Rescuers of Jews

     After the restoration of Lithuania's independence, in the summer of 1991, Dovydas Goldstein and his wife traveled from Los Angeles, USA, to Lithuania. Dovydas visited Eržvilkas to meet with the rescuers of the Goldstein family and their relatives, as well as to visit the sites where the Jews of Eržvilkas were murdered in the summer of 1941. Throughout the war, Dovydas, then three years old, and his eight-year-old brother Ariel, were hidden along with their parents, Chaim and Menucha Goldstein. If not for Chaim Goldstein’s ingenuity and resourcefulness, the family’s unwavering faith in their survival despite cold, disease, and unimaginable hardships, and—most importantly—the compassion and assistance of many farmers in the Eržvilkas region, the Goldstein family would have faced the same tragic fate as the rest of the Jews in Eržvilkas.
     Before the war, Chaim Goldstein was a cattle and grain trader in Eržvilkas, well-acquainted with many local farmers. When the Germans occupied Eržvilkas, persecution of Jews began immediately, and soon all Jews were ordered to prepare for a three-day journey to a camp. Although surrounded by policemen, Chaim Goldstein, his wife, and children managed to escape. Initially, they hid in the forests near Eržvilkas, obtaining food from local farmers. As the weather grew colder, they sought shelter on farmsteads, frequently changing locations and sometimes hiding together, other times separately.
     Some of the rescuers of the Goldstein family have already been awarded the Life Saviour’s Cross Award. At this ceremony, we introduce a few more farmers from the Eržvilkas area who helped save the Goldstein family, including Pranas and Petrė Bandzinas, who lived in the village of Palabaukščiai in the Jurbarkas district.

From Petrė Bandzinienė’s memoirs, written in 1991:
     One night, when it was raining heavily, around three o'clock, Chaimukas knocked on the door. He was soaking wet, and we were terrified, not knowing what to do. My husband tore down a piece of plywood from the wall, we dressed Chaim in dry clothes, and both of them went out to the forest. In the forest, they set up a tent for the Goldstein family. They stayed in the Pakutinskas forest for two months. In the evenings, they would come to us to take food. Nobody in the area found out, except the Pakutinskas family. Once, the Germans came to the Pakutinskas household, and we notified them that it was too dangerous to stay in the forest, so they moved to the Pocius family. Whenever they needed something, they would come to us. Chaim always said that his family would survive, prayed a lot, and believed that God would save them.

In his post-war notes, Chaim Goldstein remembers Pranas Bandzinas:
     Pranas Bandzinas was very poor, but he always helped me, mended my torn shoes, and shared his homemade bread when I was starving…

     After the restoration of Lithuanian independence, Petrė Bandzinienė corresponded with the sons of Chaim Goldstein and visited the site of the massacre of Eržvilkas Jews in the Gryblaukis forest, where many of the Goldstein family’s relatives, friends, and neighbors were among the victims.
     Chaim Goldstein felt a deep obligation to thank all those who had helped save him and his family: he wrote letters and sent care packages. Many residents of Eržvilkas and the surrounding villages remember the Goldstein family, and in 1991, a large group of the Goldstein family's rescuers and their descendants came to meet with Chaim Goldstein’s son, Dovydas.