Rescuers of Jews
Gugienė Elena
Before the war Elene Gugienė worked at the Kaunas Hospital of Tuberculosis alongside doctors and nurses of Jewish origin. Once the war broke out the Jewish staff were dismissed and forced to move into the ghetto, where they experienced harsh living conditions, shortages, prohibition and eventually killing en masse. Before being moved to the ghetto, the majority of Jewish residents tried to leave what they could of their valuables for Lithuanian acquaintances to hold onto until “better times”.
The Živčiūnai family were acquaintances of Elena and Romualdas Gugiai and the owners of a hat factory (during the war the factory became the “Veltinis“ factory). They left their silver cutlery for the Gugiai to safeguard. Later Elena Gugienė, by request of Mrs. Živčiūnienė, would sell some of it and give the money to Mrs. Živčiūnienė, who during the war years was forced to work in her former factory together with other Jewish residents from the ghetto.
During one visit with Mrs. Živčiūnienė at the factory, Elena Gugienė saw her former colleague, a radiologist called Šeina Suvalskytė. She was living in the ghetto with her mother and father and working in the factory. From then on, every time Elena Gugienė went to meet Mrs. Živčiūnienė she would also meet Šeina, who would later inform her that the Živčiūnai were no longer in the ghetto and had probably been taken to Estonia.
One morning in May 1944 Šeina knocked on the door of Elena and Romualdas Gugys. She had bribed a German soldier to let her escape from a line of Jewish people going to work. She had already visited the other Lithuanians she knew but no one had let her stay, for fear of the consequences. Elena gave Šeina breakfast and spoke to her husband. Romualdas was resolute and they agreed that if they didn‘t help her it would be like standing back and watching her drown.
They rearranged a room for Šeina and took all security measures possible, telling nobody about her being there. Šeina later became ill and they took care of her, but when the front started to approach they decided to move to the farm of Elena‘s parents in Muniškiai, a village just outside Kaunas. Šeina was then taken care of by their mutual friend Romanauskas, who with Šeina stayed in the Gugiai’s house until Kaunas was liberated from German occupation. After the war Šeina married a very talented doctor by the name of Giršas Vitenšteinas, who later became a professor of the Medical Institute. This family of doctors stayed in close contact with Elena and Romualdas Gugiai until they moved to Israel.
The Živčiūnai family were acquaintances of Elena and Romualdas Gugiai and the owners of a hat factory (during the war the factory became the “Veltinis“ factory). They left their silver cutlery for the Gugiai to safeguard. Later Elena Gugienė, by request of Mrs. Živčiūnienė, would sell some of it and give the money to Mrs. Živčiūnienė, who during the war years was forced to work in her former factory together with other Jewish residents from the ghetto.
During one visit with Mrs. Živčiūnienė at the factory, Elena Gugienė saw her former colleague, a radiologist called Šeina Suvalskytė. She was living in the ghetto with her mother and father and working in the factory. From then on, every time Elena Gugienė went to meet Mrs. Živčiūnienė she would also meet Šeina, who would later inform her that the Živčiūnai were no longer in the ghetto and had probably been taken to Estonia.
One morning in May 1944 Šeina knocked on the door of Elena and Romualdas Gugys. She had bribed a German soldier to let her escape from a line of Jewish people going to work. She had already visited the other Lithuanians she knew but no one had let her stay, for fear of the consequences. Elena gave Šeina breakfast and spoke to her husband. Romualdas was resolute and they agreed that if they didn‘t help her it would be like standing back and watching her drown.
They rearranged a room for Šeina and took all security measures possible, telling nobody about her being there. Šeina later became ill and they took care of her, but when the front started to approach they decided to move to the farm of Elena‘s parents in Muniškiai, a village just outside Kaunas. Šeina was then taken care of by their mutual friend Romanauskas, who with Šeina stayed in the Gugiai’s house until Kaunas was liberated from German occupation. After the war Šeina married a very talented doctor by the name of Giršas Vitenšteinas, who later became a professor of the Medical Institute. This family of doctors stayed in close contact with Elena and Romualdas Gugiai until they moved to Israel.