Rescuers of Jews
Antanaitis Jonas, Kazio
ONA ANTANAITIENĖ ir JONAS ANTANAITIS
A large family of Natan and Chana Machat, who owned two separate houses, a butcher’s shop and a wool carding place in the town of Rozalim, were religious and respected among the residents of the town. In the summer of 1941 the Nazis along with their local supporters entered Rozalim and started the persecution, mockery and mass murder of the Jewish people immediately. Only a single one of the eight children in the Machat family, Josif, survived. He managed to flee the site where the Jews were collected and hide with Jonas and Ona Antanaiciai in Moniunai village located about three kilometres from Rozalim.
From the memoirs of Janina Antanaityte- Paskeviciene:
Josif would change his hiding location frequently; he stayed in the stables, in the barn. As the temperatures dropped, he used to stay in the house, in a larder between the living spaces. Josif used to hide under where we kept beetroots in winter. Each time our parents were returning home from somewhere, they used to look from afar trying to see if the house was still standing. They dreaded finding it burnt down. My brother and I were very young back then, so we were also a threat...
It was difficult; still, Machat remained with us for a couple of months. Later, when the Russians returned, he joined the army. However, he soon ended up in hospital and returned. In October 1951our family were deported to Siberia. Machat tried to help us in every way possible. We survived and returned back to Lithuania in 1958; we were rehabilitated. Our parents died in Lithuania.
Josif Machat kept in touch with his saviours and their relatives until his departure to Israel.
A large family of Natan and Chana Machat, who owned two separate houses, a butcher’s shop and a wool carding place in the town of Rozalim, were religious and respected among the residents of the town. In the summer of 1941 the Nazis along with their local supporters entered Rozalim and started the persecution, mockery and mass murder of the Jewish people immediately. Only a single one of the eight children in the Machat family, Josif, survived. He managed to flee the site where the Jews were collected and hide with Jonas and Ona Antanaiciai in Moniunai village located about three kilometres from Rozalim.
From the memoirs of Janina Antanaityte- Paskeviciene:
Josif would change his hiding location frequently; he stayed in the stables, in the barn. As the temperatures dropped, he used to stay in the house, in a larder between the living spaces. Josif used to hide under where we kept beetroots in winter. Each time our parents were returning home from somewhere, they used to look from afar trying to see if the house was still standing. They dreaded finding it burnt down. My brother and I were very young back then, so we were also a threat...
It was difficult; still, Machat remained with us for a couple of months. Later, when the Russians returned, he joined the army. However, he soon ended up in hospital and returned. In October 1951our family were deported to Siberia. Machat tried to help us in every way possible. We survived and returned back to Lithuania in 1958; we were rehabilitated. Our parents died in Lithuania.
Josif Machat kept in touch with his saviours and their relatives until his departure to Israel.