Karl Plagge, righteous among the nations

For a thorough account of Karl Plagge, the Oskar Schindler of Vilnius, who saved the lives of at least 1200 men, women, and children, by making work for them:
Karl Plagge

Amber

My new amber and lava bracelet and it's linen bag. Linen and amber are the primary souvenir options. the Baltic is the source for 90% of the world amber, which is fossilized tree resin (mostly from pine trees).  I learned that clear amber is from resin that has formed outside of bark in response to a break in the bark. clouded amber is less common, it's called butterscotch amber, and forms inside the tree.
Today was a bit of a break from the intensity of the jewish history. Tomorrow I pack my bags and head to the Roots tour. I am sharing a car with two others so will go to their shtetls too. One is near Keidan but the other is in Poland and we will go to on the second Roots day.

Astoria Hotel

 This Roman Catholic Church is across the street from our hotel and has been busy with ceremonies involving white hoods for St Johns day holiday.

This is the former Astoria Hotel where we are staying, currently run by Radisson and very comfortable. It was Zerkin's department store in 1860.

Trakai

 After a hearty breakfast, loving the rhubarb, we took a half hour journey to the castle of Grand Duke Vytautas. In 1397, the grand Duke brought 380 Karaite families from the Crimea to settle in Trakai to serve as guards. They spoke Turkish so could not be understood to tell secrets. They wrote Hebrew, wore tallit, and followed the Torah but not the Talmud. The Karaite don't identify as Jewish and were spared by the Nazis. There are 260 Karaite still living in Lithuania and they served us a very delicious lunch of food with Middle Eastern influence. For spouses, they go back to the 10,000 population still in Crimea, or to Palo Alto where the third branch reside.

Regina's book list

Regina Kopilevich led an amazing 3 1/2 hour tour of the little and big ghettos in Vilna. It was a whirlwind, with layer upon layer of cultural and humanitarian history. We got a sense of how Vilnius earned its reputation as the center of the universe of jewish intellectual life. A birthplace of writers and musicians (Jascha Heifetz) and also a place sought out by famous writers including Dostoyevsky. Pushkin, Gunther Grass. Home of two early printing presses brought from Rome.

I was very happy to meet Regina because she was active in the Keidan Jewish cemetery project to translate and document names. 

From Susan:The Lost by Daniel Mendelsohn
                     The Family by David Laskin
Where She Came From by Helen Epstein

From Maralee, Between Shades of Gray
The Jews of Lithuania by Marsha Greenbaum

Bielski Brothers, filmed in Vilna Defiance, starring Daniel Craig
Film about Heifetz
Ida, film

KEIDAN

Myra Sklarew,  Poetry of Keidan

 Karpanovich (translated by Andrew Cassel)
Making Loss matter by David Volpe

VILNA

 Jerusalem of Lithuania by Frakes,   Jerusalem Lithuania

 Husbands and Wives by Chaim Grade,  Husbands and Wives

 Moshe or Mordecai Carlebach

 Wolfgang Yussun

Friends to my Mother
Leibowitz, Rabbi Rifkis
Abraham Heschel, Philosopher
golda_vainberg-tatz, musician in NYC 

 Flame under the ashes
Schneidman    =Three+tragic+heroes+of+the+Vilna+ghetto

Rachel Margolis Partisan+from+Vilna

#Regina Kopilevich
Search Jewish Private Guide Lithuania, Trip Advisor
Jewish Lithuania

Vilna Ghetto

Flats surrounding common courtyard is typical housing, with many people per flat.

Commemoration of victims of Vilna Ghetto

Restoration of Yiddish sign for shop over another courtyard entrance.

Dr. Shabad, treated and aided the poor during a time of many contagious diseases in the ghetto 150 years ago. Children lined up for a glass of milk each morning.

Dr. Shabad is the prototype for a popular cartoon Dr. Ow-it-hurts.

Kovno and Vilna are connected by the Neris River. Kedainai is 60 miles north of Kovno.

Charming intersection of 7 streets in little ghetto, the older ghetto, near the site of the old synagogue and the University, founded in 1579 by Jesuits and still thriving. Regina said it was founded by Count Radzivil (who's descendent married Jackie Kennedy's sister and derived his wealth from extensive land ownership that included Keidan) but Simon said Jesuits. 

Note the painting matches the view.

The guides are remarkable as they all have been active scholars and activists. This is the wonderful Regina. she is one of the people I was advised to meet. I'm so glad I did. Regina is incredibly well read and practically a Gaon herself. Regina is the contact who translated and transcribed names from the Keidan cemetary where my great-grandparents are buried.

The other guides are also incredibly knowledgeable and thoughtful. One sought out to speak to every Holocaust survivor he found and another literally wrote the book on  Vilnius history.

Wedding season!  It was so lovely to see weddings celebrated in public places.

Symphony hall on right is where child prodigy Jascha Heifetz first performed at age 8. At 4, his playing was so beautiful that people would sit outside his small house in the poorest part of town and listen to him practice.

Building of flats owned by philanthropist who supported the house for needy Jews from the turn of the century.

These bridges were common. Several survived.

Outdoor art gallery celebrating Litvak writers and artists.

Slo Mo bike adventuride

On the Nerus river.

Roman Orthodox Church where Pushkin's grandfather served. Good craft stalls in front of it.

Linden trees in bloom, extremely fragrant

There is a sweet documentary called Slo Mo about a doctor who quits to spend all his waking hours  roller blading along pacific beach in California. he says the combination of slight acceleration plus slight angle cause flotation of a certain euphoria-producing part of the brain. Riding a bike is like that for me. To ride the wonderful bike paths along the Big street and the Nerus River in Vingia Park was about as favorite an activity as I can think of.