Rescuers of Jews
Strikaitis Antanas
STEFANIJA STRIKAITIENĖ ir ANTANAS STRIKAITIS
The fact that Antanas and Stefanija Strikaiciai were hiding 16 Jewish people is proven by the rearguard military chief commander lieutenant-colonel’s of the Baltic front People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs (NKVD) Romanov’s report to the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs of LSSR of October 18th 1944 about the inahbitants of Alsedziai region who had participated in rescuing the Jews during the Nazi occupation.
Faktor family (Josef Ber with his wife Chaja Gita, their son Israel with his wife Feiga and children Gutelis ir Abraham, another son Mejer with his wife Chase and daughter Hanele, also daughters Feiga Fiskiniene with her husband Jochel Fiskinas and Adina Faktoraite) was brought by Juozas Straupis from Alsedziai to his acquintances’ Juozas and Adolfina Kerpauskai farmhouse in a horse-drawn wagon and on two bicycles. They all moved into a small room on the first floor. There were initially 12 and later 16 people there. Josif Faktor’s sister Chana Ritoviene with her daughter Sara Ritovaite and a boy from Telsiai ghetto Harry Frak joined the Faktor family. In the forest near the Kerpauskai farm hiding and shelters were started to be constructed; the first of them was built under the house where on November 1st 1941 Israel ans Feoga Faktor’s daughter Malka was born.
When the searches became more frequent in February of 1944 people were disributed into groups; the Faktors moved to the home of the elder of the village Antanas Strikaitis and his wife Stefanija who already had eight children. Antanas Strikaitis said: ‘The punishment for sheltering nine people is the same as for 16; you can stay’. Here living in a barn they were visited by Juozas Straupis ir Juozas Kerpauskas. Faktor family safely survived until the end of the war.
The fact that Antanas and Stefanija Strikaiciai were hiding 16 Jewish people is proven by the rearguard military chief commander lieutenant-colonel’s of the Baltic front People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs (NKVD) Romanov’s report to the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs of LSSR of October 18th 1944 about the inahbitants of Alsedziai region who had participated in rescuing the Jews during the Nazi occupation.
Faktor family (Josef Ber with his wife Chaja Gita, their son Israel with his wife Feiga and children Gutelis ir Abraham, another son Mejer with his wife Chase and daughter Hanele, also daughters Feiga Fiskiniene with her husband Jochel Fiskinas and Adina Faktoraite) was brought by Juozas Straupis from Alsedziai to his acquintances’ Juozas and Adolfina Kerpauskai farmhouse in a horse-drawn wagon and on two bicycles. They all moved into a small room on the first floor. There were initially 12 and later 16 people there. Josif Faktor’s sister Chana Ritoviene with her daughter Sara Ritovaite and a boy from Telsiai ghetto Harry Frak joined the Faktor family. In the forest near the Kerpauskai farm hiding and shelters were started to be constructed; the first of them was built under the house where on November 1st 1941 Israel ans Feoga Faktor’s daughter Malka was born.
When the searches became more frequent in February of 1944 people were disributed into groups; the Faktors moved to the home of the elder of the village Antanas Strikaitis and his wife Stefanija who already had eight children. Antanas Strikaitis said: ‘The punishment for sheltering nine people is the same as for 16; you can stay’. Here living in a barn they were visited by Juozas Straupis ir Juozas Kerpauskas. Faktor family safely survived until the end of the war.