rescuers of jews
Cijūnaitis Matas
Leiba Trapidas
I was born on 19 February 1938. Before the war we lived in the town of Žasliai in the district of Kaišiadorys (former Trakai County). My parents were physicians, well-known people. When the war broke out and the Germans came, my father Yevel Trapid was arrested at the end of June 1941, and together with the Jews from the surrounding districts was shot near Žiežmariai in August.
Dean Matas Cijūnaitis rescued my mother and me (I was three years old at that time). He hid us in the church for two days till he got in touch with the Grybauskas family who lived in the village of Mijaugonys, and with whom my parents were in close contact. Andrius Grybauskas and his wife came in a cart drawn by a horse, dressed us in countryside clothes, and brought us to their home. We stayed only half a month there. Somebody recognised my mother as a dentist, so it was dangerous to stay. Andrius Grybauskas took us to his mother's place in the village of Gilučiai. We stayed two weeks there because somebody again recognised my mother. Then Grybauskas took us to the village of Baubonys in Semeliškės district. One of the inhabitants saw Grybauskas taking us and reported it. Grybauskas was arrested and was let free only by chance. At night we left that location. We used to walk at nights and in the daytime we hid in the forest. We covered 20-30 kilometres per day. We were hungry, our shoes were torn, we had no warm clothes, and we were in constant danger.
In the late autumn of 1941 we found ourselves in the environs of Aukštadvaris in the village of Sredninkai. At the homestead of a farmer, Mališauskas. Mother did various domestic chores and she also worked in the fields. At first the Mališauskas did not know that we were Jews, but mother had to tell everything. She understood that she was causing danger to the family and herself because she had to be wary not only of the Germans but also of the local inhabitants. The Mališauskas did not drive us away but took precautionary measures. We lived in constant fear. When danger arose, we used to spend weeks or months in the forest in the shelter which the Mališauskas made for us. We didn't always have food. When danger passed, the Mališauskas' son Enrikas used to bring us food.
After the Red Army had driven the German occupants away from Lithuania in August 1944, we returned to Žasliai. Our house had been occupied by the Party Secretary. We had absolutely nothing. During those three years all our things had disappeared. We settled in an empty, wrecked house. I started attending the first form of Žasliai school, but did not finish it. We moved to Kaunas and stayed at my mother's friend's till mother found a job and a flat.
Kaunas, 2001
Su adata širdyje. Getų ir Koncentracijos stovyklų kalinių atsiminimai.
With a Needle in the Heart. Memoirs of Former Prisoners of Ghettos and Concentration Camps. Vilnius, 2003
I was born on 19 February 1938. Before the war we lived in the town of Žasliai in the district of Kaišiadorys (former Trakai County). My parents were physicians, well-known people. When the war broke out and the Germans came, my father Yevel Trapid was arrested at the end of June 1941, and together with the Jews from the surrounding districts was shot near Žiežmariai in August.
Dean Matas Cijūnaitis rescued my mother and me (I was three years old at that time). He hid us in the church for two days till he got in touch with the Grybauskas family who lived in the village of Mijaugonys, and with whom my parents were in close contact. Andrius Grybauskas and his wife came in a cart drawn by a horse, dressed us in countryside clothes, and brought us to their home. We stayed only half a month there. Somebody recognised my mother as a dentist, so it was dangerous to stay. Andrius Grybauskas took us to his mother's place in the village of Gilučiai. We stayed two weeks there because somebody again recognised my mother. Then Grybauskas took us to the village of Baubonys in Semeliškės district. One of the inhabitants saw Grybauskas taking us and reported it. Grybauskas was arrested and was let free only by chance. At night we left that location. We used to walk at nights and in the daytime we hid in the forest. We covered 20-30 kilometres per day. We were hungry, our shoes were torn, we had no warm clothes, and we were in constant danger.
In the late autumn of 1941 we found ourselves in the environs of Aukštadvaris in the village of Sredninkai. At the homestead of a farmer, Mališauskas. Mother did various domestic chores and she also worked in the fields. At first the Mališauskas did not know that we were Jews, but mother had to tell everything. She understood that she was causing danger to the family and herself because she had to be wary not only of the Germans but also of the local inhabitants. The Mališauskas did not drive us away but took precautionary measures. We lived in constant fear. When danger arose, we used to spend weeks or months in the forest in the shelter which the Mališauskas made for us. We didn't always have food. When danger passed, the Mališauskas' son Enrikas used to bring us food.
After the Red Army had driven the German occupants away from Lithuania in August 1944, we returned to Žasliai. Our house had been occupied by the Party Secretary. We had absolutely nothing. During those three years all our things had disappeared. We settled in an empty, wrecked house. I started attending the first form of Žasliai school, but did not finish it. We moved to Kaunas and stayed at my mother's friend's till mother found a job and a flat.
Kaunas, 2001
Su adata širdyje. Getų ir Koncentracijos stovyklų kalinių atsiminimai.
With a Needle in the Heart. Memoirs of Former Prisoners of Ghettos and Concentration Camps. Vilnius, 2003