rescuers of jews
From the testimony of Rachel Kacav to Yad Vashem:
...Priest Polikarpas Maciejovskis and doctor Petras Girbudas openly, boldly and fearlessly agitated people to help us...
The priest spoke in the church: “I had a dream that I met a naked, barefoot and hungry Jew. I jumped off my horse, took off my cassock and dressed the Jew. The next night I dreamt that Jesus came to me and said that I had not dress the Jew but Jesus himself...” The priest knew that his words were sacred to the people and that they would believe him.
people were about to be taken from the Šiauliai Ghetto to Germany, he sent his carriages with horses and hid people in the farms. When everyone was short on medicine, we would always have enough. He knew we could not get enough vitamins with our food so he would provide us with vitamins. He took care of us as if we were his own children.
The doctor did the same. Once, a farmer came to us and demanded that we give him our high shoes. We went to the doctor and he took off his shoes and gave them to us. He kept only the galoshes. If somebody in the families that were hiding us got sick, he would ride for 40-50 km and would not take money for treatment.
“How can I charge you, if you are hiding the Jews?” he would say.
At the end of the war, the Germans wanted to arrest the doctor, because he was openly offensive towards them because of the Jews. He was good friends with the priest and both of them were prominent humanists.
The priest spoke in the church: “I had a dream that I met a naked, barefoot and hungry Jew. I jumped off my horse, took off my cassock and dressed the Jew. The next night I dreamt that Jesus came to me and said that I had not dress the Jew but Jesus himself...” The priest knew that his words were sacred to the people and that they would believe him.
people were about to be taken from the Šiauliai Ghetto to Germany, he sent his carriages with horses and hid people in the farms. When everyone was short on medicine, we would always have enough. He knew we could not get enough vitamins with our food so he would provide us with vitamins. He took care of us as if we were his own children.
The doctor did the same. Once, a farmer came to us and demanded that we give him our high shoes. We went to the doctor and he took off his shoes and gave them to us. He kept only the galoshes. If somebody in the families that were hiding us got sick, he would ride for 40-50 km and would not take money for treatment.
“How can I charge you, if you are hiding the Jews?” he would say.
At the end of the war, the Germans wanted to arrest the doctor, because he was openly offensive towards them because of the Jews. He was good friends with the priest and both of them were prominent humanists.