Memel Territory (Memelland), till 1919 part of East Prussia (Ostpreussen, Germany)
1920-1923 under Council of Anmassadors, French troops
1923-1939 Republic of Lithuania
1939-1945 under German Rule
1945-1990 Part of Sowjet Union
since 1990 Republic of Lithuania
For a long time the fate of the abandoned synagogue building in the middle of the town was uncertain, but in 2014 the building was declared a historical monument and we were glad to see the building secured against further decay during a visit in October 2020.
Silute/Heidekrug 16 Oct. 2020: At a seminar in Silute, Ruth Leiserowitz presents pictures from the photo album of Rita Lax. The audience could contribute many details to the pictures. The…
Vištytis (Polish: Wisztyniec, German: Wystiten, Yiddish: ווישטינעץ Vishtinets) was a dynamic shtetel (town) on the border with East Prussia, with a Polish, Prussian, French, Russian, Soviet and Lithuanian history. https://youtu.be/Soc4iK2PjYQ…
A new book in Lithuania about Schwarzort on the Curonian Spit, the popular holiday resort for Jewish families in the 19th century. Now translated from Lithuanian into German.
The Synagogue Square Memorial dedicated to the Jewish Community of Yurburg (Jurbakas/Lithuania) has been opened at JUL 19 2019. This impressive and significant monument is based on an unique idea. The…
Some days after German invasion to Lithuania, on Sunday, June 29, 1941 men from the German SS- unit Heydekrug (East Prussia) arrived in Laukuva (Lithuania). The rounded up all Jewish…
On 24 March 2019 the Jewish Community in Klaipeda (Lithuania, in German: Memel) is holding a conference to mark the 80th anniversary of the German invasion of Memelland. Our association…
The museum expert Monika Žąsytienė from Švėkšna (Lithuania) has published an important book with the title “The Jewish Community of Švėkšna from the 17th to the 20th Century” after several…
On this page you will also find texts from the time when we asked research questions at the beginning (about 20 years ago) and in the following years we searched…