Join our Community
Support ToI and remove all ads
Learn more

ISRAEL AT WAR - DAY 424

Vilna

A very young Elida (left) with Stanislava and her daughter Audra, who hid Elida (renamed Rita) on their farm from late 1943 to the end of the war. (Courtesy of Zipora Klein Jakob)
May 4, 2024, 7:10 am
The amazing true story of a baby illegally born and smuggled out of Kovno ghetto
Elida Freidman Goldberg Katzman changed names, families, countries and continents numerous times as she grappled until her premature death with being a Holocaust orphan from birth
By Renee Ghert-Zand
A view of an opening event for the Vilnius 700th anniversary events in the Lithuanian capital, January 25, 2023. (Gabriel Khiterer via JTA)
October 28, 2023, 1:16 am
As Vilnius celebrates its 700th anniversary, Lithuanian Jews commemorate a darker one
A thriving Jewish center for hundreds of years, the city saw its Jews decimated by the Nazis and local collaborators, a history not all Lithuanians are willing to confront
By Emily Tamkin
Waiting at the gates of Chiune Sugihara's consul, Jewish refugees in Kovno, Lithuania, circa 1940. (Courtesy Nobuki Sugihara)
November 15, 2022, 8:05 pm
Lithuania mulls expanding compensation for Jewish property seized in WWII
PM Ingrida Simonyte files draft legislation to provide 37 million euros in reparations; 95% of country’s Jewish population was killed by Nazis and local collaborators
By AFP
The excavation of the Great Synagogue of Vilna in Lithuania showing the area of the Torah ark and two flights of stairs destroyed by the Nazis and the Soviets, August 2021. (Jon Seligman/Israel Antiquities Authority)
August 26, 2021, 8:34 pm
Archaeologists expose Torah ark of Vilna synagogue destroyed by Nazis, Soviets
Joint Israeli-Lithuanian six-year excavation in ruins of centuries-old Jewish community center unearths prayer platform, silver pointer used when reading the Torah
By Michael Bachner
Lithuanian Jewish men pray, during a morning service in a Synagogue in Vilnius, Lithuania, Sunday, Nov. 4, 2018. (AP/Mindaugas Kulbis)
August 7, 2019, 12:20 am
Lithuanian Jews indefinitely shut community center, lone synagogue after threats
Amid escalating controversy over national commemoration policies, Jewish leader demands government speak out, wonders ‘whether we are safe or not’
By Raphael Ahren
A scene from 'Vilna,' a new play by Ira Fuchs. (Carol Rosegg)
March 21, 2019, 3:35 am
In new off-Broadway play, an exhausting, achingly human story of prewar Jewry
In ‘Vilna,’ playwright Ira Fuchs animates the turbulent history of an Eastern European Jewish center for a new generation losing sight of its bleak reality
By Jordan Hoffman
A nun prays beside the casket and photo of 110-year-old Roman Catholic Sister Cecylia Roszak, believed to be the world's oldest nun, and a rescuer of Jews during the Holocaust, during her funeral ceremonies at Church of Our Lady of the Snows the Dominican in Krakow, Poland, November 22, 2018. (AP Photo/Beata Zawrzel)
November 23, 2018, 12:38 am
Polish nun who rescued Jews during Holocaust laid to rest
Cecylia Roszak was thought to be the oldest nun in the world; poet Abba Kovner was one those she and her sisters saved at a local convent
By AP and ToI Staff
Cecylia Maria Roszak, right, who was awarded the 'Righteous Among Nations' honor for helping to save Jews during the Holocaust, seen here in Krakow, Poland, May 2018. (Piotr Jantos/Archdiocese of Krakow)
November 21, 2018, 8:58 pm
Polish nun who helped hide Vilna ghetto rebels during Holocaust dies at 110
Cecylia Roszak was thought to be the oldest nun in the world; poet Abba Kovner was one those she and her sisters saved at a local convent
By Stuart Winer
The ritual baths of the Great Synagogue of Vilnius, excavated by a team of Israeli, American and Lithuanian archaeologists, summer 2017. (John Seligman/IAA)
August 18, 2017, 12:14 pm
Archaeologists uncover the heart of Nazi-razed Vilnius synagogue
Discovery of ritual baths adds another dimension to reconstruct daily life of slaughtered community known as the ‘Jerusalem of Lithuania’
By Amanda Borschel-Dan
Illustrative: Jews digging a trench in which they were later buried after being shot, in Ponary, Poland. (Courtesy of Yad Vashem)
April 15, 2017, 8:38 am
Science helps verify an unbelievable Holocaust escape account
The story of a band of Lithuanian Jews who dug their way to freedom was met with widespread skepticism over the years. A new TV program sheds light on their incredible tale
By Tom Tugend
The Vilnius PANERIAI memorial in memory of the 70000 Jews of Vilnius and its environs killed by Nazis and their accomplices during World War II, February 16, 2016. (AFP/Petras Malukas)
February 29, 2016, 8:55 am
Holocaust haunts Lithuanians as painful past comes to light
A series of books and films has triggered national soul-searching by drawing attention to the country’s brutal WWII role
By Vaidotas Beniusis
Solomon Wolf Golomb. (JTA)
January 10, 2016, 8:42 pm
Grandson of Vilna rabbis honored for scientific work
Los Angeles professor will receive prestigious Franklin Medal for pioneering work in science and engineering
By JTA and ToI Staff
Yaakov Weksler-Waszkinel shows off his new Israeli identity card at his home in Jerusalem. (photo credit: Renee Ghert-Zand/The Times of Israel)
September 16, 2014, 4:12 pm
When the Law of Return does not apply to a Holocaust survivor
Yaakov Weksler-Waszkinel, a Jewish-born, former Catholic priest, is denied automatic Israeli citizenship due to syncretic beliefs
By Renee Ghert-Zand
A promising, published young poet, Sara Kucikowicz was killed in the Holocaust before she could complete her dream of immigrating to pre-state Israel. (Photo credit: CC BY/Keith Williamson via Flickr.com)
January 13, 2013, 5:02 am
Young Holocaust victim’s poems hint at what might have been
Now in his 90s, Sara Kucikowicz’s former teacher hopes to return beloved mementos to a member of her family
By Hillel Kuttler
Harry Ettlinger, right, and Dale Ford, US soldiers who served as Monuments Men, are shown in 1945 or 1946 inspecting a Rembrandt in a salt mine where the Nazis stored stolen and hidden art. (Photo credit: National Archives and Records Administration via JTA)
November 1, 2012, 11:31 am
Holocaust refugee getting ‘Monument’-al honor
After fleeing Hitler’s Germany, Harry Ettlinger joined the US Army unit devoted to rescuing stolen art — and at 86, was being honored for his efforts on Thursday night
By Hillel Kuttler
Load More
Sign in or Register
Please use the following structure: example@domain.com
Or Continue with
By registering you agree to the terms and conditions
Register to continue
Or Continue with
Log in to continue
Sign in or Register
I forgot my password / Send me a sign in link
Or Continue with
check your email
Check your email
We sent an email to you at .
It has a link that will sign you in.
Never miss breaking news on Israel
Get notifications to stay updated
You're subscribed
image
Register for free
and continue reading
Registering also lets you comment on articles and helps us improve your experience. It takes just a few seconds.
Already registered? Enter your email to sign in.
Please use the following structure: example@domain.com
Or Continue with
By registering you agree to the terms and conditions. Once registered, you’ll receive our Daily Edition email for free.
Register to continue
Or Continue with
Log in to continue
Sign in or Register
I forgot my password / Send me a sign in link
Or Continue with
check your email
Check your email
We sent an email to you at .
It has a link that will sign you in.