rescuers of jews
Čižinauskienė Ona
Ona ČIŽINAUSKIENĖ
Jonas ČIŽINAUSKAS
Birutė ČIŽINAUSKAITĖ-ALIMOVA A small old wooden house surrounded by a broken fence, a little yard with two or three scrawny trees, a semi-dilapidated storehouse and an old well with a long bent sweep. There, on the edge of Aukštieji Šančiai in Kaunas, lived the Čižinauskas family. During the war Jonas Čižinauskas worked as a gateman at the Sodyba vegetable canning factory. A group of Jews were sent from the ghetto to work at the factory. In the mornings the group were brought to the factory by the guards, and in the evenings they were led back to the ghetto. When the extermination of the ghetto children began, one Jew asked Jonas to save a child. The man did not lack courage, and agreed to take in the child. When the group returned from the factory, there was always a commotion at the gate of the ghetto: people were searched for any food which they might try to take in illegally for their families. One autumn evening, when a group was being led into the ghetto, a woman passed something wrapped in a blanket to another woman who was standing not far from the gate. The bundle was mute: ghetto children learned early to sense danger and to be silent. The young woman who took the bundle was Birutė Čižinauskaitė. She crossed the city with the child in her arms and reached Šančiai. Thus Nava Mitkovskaya was rescued. Staying with the Čižinauskas, the girl did not go outdoors; however, feeling the care and gentleness of the whole family, she soon got used to her new situation and played with the children of the neighbours. Nava was blue-eyed and blonde, and the neighbours believed seriously that she was a distant Čižinauskas relative from the countryside. Nava’s mother also succeeded in saving her son Šraga during the horrible Children’s Action. She contacted her daughter’s rescuers, and Ona Čižinauskienė suggested that the boy be brought to their home. One of the groups from the ghetto was taken across the river in boats to work. Mitkovskienė, working in another group, asked a woman to change places with her for some time. She gave a gold ring to the guard, and he “failed” to notice Šraga’s appearance in the boat. Birutė was waiting at the agreed place. The mother kissed the son and he went away with Birutė. That was the last time Šraga saw his mother. Birutė and Šraga went home the long way round, through a forest, ravines and gardens. Unlike Nava, Šraga lived at the Čižinauskas’ place hiding and avoiding strangers. He played in a little outlying room, sometimes going up into the attic, where he could see the sky and, below, a distant narrow stretch of the Nemunas through a hole in the straw roof. When people round about started talking about the strange girl in the Čižinauskas family, something had to be done. One day a cart arrived in the yard, supposedly to take Nava back to her parents in the countryside. Actually, the girl was placed in the same dark room where her brother had been hiding. After that Nava and Šraga spent their days and nights together. The Čižinauskas tried to rescue the children’s mother as well; however, the SS strengthened the guard on the ghetto. Several weeks before the liberation of Kaunas, the ghetto was liquidated. Mitkovskienė was taken to the Stutthof concentration camp, where she died. When the Germans abandoned Šančiai, a Soviet military unit made a stop at the Čižinauskas’ home, and the soldiers treated the children to porridge. In their meetings with the Čižinauskas, their children and grandchildren, the grown-up Nava and Šraga remember the love and warmth they received and the bread that their rescuers shared with them in those terrible days. And it becomes clear to them that among such people life does not end in this world.
From Hands Bringing Life and Bread, Volume 3,
The Vilna Gaon State Jewish Museum. Vilnius, 2005
Jonas ČIŽINAUSKAS
Birutė ČIŽINAUSKAITĖ-ALIMOVA A small old wooden house surrounded by a broken fence, a little yard with two or three scrawny trees, a semi-dilapidated storehouse and an old well with a long bent sweep. There, on the edge of Aukštieji Šančiai in Kaunas, lived the Čižinauskas family. During the war Jonas Čižinauskas worked as a gateman at the Sodyba vegetable canning factory. A group of Jews were sent from the ghetto to work at the factory. In the mornings the group were brought to the factory by the guards, and in the evenings they were led back to the ghetto. When the extermination of the ghetto children began, one Jew asked Jonas to save a child. The man did not lack courage, and agreed to take in the child. When the group returned from the factory, there was always a commotion at the gate of the ghetto: people were searched for any food which they might try to take in illegally for their families. One autumn evening, when a group was being led into the ghetto, a woman passed something wrapped in a blanket to another woman who was standing not far from the gate. The bundle was mute: ghetto children learned early to sense danger and to be silent. The young woman who took the bundle was Birutė Čižinauskaitė. She crossed the city with the child in her arms and reached Šančiai. Thus Nava Mitkovskaya was rescued. Staying with the Čižinauskas, the girl did not go outdoors; however, feeling the care and gentleness of the whole family, she soon got used to her new situation and played with the children of the neighbours. Nava was blue-eyed and blonde, and the neighbours believed seriously that she was a distant Čižinauskas relative from the countryside. Nava’s mother also succeeded in saving her son Šraga during the horrible Children’s Action. She contacted her daughter’s rescuers, and Ona Čižinauskienė suggested that the boy be brought to their home. One of the groups from the ghetto was taken across the river in boats to work. Mitkovskienė, working in another group, asked a woman to change places with her for some time. She gave a gold ring to the guard, and he “failed” to notice Šraga’s appearance in the boat. Birutė was waiting at the agreed place. The mother kissed the son and he went away with Birutė. That was the last time Šraga saw his mother. Birutė and Šraga went home the long way round, through a forest, ravines and gardens. Unlike Nava, Šraga lived at the Čižinauskas’ place hiding and avoiding strangers. He played in a little outlying room, sometimes going up into the attic, where he could see the sky and, below, a distant narrow stretch of the Nemunas through a hole in the straw roof. When people round about started talking about the strange girl in the Čižinauskas family, something had to be done. One day a cart arrived in the yard, supposedly to take Nava back to her parents in the countryside. Actually, the girl was placed in the same dark room where her brother had been hiding. After that Nava and Šraga spent their days and nights together. The Čižinauskas tried to rescue the children’s mother as well; however, the SS strengthened the guard on the ghetto. Several weeks before the liberation of Kaunas, the ghetto was liquidated. Mitkovskienė was taken to the Stutthof concentration camp, where she died. When the Germans abandoned Šančiai, a Soviet military unit made a stop at the Čižinauskas’ home, and the soldiers treated the children to porridge. In their meetings with the Čižinauskas, their children and grandchildren, the grown-up Nava and Šraga remember the love and warmth they received and the bread that their rescuers shared with them in those terrible days. And it becomes clear to them that among such people life does not end in this world.
From Hands Bringing Life and Bread, Volume 3,
The Vilna Gaon State Jewish Museum. Vilnius, 2005