Goldfoot Genealogy

Nadene Goldfoot
                                                             
Cousins' Facts About Lithuania and Jewish Community

Subject: Unique Memorial to a LIthuanian Jewish Community initiated by the Christian Town Mayor
From: Joel Alpert <joelnmnalpert@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 10 Feb 2018 11:11:40 -0700
X-Message-Number: 1
                                                 

Always learning in Lithuania.  This was an ORT Agricultural School farm

 All that currently stands as the reminder of the Yurburg (Jurbarkas,

Lithuania) Jewish community is the Jewish Cemetery, one of the few in
the small towns of Lithuania not destroyed. The once glorious Wooden
Synagogue of the Jewish community was burned down by the Nazis and
their collaborators in late summer of 1941 when all the Jews of
Yurburg were murdered.
                                                           

To fill that void in the town's history the current mayor of
Jurbarkas, Skirmantas Mockevicius, asked Mr. Amir Maimon, the Israeli
Ambassador to Lithuania, to contact the reknown Israeli sculptor David
Zundelovitch, with a request to design and create a memorial to
commemorate the now extinct Jewish community. This is most unusual
because it is the first such memorial that was initiated by the local
Lithuanian community. The choice of Zundelovitch is particularily
fitting because he and his extended family have roots in the town.

  The memorial will be constructed on the corner where the Wooden
Synagogue once stood and will be called the Synagogue Square Memorial.                                              

Krozh Synagogue, Krozh, Lithuania

In 1766, there were 1048 Jews in Krozh.  In 1888, there were 220 Jewish families or 1125 people, 32% of the general population of 3375. 
The town became a center for learning Kabbalah in Lithuania. 

For more information including images of the model of the memorial go
to: https://nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newartistscollegium.com%2Fsynagogue-square-memorial&data=02%7C01%7C%7C520079126aff47fa07eb08d5712326f7%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636539318138246676&sdata=XN6lJWZLFnvBQsUqbUlCxG5bmkpfOeYTCLb8PPNBu3U%3D&reserved=0

Joel Alpert, Chair of the Friends of the Yurburg Jewish Cemetery
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Reference: p. 52-69  Preserving Our Litvak Heritage, a history of 31 Jewish communities in
Lithuania.   by Josef Rosin;  Joel Alpert, Editor, published by JewishGen, Inc.

   Alpert and Rosin are cousins.  Joel Alpert is my 5th cousin, and Andi Alpert Zigelman is my 3rd.  They are 2 of 6 Alpert DNA matches  I have.  This is what connects us to Lithuanian history.  It tells us what our ancestors' lives were like there.

Jewish settlement of Yurburg exists from 1766 on, even though it became a town after the border between Lithuania and Germany was defined in 1422.  It then was a border town and customs point.
Yurberg had 2,525 Jews in 1847.  It had 2,350 by 1897 which was 31% of the town.
                                                                 

Telsiai, before WWII

I'm more familiar with Telsiai (Telzh) and Lazdijai (Lazdey) , two towns that our ancestors came from in Lithuania.  Our genealogy goes back to Iones "Jonah" Goldfus b: 1730.  Telsiai, Telsiai, Kaunas, Lithuania.  Lazdey had been settled by Jews by the end of the 16th Century.  An organized Jewish community functioned from about 1689 because permission was granted by King Jan Sobiesky.

Descendants of Joshua Charles "Hatzkel" Isaiahel Jermulowskie

1  [1] Joshua Charles "Hatzkel" Isaiahel Jermulowskie b: 1850 in Lazdzieje, Suwalk Gubernia, Lithuania prob.Poland,  Lazdijai, Suwalki, Russia/Lithuania d: Bet. 1895 - 1950 in Lazdzieje, Suwalk Gubernia, Lithuania
.. +Esther "Essie" Decatsky/ Decad  b: Abt. 1860 in Lazdzieje, Suwalk Gubernia, Lithuania d: Abt. 1887 in Lazdzieje, Suwalk Gubernia, Lithuania
*2nd Wife of [1] Joshua Charles "Hatzkel" Isaiahel Jermulowskie:
.. +Dora Leah "Deborah" b: Abt. 1850 in "Russia" d: Bet. 1895 - 1950 in Poland/, Russia
In 1855, Telzh had 3,209 Jews, which was 67% of the town.
                                                                     

Murder Site of Jews Linkuva, Šiauliai County, Lithuania

Lazdey had 1,546 which was 60% of that town.  You find Lazdey on Poland's resource list in Jewishgen.org today, as they were a town on the border between the two countries, and was taken by Poland at some point.  Until 1795, Lazdey was part of the Polish Lithuanian Kingdom, when the 3rd diviion of Poland by the 3 superpowers of those days, Russia, Prussia and Austria, caused Lithuania to become partly Russian and partly Prussian.  Lazdey was handed over to Prussia that ruled there from 1795-1807.  Then it was the country administrative center.

From 1807-1813, Lazdey belonged to the GREAT KINGDOM OF WARSAW, and was part of the Bialystok district.  The Napoleonic code was introduced. However, Napoleon was defeated in 1815 and ALL of Lithuania was then annexed to Russia, which put Lazdey in the Augustowa Province (Gubernia).   In 1866 it became part of the Suwalk Gubernia as a country administrative center.

Our grandmother, Zlata Jermulowske, was born in 1886.  In 1897 when she was 11 years old, her town had 1,439 Jews in it which was 56% of the town.  She had insisted that she was a Litvak!
                                                                           

Young men of Lazdijai in May 1929

Her Lazdey suffered from many fires.  In 1915 the Germans occupied the town and ruled there till 1918 after WWI.  Finally Lithuania was independent, but in 1919 the Polish army took it over, but was expelled in a few days.  Sejny, the administrative center, remained in Poland.  Lithuania remained independent until 1940.  Germany invaded again in June 1941 and caused the demolition of almost all the town. 

Resource:  https://kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/kraziai/history_jewish_khroz.htm
http://www.yadvashem.org/untoldstories/database/index.asp?cid=236