rescuers of jews
Irena Gaižauskienė
Irena GAIŽAUSKIENĖ
Irena Gaižauskienė and Tsilia Shvabaite shot in 1944 near the Kaunas Ghetto
Testimony of Fenia Shvabaite, Tsilia’s sister:
Irena Gaižauskienė made every effort to save my elder sister Tsilia who had stayed in the ghetto. At nights and during the Soviet air raids, she ran to Vilijampolė multiple times to approach the barbed wire fence in the midst of the turmoil among the Nazis to discuss with my sister how she could escape the ghetto. Once, she took all her valuables and tried to bribe the German patrol at the ghetto gate. She managed to take her sister across the street, but then they both were shot down. This brave selfless woman died trying to save the life of another human being. I will carry the memory of this wonderful woman in my heart for ever.
“Unarmed Fighters”. Ed. Sofija Binkienė. Vilnius, 1967
Irena Gaižauskienė and Tsilia Shvabaite shot in 1944 near the Kaunas Ghetto
Testimony of Fenia Shvabaite, Tsilia’s sister:
Irena Gaižauskienė made every effort to save my elder sister Tsilia who had stayed in the ghetto. At nights and during the Soviet air raids, she ran to Vilijampolė multiple times to approach the barbed wire fence in the midst of the turmoil among the Nazis to discuss with my sister how she could escape the ghetto. Once, she took all her valuables and tried to bribe the German patrol at the ghetto gate. She managed to take her sister across the street, but then they both were shot down. This brave selfless woman died trying to save the life of another human being. I will carry the memory of this wonderful woman in my heart for ever.
“Unarmed Fighters”. Ed. Sofija Binkienė. Vilnius, 1967