners. There were a large round table, chairs, couch, and cupboard in the drawing room. There two large wooden beds in parents’ bedroom. There was a small baby crib by mother’s bed, where the babies were sleeping. There were two more bedrooms- one for the boys and another for my sister Janina and I.
My parents were very religious and since childhood plied us with the religious beliefs and dogmas. Every day started with morning hygiene, prayer during which the people were turned to the east. Those who had not prayed, were not given breakfast.
All Jewish traditions were strictly observed in our house. Mother usually covered her head with the kerchief, when she went to the synagogue she put a beautiful cover. I am used to kashrut since childhood. There were a lot of dishes in the kitchen - 12 sets of silverware, sets of dishes and utensils for meat and milk, which were kept separately in two chests.
I loved Sabbath very much in Sabbath and was looking forward to it. On Thursday mother baked Challahs, buns and some other tasty things – cakes. At times she made a creamy cake, lekach- honey cake or meat pie. Friday morning mother stoked the stove. If it was necessary, mother bought meat in kosher store and fish. The rest we had. Mother send someone from our family to shochet, who cut one or two chickens for the festive diner. She also made gefilte fish, forshmak from herring, liver pate, chicken or meat broth, all kinds or tsimes, imberlakh. In general, we had a very rich table. We enjoyed soups. Even on Saturday mother made some soups either meat soup or chicken broth, macaroni soup or vegetable soup with beans. She made cholnt for Sabbath- it was made from potatoes and beans in a pot. There were two Jews in our street who took the cholnt for some small amount of money. They put it in the stove beforehand and gave it back on Saturday while it still was warm. On Thursday the whole family went to the bathhouse. On Friday we took bath at home and put clean clothes on. On Friday father and his sons went to the synagogue. Mother , sister and I stayed at home. When they came back from the synagogue, we sat at the table. Mother lit candles and father said a prayer. He also broke the challach and gave the first pieces to us. After dinner all of us did what they felt like. Some of us read, others went out for a walk or went to bed. The synagogue in Jelva was large, two-storied, wooden and bricked. Mother, I and later Janina prayed there on the second floor. On Saturday father picked up cholnt on the way from the synagogue. On that day we could not do anything. Lithuanians worked in the yard and the cook served the food. Rarely, when she was not at home on Saturday (her day off was on Saturday) we ate cold food. On Sabbath we could not even light a match, nothing to speak of stoking the stove. After meal, everybody took a rest. I liked reading books. Sometimes the whole family went for a walk. Usually people strolled along the bank of river Jelva ,where the Lithuanian village started. There were a lot of trees, including the fruit ones. In spring they blossomed making the air fragrant. It seemed to me like Eden. People came here with the whole families, all dressed up like it was supposed to on Saturday.
Jewish charity was very developed. Each rich and middle-class family implicitly fostered a poor family. In our house there was such a rule. On Friday, mother took two clean kerchiefs and put food there- ten eggs, curds, cheese, butter, challah, half of the hen. Being the eldest I was told to take it to poor families. As a rule I took it to poor elderly Jews Chaya and Chava, who were living nearby. If a poor girl or an orphan guy were to get married, the members of the Jewish community took care of the wedding arrangements – they collected money for that and even helped the families after wedding. It happened also in cases if someone got sick or died, God forbid – it was also on the account of the community.
The most remarkable holiday was Pesach. We got ready for it in advance- cleaned our big house thoroughly. Children got the presents – clothes and footwear. Usually the money for it was sent by the relatives from Canada or Argentina. Several days before the holiday a delivery boy brought a large hamper with matzah from the synagogue, usually he was from a poor family. Pascal kosher dishes were taken from the garret- there was everything- both set of table dishes- starting from porcelain and up to silverware and kitchen utensils which were used only once a year. Everybody had his own shot glass. I got my tot with flower painting from uncle Elieser’s wife, when I helped her get ready for the holiday. On the eve of the holiday father carried out the rite of chametz banishment – he picked up the remaining of leaven bread and solemnly burned them in the yard. On the first day of the holiday, on the sedder all relatives came to us from synagogue as my mother the eldest daughter in law. Father was reclining on the top of the table and carried out seder. Apart from the traditional dishes (gefilte fish, chicken broth with kneydles, tsimes) there were the tastiest dishes mother could cook. There were also a lot of deserts. The wine which we had on this holiday was made by father from honey and raisons. During the sedder all traditions were observed- searches for afikoman, four traditional questions asked by younger children, awaiting Ilia, the prophet. As a rule we marked the second seder in the place of the relatives.
There was a veranda for sukkot holiday. There was a removable roof, which was removed and covered with tree branches and leaves during holidays. The door to the house was open, the table and chair were set and we had meals there during the holiday. Children were most agog for Channukah as on that holiday they received money from all the relatives. I remember, when uncle came up to us, he gave me 2 litas as I was the eldest, the rest got 1 lita. On that holiday candlestick was lit and everyday a candle was added. It was placed on the window sill. We ate potato fritters and sang channukah song, which I still remember.