Svir — Association of Jews of Vilna and vicinity in Israel

Unfortunately, we are missing much historical material and documentation which would have aided in describing the story of Svir. Not only was there not left any vestige of our little home-town which was torn out by its very roots, as well as the social and cultural life there, but we were also organically ripped from our origin and geographically isolated.

Today, the sources of information have dried up and we cannot find out any more about our faraway connection. The generation which would have enriched us with its knowledge has vanished, but yet, we are making the attempt to immortalize in short, modest sentences, her history.

It is clear that our little town carried the name of the famous Count Svirski whose dynasty, for hundreds of years, ruled over all of the surrounding area. It is told that at the very top of the mountain stood a very beautifully-built castle. Not only was the town named in his honor, but also many Jewish families of whom there were dozens in town bore the name of the great Count. Whether it was their choice or they were forced to do so is now difficult to determine with any degree of accuracy. Today's Svirsky families are spread throughout the world, descendants of our little town of Svir.

The Jewish community in Svir, according to all estimates, had existed for hundreds of years. The old cemetery bears witness to this, where there were sunk into the earth headstones which still had legible inscriptions and were 150 years old. The megila on which every death was recorded and the place of burial passed from one generation to the next and was a true historical document.

The majority of Jews in town had wandered in from the surrounding villages of nearby little towns. It is difficult to know today if this was due to their own free will or under pressure from the Tzarist government which had issued a law that Jews must leave the villages. Many-branched families carried the name of their village, as for example, the Pitsilekher, Shpiyaler, Duvnikirer, or of their town, such as the Kurnatkes, originated from the town of Kurenyetz, the Myadler, the Shwentzyaner, and so forth. The big fire which broke out at the end of the last century left almost no remnant of the town, and therefore, we do not have any old historical buildings and antiques.

The synagogue was rebuilt after the fire in the modern style. The town experienced numerous wars, and Napoleon and his army reached there. There is a legend that the Svir Mountain was created by him. The town emerged almost untouched from the First World War in 1914, because the front was several kilometers further away. Later, however, at the Polish-Bolshevik war in 1920, a battle was fought which involved the town. The invading Red Army found itself on the opposite side of the lake and among the retreating Polish army which established its stronghold on the mountain. The town was heavily bombed. A number of houses burned, and the entire Jewish population of the town moved to the cemetery. The next day, right after the Red Army marched in, they returned to their old homes. As it later became known, thanks to a coincidence, the entire Jewish population was saved, they who had hidden behind the trees in the cemetery. Suspicion by the Red Army fell upon the hateful Polish army. After all preparations had been completed to open fire with heavy artillery, the cry of a child was heard and the lowing of a cow. The distance was small and they were then convinced that there was only the civilian population there.

As those rescued later related, it was after the Second World War that the greatest portion of the town was. The synagogue was leveled to the ground. The entire area was covered over, and the neighboring Christians planted gardens there. Not a single reminder of a former Jewish life remained. But even more tragic, out of a total Jewish population of about 200 families, about 1,000 souls, only about 100 were left alive, spread throughout the entire world, the majority of whom are to be found in Eretz Yisroel.

From: Highlights of the History of Svir by Herzl Weiner