Rescuers of Jews

     During the Nazi occupation, thirteen people survived the war while hiding with Vaclovas and Ona Paškauskas and Ona's son Stanislovas Krivičius, who all lived together in the village of Klėriškės (Kaišiadorys district): Israel and Edna Ippas (later Ipson), their son Jakob (later Jay M. Ipson), Icikas Kalamickas, his wife Ida and their sons Jakovas and Dovydas, Ida's sister Raja Šlom and her son Emanuelis, as well as Israel Ippas's cousins Mošė and Izraelis Gilmanas with their wives.
     Throughout the war, Vaclovas Paškauskas' sister, Marijona Markutavičienė (née Paškauskaitė), was an indispensable helper in the rescue of the Jews. She was born in 1894 in the village of Klėriškės. After marrying Kazimieras Markutavičius in 1920, she moved to the nearby village of Šoliškės, a few kilometres away.
     When the Jewish fugitives arrived at the Paškauskas farmstead asking for help, they were welcomed, and from that day onward they were cared for not only by Vaclovas and Ona Paškauskas and Stanislovas Krivičius, who lived with them, but also by Vaclovas' sister Marijona Markutavičienė.
     The first to seek Vaclovas Paškauskas' help was Icikas Kalamickas. Before the war, Icikas Kalamickas and his family had lived in the village of Sepijoniškės, where they owned a farm and made their living from livestock farming. He knew Vaclovas Paškauskas well and therefore did not hesitate to turn to him. Fully aware that the Kalamickas family faced certain death, Vaclovas Paškauskas, despite the danger, took in Icikas' family together with his wife's relatives. For some time, they hid in the Paškauskas family's barn. Whenever policemen began searching the village, it became too dangerous to remain there, and the Kalamickas family would seek temporary refuge with other farmers in the region.
     In October 1943, after surviving several Aktionen in the Kaunas Ghetto, the Kalamickas family's relative Israel Ippas (later Ipson), together with his wife Edna and their son Jakob (later Jay M. Ipson), escaped from the ghetto. With the help of Vaclovas Paškauskas' stepson Stanislovas Krivičius, Israel Ippas dug a bunker near the Paškauskas homestead, where his family spent the next nine months. Later, the larger Kalamickas family joined them there. The bunker was exceptionally well concealed, covered with turf, and its entrance was hidden beneath a nearby potato pit. In case of danger, an escape route had been prepared through a tunnel connecting the bunker with another potato pit.
     As soon as Jews arrived at the Paškauskas farmstead, Vaclovas Paškauskas asked his sister Marijona Markutavičienė (née Paškauskaitė) for help. From the memoirs of Marijona Markutavičienė's son Liudvikas Markutavičius (born in 1938):
     Vaclovas Paškauskas told my mother that he needed help because his family was hiding Jews. Food and other essential supplies had to be obtained for the people in hiding, as the family's own provisions were insufficient. They could not do this themselves because of the great danger it posed both to the Jews and to their own family. My mother agreed to help.
     Two of the Paškauskas daughters, Jadvyga and Zofija, also lived on the farmstead, but they never left the property, for fear that they might be stopped by the Gestapo and forced to lead them back to the house. If the Germans searched the house, they might discover the people in hiding, placing not only the Jews but also the entire household in mortal danger. Everyone living on the Paškauskas farmstead tried to avoid attracting the attention of the Gestapo.
     My mother shared as much of our own food as she possibly could and also asked neighbours and acquaintances for help. But that was still not enough, so she would take me with her and we would go from village to village, trying to buy food or asking for alms. This continued for several years. If German soldiers stopped us, my mother would say that she was looking for food for her own family. I remember how frightened I was whenever the Gestapo questioned us. Sometimes my mother would promise to work in exchange for food, repaying the debt with her labour. At other times, the Jews themselves would give her money or valuables and ask her to exchange them for food. From the summer of 1941 until the German soldiers left on 16 July 1944, my mother continually collected, bought, and carried food to the Jews in hiding.
     One day we went to Žiežmariai. There we saw many Soviet soldiers. People were saying that the war had ended. My mother and I ran as fast as we could to Vaclovas Paškauskas' farmstead to tell the Jews that the war was over. I still remember their overwhelming joy! They shouted, cried, laughed, and then began to dance.
     I, Liudvikas Markutavičius, together with my family, my grandchildren, and my great-grandchildren, am immensely proud of my mother's and grandmother's contribution to saving people from destruction.
     Ona and Vaclovas Paškauskas and Ona's son Stanislovas Krivičius were recognized as Righteous Among the Nations in 1998 and were also awarded the Life Saving Cross. In 2026, Marijona Markutavičienė (née Paškauskaitė) was likewise awarded the Life Saving Cross. Throughout the war, she did everything within her power to care for the Jews hiding on her brother's farmstead and made a significant contribution to the survival of the thirteen Jews sheltered by Vaclovas and Ona Paškauskas during the Nazi occupation.