On Day of Rescuers of Lithuanian Jews, Prime Minister calls on us to remember those who left most precious lesson of history
Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė took part in ‘Encounters: Rescuers and Rescued’, an event commemorating the Day of the Rescuers of Lithuanian Jews. It took place in Simonas Daukantas courtyard of Vilnius University, where state leaders, politicians, representatives of the Vilna Gaon Museum of Jewish History, members of the Jewish community, relatives of the rescuers, representatives of ethnic communities and clergy, members of the Vilnius University community and members of the public read out the names of the people who rescued Jews.
The Prime Minister reminded the audience of the stories of several rescuers - the Kupraitis and the Radlinkskas families and sister Juozapa Kibelaitė - and the people they rescued, noting that there were more than one and a half thousand of such stories across Lithuania.
‘Farmers and doctors, widows and nuns, professors and maids, clergy, and teachers— all stepped in to help because they couldn’t do otherwise. The rescuers shared everything with those they sheltered—home, bread, warmth, light, and belief in justice prevailing. This belief sustained them and led them out of darkness and into light. By standing up to the brutal daily routine of the Holocaust and risking the lives of their entire families, they wrote the pages of our nation’s history of compassion and heroism all,’ said Prime Minister.
Ingrida Šimonytė noted that even though they had different choices, these people chose what mattered most—they refused to stay indifferent and tried to help in any way possible.
‘At any given moment, they could have chosen to refuse to rescue or even to betray. But in doing so, they would have betrayed themselves, the humanity and their deep-seated belief in justice prevailing,’ said the Prime Minister, thanking all those who gathered to honour these remarkable people.
‘Today, we’ll be reading the names of those who taught us the most invaluable lesson of history, urging us to remember, remind and celebrate the victory of dawn over dusk. We need belief in this victory today as much as we did then’, said the Prime Minister.
15 March is the Day of the Rescuers of Lithuanian Jews. This is the day to honour rescuers of Lithuanian Jews. They were often ordinary people, who remained faithful to their values and humanity even in the most challenging circumstances. They refused to collaborate with the Nazis, and instead risked their own freedom and lives, as well as those of their loved ones, to save others.
924 Lithuanian citizens who saved Jews from the Holocaust have been recognised as Righteous Among the Nations. It is the second largest Jewish rescue country in the world in terms of population.