Rescuers of Jews
The Faktor family
When the war broke our on 22 June 1941, all Jews of Alsėdžiai town were herded to the town’s ghetto, which was liquidated in the middle of July. Only the Faktorius family was spared: Josefas Beras, his wife Chaja Gita, their son Izraelis with his wife Feiga and children Gutelis and Abraomas, their other son Mejeris with his wife Chasė and daughter Hanelė, their daughter Feiga Fiškinienė with her husband Jochelis Fiškinas and another daughter Adina Faktoraitė.
From Malka’s Levitan (Faktoraitė) letter to Daiva Osipovaitė:
My parents Israel and Feiga Faktor lived in Alsėdžiai before the war. They had a family run tannery, where they worked with the hired hands. When the war broke out and the annihilation of the Jews started, the entire Faktor family was spared so they could finish tanning the furs ordered by clients. Juozas Straupis was among those clients. My mother Feiga Faktorienė was expecting me at that time. She asked the murderers to spare her parents, brothers and sisters, but they did not. They said: “We will kill you too if you don’t stop begging.” Thus all our family members on the side of my mother were killed. Then Juozas Straupis came and my mother asked him in tears to help us. And Juozas Straupis said: “Don’t cry, my daughter, I’ll save you.” One night he came with carriages and horses and took our entire Faktor family to Šarnelė village, to his neighbours Juozas and Adolfina Kerpauskas.
From Israel Faktor’s letter to Šlioma Kurliandčikas:
We reached the farmstead of Juozas and Adolfina Kerpauskas safely. There we settled in a small room: at first there were twelve of us and later sixteen (our family was joined by my father’s Josef Faktor sister Chana Ritov and her daughter Sarah Ritov from the Telšiai Ghetto, who were also saved by Juozas Straupis, and a boy Haris Frakas). Juozas Straupis would deliver us food, while Adolfina Kerpauskienė would cook it and bring it to us. The Kerpauskas’s children were still underage, but did not give us up and they would bring us food.
Although the Kerpauskas’ farmstead was in a very convenient location – near a vast forest – hideouts were constructed nevertheless. The first one was excavated under the residential house. There, Israel and Feiga Faktor’s daughter Malka Faktor was born on 1 November 1941.
In the end of 1942, under threat of danger a decision was made to change the residence of the Faktor. Juozas Straupis and Juozas Kerpauskas dug out and constructed a hideout near Kerpauskas’ barn with an entrance from the barn. It was a dangerous job to construct such a hideout under the circumstances of that time: the work had to be done in secrecy, the excavated soil had to be hidden and no traces could be left. They were assisted in the excavations by Mr. Šimutis, Antanas Virketis and Boleslovas Stulpinas. In this bunker, covered with a one-meter thick layer of soil, the whole family lived for a year.
When the searches became more frequent and more suspicions started rising, the refugees were dispersed in February 1944. Israel Faktor’s brother Meyer, his wife Chasya, his daughter Hanele, his son Josef with his wife Chaya Gita, his two sisters Adina Faktor and Feiga Fishkin with her husband Yochel Fishkin were sheltered by the village administrator Antanas Strikaitis and his wife Stefanija, who had eight children.
Israel and Feiga Faktor’ family with their two years old daughter Malka and their sons Abraham, 4, and Gutel, 6, hid in a bunker excavated in the forest. The Kerpauskas would take food for seven people. In July 1944 the family was spotted by casual passers-by, so they were moved for safety reasons to Juozas Straupis until August, and later sheltered by Antanas Strikaitis. The latter said: “I’ll have the same punishment no matter how many people I hide: nine or sixteen. You can stay in my place.” They lived in a barn on hey and were visited and fed by Juozas Straupis and Juozas Kerpauskas.
7 October 1944, the Red army showed up in Šarnelė village and the Jews regained their freedom.
During almost the entire war, Adolfina and Juozas Kerpauskas’ family risked their lives hiding sixteen Jews and thus saving them from death. A memorial stone was placed and trees were planted in the area of the former Kerpauskas’ farmstead in Šarnelė village in the memory of the Kerpauskas family deeds. The memorial plaque says: “Here, during the years of German occupation, farmers Adolfina and Juozas Kerpauskas risked the lives of their 8 children to save 16 Jews in their farmstead. During the Soviet times, they were exiled to Siberia with their children Bronė and Tomas. They returned in 1956.”
When the war broke our on 22 June 1941, all Jews of Alsėdžiai town were herded to the town’s ghetto, which was liquidated in the middle of July. Only the Faktorius family was spared: Josefas Beras, his wife Chaja Gita, their son Izraelis with his wife Feiga and children Gutelis and Abraomas, their other son Mejeris with his wife Chasė and daughter Hanelė, their daughter Feiga Fiškinienė with her husband Jochelis Fiškinas and another daughter Adina Faktoraitė.
From Malka’s Levitan (Faktoraitė) letter to Daiva Osipovaitė:
My parents Israel and Feiga Faktor lived in Alsėdžiai before the war. They had a family run tannery, where they worked with the hired hands. When the war broke out and the annihilation of the Jews started, the entire Faktor family was spared so they could finish tanning the furs ordered by clients. Juozas Straupis was among those clients. My mother Feiga Faktorienė was expecting me at that time. She asked the murderers to spare her parents, brothers and sisters, but they did not. They said: “We will kill you too if you don’t stop begging.” Thus all our family members on the side of my mother were killed. Then Juozas Straupis came and my mother asked him in tears to help us. And Juozas Straupis said: “Don’t cry, my daughter, I’ll save you.” One night he came with carriages and horses and took our entire Faktor family to Šarnelė village, to his neighbours Juozas and Adolfina Kerpauskas.
From Israel Faktor’s letter to Šlioma Kurliandčikas:
We reached the farmstead of Juozas and Adolfina Kerpauskas safely. There we settled in a small room: at first there were twelve of us and later sixteen (our family was joined by my father’s Josef Faktor sister Chana Ritov and her daughter Sarah Ritov from the Telšiai Ghetto, who were also saved by Juozas Straupis, and a boy Haris Frakas). Juozas Straupis would deliver us food, while Adolfina Kerpauskienė would cook it and bring it to us. The Kerpauskas’s children were still underage, but did not give us up and they would bring us food.
Although the Kerpauskas’ farmstead was in a very convenient location – near a vast forest – hideouts were constructed nevertheless. The first one was excavated under the residential house. There, Israel and Feiga Faktor’s daughter Malka Faktor was born on 1 November 1941.
In the end of 1942, under threat of danger a decision was made to change the residence of the Faktor. Juozas Straupis and Juozas Kerpauskas dug out and constructed a hideout near Kerpauskas’ barn with an entrance from the barn. It was a dangerous job to construct such a hideout under the circumstances of that time: the work had to be done in secrecy, the excavated soil had to be hidden and no traces could be left. They were assisted in the excavations by Mr. Šimutis, Antanas Virketis and Boleslovas Stulpinas. In this bunker, covered with a one-meter thick layer of soil, the whole family lived for a year.
When the searches became more frequent and more suspicions started rising, the refugees were dispersed in February 1944. Israel Faktor’s brother Meyer, his wife Chasya, his daughter Hanele, his son Josef with his wife Chaya Gita, his two sisters Adina Faktor and Feiga Fishkin with her husband Yochel Fishkin were sheltered by the village administrator Antanas Strikaitis and his wife Stefanija, who had eight children.
Israel and Feiga Faktor’ family with their two years old daughter Malka and their sons Abraham, 4, and Gutel, 6, hid in a bunker excavated in the forest. The Kerpauskas would take food for seven people. In July 1944 the family was spotted by casual passers-by, so they were moved for safety reasons to Juozas Straupis until August, and later sheltered by Antanas Strikaitis. The latter said: “I’ll have the same punishment no matter how many people I hide: nine or sixteen. You can stay in my place.” They lived in a barn on hey and were visited and fed by Juozas Straupis and Juozas Kerpauskas.
7 October 1944, the Red army showed up in Šarnelė village and the Jews regained their freedom.
During almost the entire war, Adolfina and Juozas Kerpauskas’ family risked their lives hiding sixteen Jews and thus saving them from death. A memorial stone was placed and trees were planted in the area of the former Kerpauskas’ farmstead in Šarnelė village in the memory of the Kerpauskas family deeds. The memorial plaque says: “Here, during the years of German occupation, farmers Adolfina and Juozas Kerpauskas risked the lives of their 8 children to save 16 Jews in their farmstead. During the Soviet times, they were exiled to Siberia with their children Bronė and Tomas. They returned in 1956.”