Vacation in Palanga (Polangen, Połąga) before the War

Before the war, the Rachowitz family used to spend their summer holidays in Palanga, a popular seaside resort at the Baltic sea, according to my Dad, Aaron-Israel Rachowitz. Below is a picture of Palanga beach on a sunny day

Source: I. Stropus, Palanga. Vaizdų albumas, 1936 m. via Facebook 

The following picture shows Palanga with its white sand beaches and marvelous dunes

Source:  http://www.epaveldas.lt/object/recordDescription/KVB/C130000363803

The next picture shows the Palanga general beach as of 1901 (Palangos bendras pliažas 1901 metais)

 Source: Nemunas, here

 

The last picture shows the Palanga beach in the early 20th century and it was taken by Paulina Mongirdaitė, the first Lithuanian woman photographer of the Palanga resort

Source: via Facebook

Lithuania under Soviet rule, 1940-1941

A picture above (taken in 1941 and found in my grandfather's/Hirsch-Meir Rachowitz's photo collection) shows a pro-Soviet rally. People carry posters with Soviet leaders, Lenin and Stalin, as well as flags and banners in support of the Soviet regime -- with political slogans such as "Tėvas Stalinas" in Lithuanian, i.e., "Father Stalin."

 

With the outbreak of World War II and the return of Vilnius/Vilna (Vilnius and its surrounding area) to Lithuania, about 70,000-80,000 Jews were united with their relatives and friends from whom they had been cut off for 19 years (Vilnius was occupied by Poland in 1920 and Kaunas then became the temporary capital of Lithuania. Poland and Lithuania had no diplomatic relations until 1938 because of the Vilnius conflict!), while the number of Jews in Lithuania substantially increased and reached 240,000-250,000 (in 1940), including Jewish refugees from Nazi- or Soviet occupied Poland. Actually, the Soviet Union seized Vilnius in September 1939 in accordance with the secret Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, then in October 1939, it returned the city to Lithuania, but annexed the whole country in June-August 1940, according to my Dad, Aaron-Israel Rachowitz. Lithuanian President Antanas Smetona and his family fled the country and a new pro-Soviet government was installed with Vilnius as the capital of the newly created Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR). The Sovietization of country caused huge harm to Jewish culture. Everything that had been created in Hebrew was banned: all Hebrew schools and gymnasia (children/students were transferred to Yiddish or Russian schools. My Dad, Aaron-Israel Rachowitz, who had studied in the Hebrew Real Gymnasium in Kaunas/Kauno žydų realinė gimnazija---please see my post "Hebrew Real Gymnasium in Kovno/Kaunas, Lithuania before WWII"---was transferred to Yiddish school, while his classmate, Eli Stoupel, to Russian school); institutions; yeshivas (an Orthodox Jewish school, college or seminary), all public organizations; all parties; etc. Jewish leaders, politicians, scientists and wealthy Jews were arrested or deported. Menachem Begin, pre-war head of Betar (a Revisionist Zionist youth movement) in Poland (later becoming the 6th Prime Minister of the State of Israel and Nobel Peace Prize laureate) was arrested by NKVD (predecessor of KGB) and detained in 1940-1941 in Lukiškės Prison, Vilnius, whence he was deported to the Pechora forced labor camp in north Russia.      

Lithuania, 1927

A picture of my grandfather, Hirsch-Meir Rachowitz, when he was 29 years old 

Kaunas (Lithuania), 1940

A picture taken of my father (second from the left), his parents, Riva Orelowitz Rachowitz & Hirsch-Meir Rachowitz and his younger brother Nathan. The Rachowitz family's new home of the 1930s was located at Mishko Street (Miško gatvė), not far from the building of the Polish gymnasium (A. Mickevičiaus privati lenkų gimnazija).

Kaunas (Lithuania), 1939 -- EuroBasket

The Kaunas Sports Hall (Kauno sporto halė), above, was completed before the 3rd European Basketball Championship in 1939 (Eurobasket 1939). A prominent Lithuanian construction engineer of Jewish origin, Anatolijus Rozenbliumas, has designed the Sports Hall. My Dad was among the spectators in the hall. Below is a sample of a championship game ticket.

The Lithuanian national basketball team won the European Basketball Championship in 1937 (in Riga, Latvia) and in 1939 (when Lithuania was the host country). My Dad told me a lot about Pranas Lubinas (Frank John Lubin), an American-Lithuanian basketball player. Lithuania won the European Basketball Championship in 1937, using American-born players of Lithuanian heritage. When Lithuania hosted the EuroBasket in 1939, it again won the title, this time with Lubin playing and coaching. He is often called the "Grandfather or Godfather of Lithuanian basketball" (Lietuvos krepšinio Krikštatėvis). Also, Lubin had played for the gold medal United States national basketball team at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin.

Please see below Youtube Video: Europos Krepšinio Čempionatas/EuroBasket 1939 (Kaunas, Lietuva) (In Lithuanian)

   

Kaunas (Lithuania), the 1930s -- Jabotinsky's visit

Ze'ev Jabotinsky, the founder of the Revisionist Movement and Betar, visited Kaunas in the 1930s. My Dad was fortunate to see him in Kaunas (a large crowd of Jews had gathered to watch the event, according to my Dad). 



Kaunas region in the 1930s

A picture taken in Lampėdžiai or Panemuniai. My Dad, Aaron Rachowitz, is the second from the left. His brother/my uncle Nathan Rachowitz is next to him.