Leibe Jacobson
 Leibe was born at the turn of the century in Trakai, Lithuania, a town located in the Panevezys District, not too far from Kupiskis. Her parents were Movsha-Israel ben Faivush Jakobson (the youngest brother of Joe Winston's grandmother) and Chaia bat Gutman Block. She took her teaching certificate at the Jewish School in Kaunas, which was under the direction of S. Levinas. She began her studies in 1925 and she graduated in 1927. |
| Her teaching certificate, written in Yiddish and Lithuanian, specifies the subjects she took and the grades given. Her courses were a combination of secular subjects such as Math and Music and Jewish subjects such as Jewish History. The grading system was on a scale of 5 (the highest) to 1 (the lowest). As you will see, Leibe got average grades of either 3 or 4. The certificate was signed by Elena Chackelyte who was a well-known Jewish educator in Kaunas and who sat on what was called the Pedogogy Board and A. Muzaite, who was Lithuanian. |
 Despite her average grades, Leibe proved to be an excellent kindergarten teacher who the students loved and remembered throughout their lives. At the time when the Germans invaded Lithuania in 1941, Leibe managed to gather a number of her students and carry them away on the last train out of Kupiskis that was going into Russia. She took care of these children and when the War was over, she returned with them to Vilnius where she became involved in teaching in the Jewish School and Orphanage there. The school was run by Colonel Joseph Rebelski who was known as the "father of the orphans". |
| It is everyday people like Leibe who became the real heroes of the War. Their innermost resources were stretched and tested to the maximum and they gave the best that they had. Leibe’s bravery is mentioned in a book published after the war in Vilnius by Leizer Ran, which is also referred to in the book published in New York in 1974 entitled "Jerusalem de Lita", Volume II, page 528. When she died in 1972-73, Leibe was buried in the Vilnius Jewish Cemetery in a special grave.
Source: KehilaLinks |
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