Rescuers of Jews

Aleksandras RADZVILAVIČIUS (1916–1988) Bronislovas RADZVILAVIČIUS (1913–1986) Aleksandras Radzvilavičius – the resident of Lazdijai District – was walking across the forest when he stumbled upon the newly constructed hideout of the Veisiejai pharmacist Saulius Kuklianskis and his sons – Moshe and Samuelis – and his daughter Ana. At first, Aleksandras Radvilavičius was tense and stern, but after some communication he became very friendly. He assured the family that he would not tell anybody about the whereabouts of their shelter and keep the secret, and the Kuklianskis family decided no to abandon the newly constructed hideout despite the great risk. In time, they appeared to have made the right decision. Aleksandras Radzvilavičius came back and invited Moshe Kuklianskis to go with him to his house in Sirbuškė, which was surrounded by swamps and could only be reached via a wooden underwater bridge that could not even be seen from the outside. Aleksandras Radzvilavičius proposed every kind of help and aided the family with food. The Kuklianskis family was also supported with food by Aleksandras Radzvilavičius’ brother Bronislovas Radzvilavičius who lived in Sventijanskas village and had married Veronika – daughter of Mikalina Lukoševičienė, who was also the saviour of the Kuklianskis family. Humane actions of the brothers Aleksandras and Bronislovas and food provided by them had an enormous importance for the Kuklianskis family members hiding and living in extreme conditions in forest pits during the war.