Obj. ID: 48758
Memorials New Holocaust memorial in Biržai, Lithuania, 2019
To the main object: Old Holocaust memorial in Biržai, Lithuania, 1955, 1990s
Memorial Name
Biržų žydų - holokausto aukų kapas - The grave of Holocaust victims of Biržai Jews
Who is Commemorated?
2,400 Jews of Biržai and other places in the district murdered at this site.
Description:
The new memorial is located next to the old one (see here), in a lower, wet area.
The memorial is a swinging bridge with a wall of the names of the murdered. The bridge, the fence of the memorial, and the Wall of Names are made of stainless steel. The Wall of Names is made up of 11 curved panels with the names of the victims and the large and small Stars of David cut through the panels. The Stars of David represent unknown victims: a large star represents an adult and a small star represents a child.
At the one end of the bridge. there is a black granite stele with the names of the memorial's sponsors, and at the other end of the bridge, closer to the old memorial, there are two black granite steles with inscriptions in Lithuanian on one and in English on the other. All three are decorated with a Star of David above the text.
Inscription:
Lithuanian:
Žydų Bendruomenė Biržų kunigaikštystėje įsikūrė CVI amžiaus pabaigoje,
kunigaikščio Kristupo Radvilos Perkūno valdymo metais. XVII amžiuje
bendruomenė išaugo. Kristupas II Radvila XVII amžiaus ketvirtajame dešimtmetyje
ėmėsi iniciatyvos surinkti visus miesto žydus į vieną vietą ir leido jiems statyti
sinagogą. Žydai namus statė dviejose į turgaus aikštę vedančiose gatvėse.
1765 metais Birų žydų bendruomenę sudarė 1040 žydų, XIX amžiaus pabaigoje
joje jau buvo 2510 asmenų – 57 procentai miesto gyventojų.
Žydai vertėsi smulkiu verslu, dažniausiai – prekyba ir amatais. Biržuose veikė
audyklos ir mezgyklos, malūnai, baldų ir keramikos cechai, raugyklos, vyninė,
elektrinė, kitos smulkios pramonės įmonės.
Tarpukariu Biržų žydų Bendruomenė telkėsi dabartinėse Žemaitės, Dagilio,
Karaimų, Vilniaus ir Kęstučio gatvėse. Tuo metu veikė Žydų liaudies
bankas, trys žydų sporto klubai, sionistų organizacija “Mizrachi”, kelios
sinagogos, Javne ir Tarbut mokyklos, vaikų darželis, poliklinika, našlaičių
namai, prieglauda vargšams ir kitos organizacijos. Iš 228 parduotuvių, net
160 priklausė žydams. Vienas iš tarpukario Biržus įamžinusių fotografų
taip pat buvo žydų kilmės.
1941 metų liepos 28 dieną Biržų žydai buvo prievarta iškeldinti iš namų ir suvaryti
į getą aplink sinagogą bei žydų religinę mokyklą. Pirmąja nacių auka tapo
žydas gydytojas, gydęs visų tautybių ir socialinių sluoksnių gyventojus.
1941 metų rugpjūčio 8 dieną prasidėjo masinis žydų naikinimas. Čia, Pakamponių
miške buvo žiauriai nužudyta apie 2400 žydų tautybės biržiečių: 900 vaikų,
780 moterų, 720 vyrų. Juos šaudė vokiečių gestapininkai ir lietuviai kolaborantai.
Čia palaidota Biržų žydų Bendruomenė. Paprasti žmonės – vyrai, moterys, vaikai –
nužudyti už tai, kad jie buvo žydai.
Gedime visų. Šimtų tų, kurių vardai nežinomi – taip pat.
Neužmirškime jų…
Niekada neužmirškime
קיינמאל ניט פארגעסן [nether forget]
English:
The first Jews arrived to settle in the Duchy of Birzai at the end of
the 16th Century. They were invited by the Duke of the House of
Radziwill (Radvilos), who promised them protection from their neighbors.
There are documents from the 1600‘s which mention Jews settling
in Birzai and receiving the rights of settlement.
Jews made a living trading in flax and wood. There were weaving
and knitting factories, flour mills, furniture manufacturers,
tanneries, a winery, a diary industry, a pottery factory, an electric
station and several other small industries as well as a Jewish bank.
The daily activities of the Jews of Birzai, were filled with normality,
social awareness and religious devotion. There were Rabbis,
synagogues, houses of Torah study, a kindergarten, a Tarbut –
secular Hebrew primary and high school. There were charitable
organizations, a home for the elderly, an orphanage, a health clinic,
Jewish sports clubs and number of Zionist organizations. There
were two musical groups which were famous throughout Lithuania.
A Jewish photographer immortalized images of Birzai.
One month after Germans entered Birzai, Jews were evicted
from their homes and forced into a ghetto. A Jewish doctor,
renowned for his care of all citizens, rich and poor was the first
of fifteen victims who were shot by German soldiers and buried in
the Birzh Jewish cemetery.
On the eighth of August, 1941, 2,400 Jews, 900 children, 780 women
and 720 men were brought here and brutally murdered, shot by
Gestapo officers and about 80 Lithuanian collaborators.
Here in this forest, is buried the once vibrant, pulsating Jewish
community of Birzai, ordinary people, men, women and children,
annihilated because they were Jews.
Hundreds of names of victims of the mass murder are not known,
but we mourn their loss.
Never forget
קיינמאל ניט פארגעסן [nether forget]
Inscription on the sponsors' stele, in Lithuania and English:
Biržai Jewish Culture and History Society
Biržų žydų kultūros ir istorijos draugija
This memorial has been erected
With the help of
Šis paminklas buvo pastatytas su šių asmenų pagalba:
Ben Rabinowitz. Cape Town, South Africa
Jack and Esme Rabin, Israel
In memory of our grandfather, Philip Rabinowitz.
Born in Birzh, emigrated to South Africa at the turn of the century.
Corinne Abel and John Copelyn. Cape Town, Africa
In memory of our father, Israel Abba Benjaminowitz who escaped to South Africa.
His entire family was murdered in Tauragė.
Raymond, Wendy Ackerman and family. Cape Town, South Africa
Nathan Kirsh, Johannesburg, South Africa
Eric and Sheila Samson and family. Cape Town, South Africa
Anonymous. USA
Jonathan Beare. Israel
Abel and Glenda Levitt. Israel
Joseph and Sylvie Rabie. France
Bertie and Jackie Woolf and family. USA
Sukhdey Tolani. Hong Kong / USA
Jonathan and Renee Dorfan. USA
Mannie and Dinah Olswang. Israel
Vidmantas Jukonis. Birzai, Lithuania
Merūnas Jukonis. Birzai, Lithuania
Edgar Mendelevič. Vilnius, Lithuania
Leta Vainorienė. Birzai, Lithuania
Veronica Beiling. Cape Town, South Africa
Cyril Ferber.Cape Town, South Africa
Herbert Kretzmer. UK
8 – August – 1941 16 – June – 2019
On the Wall of Names, in Lithuania and English:
Kiekvieno iš beveik 1900 nežinomų ir neįvardintų aukų dvasią pagerbsime Dovydo žvaigžde
For each of the nearly 1900 unknown, unnamed victims, we honor their souls with a Star of David
Kiekviena didelė Dovydo žvaigždė skirta nežinomam suaugusiajam
Each large Star of David represents an unknown adult victim
Kiekviena maža Dovydo žvaigždė skirta nežinomam vaikui
Each small Star of David represents an unknown child
Čia mes skelbiame kiekvienos aukos vardą ir skiriame po Dovydo žvaigždę kiekvieno nežinomo.
Here we declare to each victim, a name and Star of David for each unknown soul
Pagerbdami Biržuose nužudytus žmones kartu prisimename ir pagerbiame tuos, kurie buvo nužudyti visoje Lietuvoje.
In honoring those murdered in Birzai, we recall and honor those who likewise were murdered in all Lithuania
Ši lentelė yra skirta šuo metu nežinomų aukų vardams
This plate is reserved for names of victims unknown in the present time
Small information stand, in Lithuania and English:
Biržų žydų – Holokausto aukų – atminimo paminklas
Memorial for Holocaust victims of Birzai
Inicijavo ir statybas organizavo Biržų žydų kultūros ir istorijos draugija
Building of the Memorial undertaken by the Birzai Jewish Culture and History Society
Projektą koordinavo / Project coordinators
Ben Rabinowitz (PAR/SA), Abel ir Glenda Levitt (Izraelis)
Vidmantas ir Merūnas Jukoniai (Lietuva)
Architektas / Architect Dr. Joseph Rabie (Prancūzija/France)
Techninį projektą rengė / Designer and engineering
UAB „Senamiesčio projektai“ / Įmonės vadovas Edgar Mendelevič
Rangovas / Building contractor
UAB „Nermonas“ / st m.atition statybų vadovas Rūtenis Dirvonskis
Aukų pavardes tikslino / The victims' names were collated by
Prof. Jonathan Dorfan ir Bižų krašto muziejus „Sėla“
Memorialą prižiūrė / Memorial custodianship
Biržų rajono savivaldybė, Parovėjos seniūnija / Biržai Distric Municipality
Paminklas pastatytas 2019 m. / The memorial was built in 2019
Daugiau informacijos apie paminklą galima rasti internetiniame puslapyje www.birzaijewish.lt
For more information about the Memorial please visit www.birzaijewish.lt/en
Commissioned by
The Biržai Jewish Culture and History Society
sub-set tree: 
Each panel of the wall: length 259 cm, height 111 cm
On August 8, 1941, the Jews of Biržai were killed en masse. On the day of the massacre a former lawyer from Pasvalys, then a representative of the Gestapo of Šiauliai, Petras Požėla, arrived in Biržai with several German security police and SD officers. The Jews were told to gather in the synagogue. All precious jewelry was taken from them. Then the white armbanders took people in groups of 100–200 to Astravas Grove where they were shot. The massacre lasted from 11 A.M. to 7 P.M. On that day all Biržai Jews were shot. According to data from a Soviet Special Commission, in all about 2,400 Jews were killed (900 children under 14, 780 women, and 720 men).
A monument at the killing site was erected in 1950. In the 1990s. A new plaque with Yiddish and Lithuanian inscription was installed in the 1990s by the Lithuanian Jewish community (see here). This new memorial supplementing the old one, was constructed in 2019, on the initiative of the Birzai Jewish Culture and History Society.
On February 9, 1993, the old monument was registered in the State Cultural Register of the Republic of Lithuania of national importance (no. 10818).
Kultūros vertybių registras, https://kvr.kpd.lt/#/heritage-detail/4ad00ffc-d29f-4266-8eb5-280bb59207b9., https://kvr.kpd.lt/#/ (accessed April 24, 2022)