rescuers of jews
Žilevičienė Adolfina
Ona Žilevičienė-Žilius, Danielius Žilevičius, Adolfina Žilevičienė
Ona Žilevičienė worked as a secretary at the Sports Department in Vilnius. There were two tennis courts that belonged to the Department. Jews from the ghetto were ordered to clean them. There was a family that used to come with their little daughter because they had no place to leave her. Sometimes Ona and her colleague invited the girl's mother Pola Rudnik during the lunchtime. Then they used to sit and talk.
One day Pola came crying. She told that Germans last night came to the ghetto and took some people, maybe to Paneriai. She hid Genia somewhere in the attic and couldn’t find her afterwards. She was very scared. Pola asked if anybody would be willing to take the girl. Ona recounted the story to her husband Danielius. He asked: “Maybe WE can take her?”
Their neighbours, with whom Žilevičiai shared the same apartment, agreed and Ona brought the girl home.
When Genia came to her new family she kept in the pocket all the toys she had: three little metal soldiers. She wore her father’s shirt instead of pants. The Žilevičius burned her lice-ridden clothes and dressed her with their daughter’s garments. Daniel’s mother Adolfina Žilevičienė took care of the girl. Soon Adolfina took Genia to the St.Michael’s church and got identification papers for her. (Zilevicius’ daughter Judita's documents were used for the girl before).
During this period the Žilevičius’ son and daughter lived in Tytuvėnai with their maternal grandmother. One day they both fell ill therefore Ona had to go to Tytuvėnai. Genia stayed in Vilnius with Danielius and his mother. Later Danielius was offered another job and they moved to Garliava, then to Kaunas.
The life separated the Žilevičius family. Ona with the children moved to Germany in 1944, then to the United States, Danielius lived in Lithuania after the war. Genia never saw her parents and the elder brother again. When she was about seventeen, two aunts from Israel found her and she left for Tel Aviv. She didn’t want to separate with Danielius, even cried. But Adolfina had deceased by that time and Danielius could not take proper care of her. He asked a good friend of him, Alexander Macht, the known Lithuanian chess-player before the war, to patronize Genia in Israel if there were a need. Danielius died in Kaunas in 1963.
Ona Žilevičienė worked as a secretary at the Sports Department in Vilnius. There were two tennis courts that belonged to the Department. Jews from the ghetto were ordered to clean them. There was a family that used to come with their little daughter because they had no place to leave her. Sometimes Ona and her colleague invited the girl's mother Pola Rudnik during the lunchtime. Then they used to sit and talk.
One day Pola came crying. She told that Germans last night came to the ghetto and took some people, maybe to Paneriai. She hid Genia somewhere in the attic and couldn’t find her afterwards. She was very scared. Pola asked if anybody would be willing to take the girl. Ona recounted the story to her husband Danielius. He asked: “Maybe WE can take her?”
Their neighbours, with whom Žilevičiai shared the same apartment, agreed and Ona brought the girl home.
When Genia came to her new family she kept in the pocket all the toys she had: three little metal soldiers. She wore her father’s shirt instead of pants. The Žilevičius burned her lice-ridden clothes and dressed her with their daughter’s garments. Daniel’s mother Adolfina Žilevičienė took care of the girl. Soon Adolfina took Genia to the St.Michael’s church and got identification papers for her. (Zilevicius’ daughter Judita's documents were used for the girl before).
During this period the Žilevičius’ son and daughter lived in Tytuvėnai with their maternal grandmother. One day they both fell ill therefore Ona had to go to Tytuvėnai. Genia stayed in Vilnius with Danielius and his mother. Later Danielius was offered another job and they moved to Garliava, then to Kaunas.
The life separated the Žilevičius family. Ona with the children moved to Germany in 1944, then to the United States, Danielius lived in Lithuania after the war. Genia never saw her parents and the elder brother again. When she was about seventeen, two aunts from Israel found her and she left for Tel Aviv. She didn’t want to separate with Danielius, even cried. But Adolfina had deceased by that time and Danielius could not take proper care of her. He asked a good friend of him, Alexander Macht, the known Lithuanian chess-player before the war, to patronize Genia in Israel if there were a need. Danielius died in Kaunas in 1963.