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My mother came from the town of Varena [85 km from Vilnius] at the border of Lithuania and Poland [in 1934, 393 Jews lived in Varena]. My mother's father, Bencion Galunskiy, was born in the 1870s. He worked at the local carton factory. He also dealt in beer wholesales. He owned a warehouse where he had beer stocks. Grandmother Hana-Leya [Galunskaya] was a housewife. The Galunskiy family celebrated Jewish holidays and went to the synagogue. They also raised their children to respect traditions. However, the children were a new generation, growing up during World War I and the Revolution in Russia in 1917 [see Russian Revolution of 1917] [14]. Almost all of their children became atheists. In 1938 Bencion and Hana-Leya moved to Palestine [today Israel]: their son and daughter had settled down there before them. Therefore, my maternal grandfather and grandmother escaped falling victims to fascists like my father's parents and the majority of Lithuanian Jews. They died in the 1960s and were buried in the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem [the oldest and most holy Jewish place for burial]. Their grandchildren visit their grave each year.
Interview
Fania Brantsovskaya