Molėtai – Ruth Liberman
I Need to Commemorate Them says Ruth Liberman, second-generation Holocaust survivors, resident of Pardes Hanna, who decided to commemorate 2,000 Jews from Molėtai, Lithuania. “I knew that there were Jews all over Lithuania”.
About five years ago, Ruth decided to show her three children and eldest granddaughter, where she had come from and where she had grown up. They travelled together on a flight to Belarus, continuing to a small village called Kurenets where her husband had come from, and then to Molėtai, from where her mother had come. “When we arrived in Molėtai we decided to ask around for the whereabouts of the mass grave of the town’s Jews. The locals contended that they had no idea what had happened to the Jews”, says Ruth.
But, “I knew about the fate of the Jews from Molėtai”, says Ruth, “I remembered three stories my mother had told me about the murder of the town’s Jews (including my grandfather, my 3-year-old cousin, and my aunt)”. While trying to trace the whereabouts of the town’s Jews, and being so sure that they had been murdered by the Lithuanians, Ruth and her family approached the local museum, enquiring once again about what had happened to the Jews from Molėtai. The museum personnel had a lot to say about the history of the town but not one word about what had happened to its Jews. “I had a feeling that it was taboo to bring up the subject of the Jews from Molėtai. We couldn’t find a single person to talk about what had happened. It felt as if they were afraid of the truth. No one was prepared to open up this Pandora’s box, as you never knew what you would find in it”.
Ruth told the museum’s director that, locked away in her memory, were stories she had heard from her mother, as well as photographs of her family. “As mentioned, I definitely knew that Jews had been living in Molėtai, and had been killed there. I wanted her, and all the inhabitants of Molėtai today, to know about the stories I had heard from my mother”, she said.
After returning to Israel, the stories and photographs were sent to the museum’s director, and were subsequently published in the local Molėtai media. At the same time, there was an article on the story published in a local Israeli newspaper called Gefen – HaMoshava. In response, the museum director contacted Ruth to tell her that a local author intended publishing an historical book about the town, and that they wanted a chapter of the book to be dedicated to the Jews of Molėtai. Ruth once again related the stories that were etched in her heart and memory, and so the Jews of Molėtai were historically commemorated. Two years later, the book with Ruth’s stories was published.
However, this didn’t mean the end of the commemorative story.
“About eighteen months ago, Zvi Kritzer, a descendant of Molėtai Jews, called Ruth to say he was interested in making a film to commemorate the Jews of Molėtai. Zvi recruited Eli and Zvi Hirschenson and they got under way. Eli and Zvi’s first post on social media initiated a flood of photos uploaded by descendants of the town’s Jews from all over the world. They also had the privilege of hearing dozens of stories about the lives of Molėtai Jews, until they eventually comprehended what had happened to the town’s Jews. “When I saw the film’s promo”, Ruth said, “I was able to recognize my grandfather, my uncle … many other family members who had not survived the Holocaust”.
Thanks to Zvi Kritzer’s initiative, it was decided to make people aware of the stories of Molėtai’s 2,000 Jews, not to let them slip from sight and gradually disappear. Zvi decided to replace the memorial, that had been erected on the spot where the Jews had been murdered and butchered over the years, with a new, more dignified one. “It was also decided to hold a memorial service and a March of the Living by the town’s Jewish descendants”, said Ruth, her voice quivering with emotion. We weren’t sure who would come, but we were determined to hold the March, and Zvi was hopeful that the descendants, at least, would participate.
And so, as August 2016, came to an end, they flew to Vilna. 40 descendants from Israel and a further 25 from various countries all over the world. After meeting up they went to one of Vilna’s hotels to mark the March of the Living together.
A dignified monument in memory of Molėtai’s 2,000 Jews was erected in the town. The following day, the visitors toured Vilna and Ponar. In the evening, the held a communal dinner as a way of getting to know each other. “We ate local cuisine, music was provided by klezmer musicians, and local dignitaries also participated”.
A local playwright, Marius Ivaskevicius, published in the national press calling upon Lithuanians to join the planned March of the Living for Molėtai’s Jews. “It felt as if we were marching just for ourselves. We wanted to commemorate the Jews who had not survived that terrible inferno, particularly after the experience we had had of the Jews of the town being totally ignored – and we didn’t think many of them would come. “Each of the descendants wore a special pin on their lapels on which the words ‘I am a Molėtai’ were written in black on a white background. “We thought that there would only be about 100 of us”.
On the morning of 29th August, the March of the Living of Molėtai Jews got under way. It started with a visit to and the opening of an exhibition at the museum. “Upon entering the museum, we were confronted by a totally different sight from our last visit there. The main hall was filled with photographs depicting the lives of the Molėtai Jews, including poignant photos of my family. Following the opening of the exhibition, we gathered together for a ceremony, in which the chief minister of Vilna participated, to listen to the stories of the Molėtai Jews narrated in several languages”. The descendants were told to walk at the head of the march. “We stood next to each other, our arms entwined, behind us stood a large number of teenagers carrying photos of Jews which had just been taken off the walls of the museum. We started marching. Looking to both my right and my left, I was able to see photos of my family. On one side, a photo of my grandfather, and on the other side, photos of my grandmother, aunts …. I felt that I was surrounded by my whole family. It was very moving. We marched towards the monument. Suddenly, I turned around and saw a large number of Lithuanians marching with us, a long, unending, winding column of people. There were close to 4,000 people, including Members of Parliament, the Lithuanian ambassador to Israel, and Israel’s ambassador to Lithuania. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was so touched…”, said Ruth. The town’s inhabitants lined the street on both sides staring at this long human column stretching towards the monument. “It was as if something of extreme importance was taking place here. The Lithuanians were recognizing the fact that there had been Jews in the town and now, to a certain extent, they were trying to atone for the injustice perpetrated by them on the Jews”.
Why is this so important for you?
There were many of my family who I never knew, and an even greater number of Molėtai Jews, but I felt that I had to commemorate them. 2,000 of them had lived in the town. I felt it necessary to make sure that they would never be forgotten, that everyone should know what had happened there. For us, for the residents of Molėtai, and most of all, for the next generations.
Translated from - Henya, Gefen ,18.11.2016
For viewing Zvi Kritzer’s film: The last Sunday of August
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