rescuers of jews

Marcijona ŠAULIENĖ (1905–1987) Napoleonas ŠAULYS (1904–1991) Zofija ŠIAULIENĖ (1914–1997) Julijonas ŠIAULYS (1898–1970) Domicėlė ŠAULIENĖ (1899–1979) Pranciškus ŠAULYS (1898–1983) From the testimony of Jehoshua Shochot and Jakov Gurvitch: Both of us,Jehoshua Shochot and Jakov Gurvitch, went on a very similar path to survival and escape from death. We both were confined in the Rainiai and Geruliai concentration camps and the Telšiai ghetto and since the end of December 1941 right up to the liberation in October 1944 we were in dozens of villages and peasant families who hid us, fed us, and gave us shelter and comfort. We would like to mention three villages, Kalnėnai, Vygantiškiai and Buožėnai, that are close to each other, about 4–5 kilometres north of Telšiai. The majority of the residents of these villages used to hide the Jews on their farms or help the escaped Jews who were looking for shelter. Each peasant of these villages would open the door of his house to the persecuted whoknocked. Jakov Gurvitch: There were three cousins in the village of Kalnėnai: Napoleonas, Julijonas and Pranciškus Šaulys. Each had their own farm where in 1941–1944 they used to hide the Jews. I know that they used to hide Avraham Desiatnik (Adomas), Reizl Shochot and her youngest son Jehoshua Shochot (Stasys). In 1943 I used to hide in the villages of Kalnėnai and Vygantiškiai (next to Kalnėnai). I myself did not live at the cousins’ but used to visit them often and meet Avraham Desiatnik. Adomas was a good friend of mine in the early days, I knew him from the concentration camps of Rainiai, Geruliai and the Telšiai ghetto. When I would come to one of the cousins’ places, everybody would be very hospitable, and helped me morally and materially. In general I felt very good in Kalnėnai, Vygantiškiai, Buožėnai villages where I was in 1943. Even though the villagers knew that I was a hiding Jew, nobody would turn me in. Everyone tried to help us as much as they could. From Jehoshua Shochot’s letter to the museum on 11 August 2004: The winter of 1942 was very cold and there was a lot of snow. Kalnėnai, as the name itself tells you, was a very hilly village. Even elderly people used to ski there, and go on skies to each other’s places. I liked very much going down the hill with other children from the village, I did not avoid them, I did not realise at all that I needed to avoid strangers. After the liquidation of the Telšiai ghetto in December 1941, Jehoshua Shochot together with his brother Chaim and mother Reizl used to hide on the farm of Butvydas, a resident of Kalnėnai village. Later on Jehoshua went to other families and for some time lived in the family of Napoleonas and Julijonas Šiaulys. When the mother of Jehoshua Reizl Shochot escaped from a baltaraištis who came to the Butvydas farm to arrest her, she was sheltered at the family of Napoleonas Šaulys, who gave warmth, fed her, changed her wet clothes, and gave her footwear, as she had lost her clogs in the snow.