rescuers of jews
Bagdanavičienė Katerina
KATERINA BAGDANAVIČIENĖ
BENEDIKTAS BAGDANAVIČIUS
BARBORA ŽILYTĖ
To Darbėnai, where about 600 Jews lived before the war, the Nazi German army entered already on the first day of the war. Repressions and killings of Jews began immediately. On June 29, 1941, about 150 Jewish men from Darbėnai were shot, while the remaining over 400 elderly men, women, and children were confined in the synagogue in the town centre and guarded by the police. People in the synagogue were kept in terrible conditions, awaiting death every day. After a month, it was announced that farmers from the Darbėnai area could take Jewish women and surviving men for labour. Riva Šatelienė testified (protocol of R. Šatelienė's interrogation on August 24, 1956, at the Klaipėda militia): at the end of July 1941, she, and another woman from Darbėnai, Chasia Šubicaitė, were taken to the farm owned by Benediktas and Katerina Bagdanavičius. To bring Riva Šatelienė and Chasia Šubicaitė to Darbėnai, Katerina Bagdanavičienė arrived with a cart. On the way home to Būtingė, she told the women that their goal was not to have workers on the farm, they didn't need them, but to help them during the hard times. However, in September, a written order was sent to return the Jews to the Darbėnai synagogue. Benediktas Bagdanavičius took the women, registered them, but agreed that if there was danger, they would return to his estate. Through acquaintances from Darbėnai, B. Bagdanavičius ensured that the guard protecting the synagogue received plenty of vodka, and about a week later, Riva Šatelienė and Chasia Šubicaitė, upon learning about the impending shootings, seized the moment when the guard was asleep at night, escaped from the synagogue, and returned to the Bagdanavičius. Riva Šatelienė and A. Šubicaitė lived with Katerina and Benediktas for 2.5 years. B. Bagdanavičius had a hiding place under the living room floor, which could be accessed through a cupboard by removing the floorboards.
In late 1943, the Bagdanavičius learned that their Jews had been noticed by neighbours, so a new place was urgently found Riva and Chasia were taken in by Barbora Žilytė, who lived in a remote Medomiškis estate. Riva and Chasia lived with her until October 1944.
Katerina and Benediktas Bagdanavičius took great risks in saving other Jewish women from Darbėnai. They also saved Jocheved Marijampolskaitė, a doctor, by taking her to her good acquaintances in Liepaja at her request. The journey was long and very dangerous, about 60 km had to be covered, yet they successfully reached their destination. Unfortunately, after some time, the Bagdanavičius learned that J. Marijampolskaitė was forced to leave her acquaintances' home, tried to return to the Bagdanavičius, but was caught by the Nazis on the way and killed.
In the fall of 1943, Benediktas Bagdanavičius brought another woman from Liepaja—Rocha Judilaitė. Cipora Zimanaitė, another woman from Darbėnai, had sought refuge with the Bagdanavičius on several occasions, and later she was saved by Bronė and Viktoras Skripkauskas, who lived in the village of Pelėkiai.
Katerina and Benediktas Bagdanavičius saved not only Riva Šatelienė and Chasia Šubicaitė but also provided vital assistance to other women from Darbėnai: Jocheved Marijampolskaitė, Cipora Zimanaitė, and Rocha Judilaitė.
BENEDIKTAS BAGDANAVIČIUS
BARBORA ŽILYTĖ
To Darbėnai, where about 600 Jews lived before the war, the Nazi German army entered already on the first day of the war. Repressions and killings of Jews began immediately. On June 29, 1941, about 150 Jewish men from Darbėnai were shot, while the remaining over 400 elderly men, women, and children were confined in the synagogue in the town centre and guarded by the police. People in the synagogue were kept in terrible conditions, awaiting death every day. After a month, it was announced that farmers from the Darbėnai area could take Jewish women and surviving men for labour. Riva Šatelienė testified (protocol of R. Šatelienė's interrogation on August 24, 1956, at the Klaipėda militia): at the end of July 1941, she, and another woman from Darbėnai, Chasia Šubicaitė, were taken to the farm owned by Benediktas and Katerina Bagdanavičius. To bring Riva Šatelienė and Chasia Šubicaitė to Darbėnai, Katerina Bagdanavičienė arrived with a cart. On the way home to Būtingė, she told the women that their goal was not to have workers on the farm, they didn't need them, but to help them during the hard times. However, in September, a written order was sent to return the Jews to the Darbėnai synagogue. Benediktas Bagdanavičius took the women, registered them, but agreed that if there was danger, they would return to his estate. Through acquaintances from Darbėnai, B. Bagdanavičius ensured that the guard protecting the synagogue received plenty of vodka, and about a week later, Riva Šatelienė and Chasia Šubicaitė, upon learning about the impending shootings, seized the moment when the guard was asleep at night, escaped from the synagogue, and returned to the Bagdanavičius. Riva Šatelienė and A. Šubicaitė lived with Katerina and Benediktas for 2.5 years. B. Bagdanavičius had a hiding place under the living room floor, which could be accessed through a cupboard by removing the floorboards.
In late 1943, the Bagdanavičius learned that their Jews had been noticed by neighbours, so a new place was urgently found Riva and Chasia were taken in by Barbora Žilytė, who lived in a remote Medomiškis estate. Riva and Chasia lived with her until October 1944.
Katerina and Benediktas Bagdanavičius took great risks in saving other Jewish women from Darbėnai. They also saved Jocheved Marijampolskaitė, a doctor, by taking her to her good acquaintances in Liepaja at her request. The journey was long and very dangerous, about 60 km had to be covered, yet they successfully reached their destination. Unfortunately, after some time, the Bagdanavičius learned that J. Marijampolskaitė was forced to leave her acquaintances' home, tried to return to the Bagdanavičius, but was caught by the Nazis on the way and killed.
In the fall of 1943, Benediktas Bagdanavičius brought another woman from Liepaja—Rocha Judilaitė. Cipora Zimanaitė, another woman from Darbėnai, had sought refuge with the Bagdanavičius on several occasions, and later she was saved by Bronė and Viktoras Skripkauskas, who lived in the village of Pelėkiai.
Katerina and Benediktas Bagdanavičius saved not only Riva Šatelienė and Chasia Šubicaitė but also provided vital assistance to other women from Darbėnai: Jocheved Marijampolskaitė, Cipora Zimanaitė, and Rocha Judilaitė.