Apie Skapiškio gyventojus žydus

LTIstoriniuose šaltiniuose nurodoma, kad žydai šiuose kraštuose apsigyveno Vytauto Didžiojo valdymo laikotarpiu. Didysis Lietuvos kunigaikštis jiems suteikė nemažai privilegijų. Daugėjant gyventojų, augant miestams ir miesteliams, daugėjo ir žydų. Jų verslai, amatai, ypač prekyba, buvo reikalingi nuo seno čia gyvenantiems lietuviams, kurie tradiciškai daugiausia buvo žemdirbiai. Jokių didesnių nesusipratimų tarp šių abiejų tautų istorija nemini. Aštuoniolikto šimtmečio pabaigoje po trečiojo Lietuvos ir Lenkijos padalijimo Lietuva pakliuvo Rusijos imperijos sudėtin. Čia žydų gyvenimas buvo sunkesnis. Jie įvairiais būdais būdavo diskriminuojami, rengiami pogromai. Tačiau lietuvių santykiai su žydais išliko nepakitę. Tokie jie buvo ir atkurtoje Lietuvos valstybėje 1918 metais. [Iš straipsnio, p. 548]Reikšminiai žodžiai: Skapiškis; Žydai; Holokaustas; Skapiškis; Jews; Holocaust.

ENHistorical sources mention that Jews settled in the area discussed during the rule of Vytautas the Great. With the increase in population, growth of towns and townships, numbers of Jews also grew. Their businesses, crafts, especially trading were needful for Lithuanians living here a long time and occupied mainly in agriculture. After the World War I and restoration of the State of Lithuania, life of people, including Jews and their relations with Lithuanians changed dramatically. The right of Jews to take part in the governing of the state had been recognised and full freedom of observance of their religion and customs given. A Jewish class has been formed in Skapiškis primary school. But later, due to a significant decrease in pupils, the Jews were distributed among the Lithuanian classes. During the interwar period, there was a Jewish bath in Skapiškis with a special basin for religious ceremonies and a library. Young people not only used it for its direct purpose, but also as a space for cultural activities. Nearby there was a synagogue. In 1930s in Skapiškis, there was a sole doctor, Jew J. Slonimskis. He was a rather bright man, an ethnographer, who used to describe the daily life of Skapiškis people; he himself had performed archaeological excavations on the site of old Skapiškis church.Reminiscences of Ida Baronaitė-Chlivickienė (1921-2015), born and grown in Skapiškis, helped to restore the life of Jews in this town. She with her sister Sara had studied in Kaunas. As the WWII began, they managed to retreat to Soviet Union. After the war she lived in Vilnius and used often to come to Skapiškis. When Lithuania restored its independence, in 1990s she together with her peer Aliute Elena Markevičiūte (1923-2017) reproduced the pre-war life of 29 Jewish families, their names and businesses. When Germans took Skapiškis, one day of July deportation of Jews began. Many men were invited from their families into the building of the local government in Darius and Girėnas Street. They were closed for the night in the guard-room. Very early next morning, farmers from surrounding areas were forced to come with their horse-driven carts to the houses of Jews. There were no men in many houses, thus, there was some confusion as inhabitants were said to get ready quickly for the trip. The carts rode to the town's central square, were the men had already been released, but they were not allowed to go home. All this seemed to have been organised by new authority being formed in the town. Farther, the carts with Jews were accompanied to Rokiškis by several Baltaraiščiai, or White Stripes, local collaborators with Nazis.After a month, no Jews remained in the ghetto. Together with three thousand others they lie in the common grave four kilometres north of Rokiškis. The furniture of Jews and other household articles were shared or sold for a symbolic price. Nobody knew and was interested were the money obtained went. Newcomers settled in Jewish homes. One house was used to lodge war prisoners who were building the grain storage in the railway station. Although some Skapiškis Jews avoided death and their descendants lived in Lithuania, mainly in Vilnius, but their numbers gradually decreased. At the end of the second decade, nothing is heard about them. Jewish emigrants from Skapiškis were also before the WWII. Rather many of their offspring live in Israel, USA, South African Republic and other places. Each summer some of them come to Skapiškis and ask to tell where the home of their distant relatives had been. They even try to find the graves of their ancestors in a small cemetery at the end of Žilvičių Street beyond the former narrow-gauge railway. [From the publication]