Rescuers of Jews

Račiūnas Vincentas

ONA RAČIŪNIENĖ
ANTANAS RAČIŪNAS
VINCENTAS RAČIŪNAS
ANTANAS RAČIŪNAS
PETRAS RAČIŪNAS


     During the entire German occupation, residents of the village of Gūrai in the Raseiniai district – Ona and Antanas Račiūnas, their adult sons Antanas, Petras, and Vincentas, along with their relatives living in the same village, Pranas Zaksas, Ona and Marijona Zaksaitės, and Jonas Vaitkus – hid and provided food for members of Samson Milner’s family.
     The Račiūnas and Zaksas families were acquainted with Samson Milner’s family before the war. Samson Milner, from Raseiniai, owned a mill and a sawmill together with his brother-in-law Faivel Kagan. Many farmers in the Raseiniai region were clients of Samson Milner and therefore knew him and Faivel Kagan well. Faivel Kagan was unmarried, and Samson Milner, widowed early, raised his two sons, Aron (born in 1929) and Berel (born in 1931), on his own.
     When Nazi Germany occupied Lithuania, the persecution of Jews began immediately, and soon news of the first victims spread. Samson Milner approached the Račiūnas family to ask if they would help him if necessary. Antanas Račiūnas, the head of the family, promised to help Samson Milner and his sons in any way he could.
     During the mass killings of Jews in Raseiniai and its surroundings on September 28, 1941, Samson Milner, his sons, and Faivel Kagan managed to escape and sought refuge with the Račiūnas family. Initially, the fugitives decided to split up, as it was too dangerous for all four to hide together. Faivel Kagan and his nephew Aron Milner stayed with the Račiūnas family. Their homestead had three hiding places: in the woodshed, the chicken coop, and the house. The Račiūnas family were prosperous, hardworking, and kind-hearted farmers, ensuring that the hidden Jews did not go hungry.
     Samson Milner and his younger son Berel initially hid with other acquaintances. When danger arose, they turned to the Zaksas family, relatives of the Račiūnas family who lived nearby, and were taken in. The Zaksas farmstead was only 300 meters from the Račiūnas home and about a kilometer from Samson Milner’s house; the families knew each other well.
     Pranas Zaksas and his sisters, Ona and Marijona Zaksaitės, lost their parents early. Living with them was their 30-year-old half-brother, Jonas Vaitkus, who was the eldest in the household. Together, Pranas and Jonas worked on the farm and cared for their Jewish neighbors in desperate need. Pranas Zaksas and Samson Milner dug a pit under a bed, which served as a hiding place for Samson and his son Berel. They would hide there when the dog barked or strangers approached. In summer, they used a hiding place under hay in the barn. The Zaksas family was poor and supported as much as possible by the Račiūnas family. Samson and Berel Milner also helped the Zaksas family with seasonal work.
     Twice, Faivel Kagan and Aron, accompanied by the Račiūnas family, traveled to Kaunas to meet relatives imprisoned in the ghetto. Most of their relatives perished in July 1944 during the liquidation of the Kaunas Ghetto, except for Samson Milner’s eldest brother, Shmerel Milner. Shmerel had escaped the ghetto in 1942 and hid with other fugitives on a farm in Beržtai village, belonging to Anelė Tarapinienė and her children.
     As the front line approached Raseiniai and the village of Gūrai, located just 2 km away, the fugitives relocated to safer territory. In the final weeks of Nazi occupation, Faivel Kagan and Samson Milner with his sons joined other fugitives hiding at the Tarapinienė farm in Beržtai village.
     All the Jews who were selflessly rescued by farmers in the Raseiniai district survived. After the war, Samson Milner, his sons, and Faivel Kagan settled in Kaunas. In 1970, Samson Milner and his sons Aron and Berel emigrated to Israel. Faivel Kagan passed away in Kaunas in 1978.
     In 2006, Pranas Zaksas, Ona and Marijona Zaksaitės, and Vincentas Račiūnas were awarded the Life Saviour’s Cross. In 2007, Yad Vashem recognized Ona and Antanas Račiūnas, their sons Antanas, Vincentas, and Petras, along with Jonas Vaitkus, Pranas Zaksas, and Ona and Marijona Zaksaitės as Righteous Among the Nations. During a 2024 ceremony, other rescuers of the Samson Milner family – Ona and Antanas Račiūnas, and their sons Antanas and Petras – were also awarded the Life Saviour’s Cross state award.

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