rescuers of jews
Karalevičius Pranas
Stanislava KARALEVIČIENĖ (1902–1981)
Pranas KARALEVIČIUS (1900–1979)
The Jews were being killed. Not in scores or hundreds, but in greater numbers. Guilty without guilt, men, women and children, driven from the neighbouring villages. Beaten, in their shirt-sleeves, they met their deaths. Only a few succeeded in hiding, and among these was the Alpertas family. They hid in the home of the joiner Pranas Karalevičius. During the war Pranas and Stasė Karalevičius saved 18 lives.
Their daughter Elena Karalevičiūtė-Čepanonienė recalls:
“At that time I was about seven years old. When the persecution of the Jews began, the Alpertas came to my parents in the village of Bijūnai asking for help, and all the others came after some time. One night a hideout was dug out for them in the barn. Afterwards, Šmuilovičienė and her three-year-old son Pineris were brought from the ghetto. The mother hid in the dugout, while the boy lived with the Karalevičius family, among the many other children, as an allegedly adopted son. The Karalevičius conceived a great affection for the boy, and after the war it was hard for them to separate.”
When the Jews were being shot in Semeliškės, Beilė Alpertienė gave birth to a girl in the forest with the help of her mother-in-law. She could hardly tell her daughter-in-law: “Run, my dear, I’ll stay with the girl.” Beilė escaped, and the following day she reached the Karalevičius, while the mother-in-law and the baby did not and were killed with gun butts.
According to Elena, the most difficult thing was to clothe, feed and wash the Jews. The Karalevičius had eight hectares of land, and managed to feed not only their family but also over a dozen Jews. Having cooked the soup, the mother would put the pot around Elena’s neck, cover her with a thick shawl and send her to the barn. “Sometimes I myself wanted to eat, but Mother told me to take the bread to the hungry Jews,” Elena says. She saw with what difficulties her mother boiled Jewish clothes. Some of them had lice; there was no bath, and all of them took turns to wash in one tub. Stasė was a good seamstress and often made shirts for the escapees.
The rescued Cilė Levinienė wrote from Berlin in June 1999:
“When the war broke out, I was eight, but my childhood reminiscences are quite vivid. Being a small child, I could not understand the reasons for the events, but nevertheless I understood what was happening around me, what danger I was in, how to avoid trouble and how to act in case of danger. At the beginning of the war I actually had no permanent shelter. I was passed from place to place, because people probably did not have the right conditions to keep me and did not trust their neighbours.
With Stasė and Pranas Karalevičius I felt safe for the first time. They pitied, protected and loved me. Their children did too, even though they knew who I was, since before the war my parents would come to the Karalevičius and would bring me as well. Elena and Henrikas protected me too, and hid me when there was some danger and they felt responsible for my fate.”
Pranas Karalevičius did not boast about his deeds, his self-sacrifice, dignity and courage. He ended his days peacefully. Probably the most generous remuneration that he received was the huge crowds of people that attended his funeral. Such a noble man is rare in our parish, people said.
From Hands Bringing Life and Bread, Volume 3,
The Vilna Gaon State Jewish Museum. Vilnius, 2005
Pranas KARALEVIČIUS (1900–1979)
The Jews were being killed. Not in scores or hundreds, but in greater numbers. Guilty without guilt, men, women and children, driven from the neighbouring villages. Beaten, in their shirt-sleeves, they met their deaths. Only a few succeeded in hiding, and among these was the Alpertas family. They hid in the home of the joiner Pranas Karalevičius. During the war Pranas and Stasė Karalevičius saved 18 lives.
Their daughter Elena Karalevičiūtė-Čepanonienė recalls:
“At that time I was about seven years old. When the persecution of the Jews began, the Alpertas came to my parents in the village of Bijūnai asking for help, and all the others came after some time. One night a hideout was dug out for them in the barn. Afterwards, Šmuilovičienė and her three-year-old son Pineris were brought from the ghetto. The mother hid in the dugout, while the boy lived with the Karalevičius family, among the many other children, as an allegedly adopted son. The Karalevičius conceived a great affection for the boy, and after the war it was hard for them to separate.”
When the Jews were being shot in Semeliškės, Beilė Alpertienė gave birth to a girl in the forest with the help of her mother-in-law. She could hardly tell her daughter-in-law: “Run, my dear, I’ll stay with the girl.” Beilė escaped, and the following day she reached the Karalevičius, while the mother-in-law and the baby did not and were killed with gun butts.
According to Elena, the most difficult thing was to clothe, feed and wash the Jews. The Karalevičius had eight hectares of land, and managed to feed not only their family but also over a dozen Jews. Having cooked the soup, the mother would put the pot around Elena’s neck, cover her with a thick shawl and send her to the barn. “Sometimes I myself wanted to eat, but Mother told me to take the bread to the hungry Jews,” Elena says. She saw with what difficulties her mother boiled Jewish clothes. Some of them had lice; there was no bath, and all of them took turns to wash in one tub. Stasė was a good seamstress and often made shirts for the escapees.
The rescued Cilė Levinienė wrote from Berlin in June 1999:
“When the war broke out, I was eight, but my childhood reminiscences are quite vivid. Being a small child, I could not understand the reasons for the events, but nevertheless I understood what was happening around me, what danger I was in, how to avoid trouble and how to act in case of danger. At the beginning of the war I actually had no permanent shelter. I was passed from place to place, because people probably did not have the right conditions to keep me and did not trust their neighbours.
With Stasė and Pranas Karalevičius I felt safe for the first time. They pitied, protected and loved me. Their children did too, even though they knew who I was, since before the war my parents would come to the Karalevičius and would bring me as well. Elena and Henrikas protected me too, and hid me when there was some danger and they felt responsible for my fate.”
Pranas Karalevičius did not boast about his deeds, his self-sacrifice, dignity and courage. He ended his days peacefully. Probably the most generous remuneration that he received was the huge crowds of people that attended his funeral. Such a noble man is rare in our parish, people said.
From Hands Bringing Life and Bread, Volume 3,
The Vilna Gaon State Jewish Museum. Vilnius, 2005