Rescuers of Jews
Jasaitis Domas
Zofija Jasaitienė and Domas Jasaitis
Sofija Jasaitienė took Chana Chane from the ghetto and for a few days the girl stayed in her house. It was not safe there, however, since the clinic of Damas Jasaitis was in the same building, and many people came there. Having discussed the matter with Česlovas Liutikas, they both decided to send the girl to Bazilioniai village. The old woman who had sheltered the girl was scared to keep her for a longer time and asked if she could be taken back.
Česlovas Liutikas sent Chana to the home of his sister Stefanija Liutikaite-Dambrauskienė in Bugeiniai village in Mažeikiai region. He asked his niece, Regina Dambrauskaitė, to take the girl there. Regina was a student at the Šiauliai Teachers' Seminary. Sofija Jasaitienė's younger sister, the poetess Ona Poškienė-Lukauskaitė, saw them off to the train to Mažeikiai. At first Regina left the girl in the barn, because she could not be sure of her parents' reaction. The parents supported their daughter's decision and the Jewish girl settled in their family. The house was large, and when guests came, the girl would be taken to the other end of it. Stefanija Dambrauskienė was gravely ill with tuberculosis and was always very angry when the girl came to her room. She explained to everybody that the child had to be protected from the catching disease.
Helped by priest Lapė, Česlovas Liutikas obtained a false birth certificate in the name of Janina Petrikytė. Chana's eldest brother perished during The Children's action in the Šiauliai Ghetto, her mother and elder sister survived and returned from the Stutthof concentration camp. It did not take long for them to find Chana, since the Dambrauskai wrote about the girl to a newspaper.
Later Chana's family left for Israel, Sofija and Domas Jasaičiai died in emigration in the USA, Česlovas Liutikas died in Australia.
From Hands Bringing Life and Bread, Volume 1,
The Vilna Gaon State Jewish Museum. Vilnius, 1997
Sofija Jasaitienė took Chana Chane from the ghetto and for a few days the girl stayed in her house. It was not safe there, however, since the clinic of Damas Jasaitis was in the same building, and many people came there. Having discussed the matter with Česlovas Liutikas, they both decided to send the girl to Bazilioniai village. The old woman who had sheltered the girl was scared to keep her for a longer time and asked if she could be taken back.
Česlovas Liutikas sent Chana to the home of his sister Stefanija Liutikaite-Dambrauskienė in Bugeiniai village in Mažeikiai region. He asked his niece, Regina Dambrauskaitė, to take the girl there. Regina was a student at the Šiauliai Teachers' Seminary. Sofija Jasaitienė's younger sister, the poetess Ona Poškienė-Lukauskaitė, saw them off to the train to Mažeikiai. At first Regina left the girl in the barn, because she could not be sure of her parents' reaction. The parents supported their daughter's decision and the Jewish girl settled in their family. The house was large, and when guests came, the girl would be taken to the other end of it. Stefanija Dambrauskienė was gravely ill with tuberculosis and was always very angry when the girl came to her room. She explained to everybody that the child had to be protected from the catching disease.
Helped by priest Lapė, Česlovas Liutikas obtained a false birth certificate in the name of Janina Petrikytė. Chana's eldest brother perished during The Children's action in the Šiauliai Ghetto, her mother and elder sister survived and returned from the Stutthof concentration camp. It did not take long for them to find Chana, since the Dambrauskai wrote about the girl to a newspaper.
Later Chana's family left for Israel, Sofija and Domas Jasaičiai died in emigration in the USA, Česlovas Liutikas died in Australia.
From Hands Bringing Life and Bread, Volume 1,
The Vilna Gaon State Jewish Museum. Vilnius, 1997