Memory Office: Z. Chessakov
Izraeli Zohar Chessakov tells a story of his mother and her experiences in Lithuania during the war, where she was born and lived. He shares his thoughts on why it is important to come back to the places, which touched the destiny of his family.
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“We came here in order to seek our roots and to find more about them. Some members of our family have never been here before, like my nephew and my son. We took them for the first time here, in order to show about the places of my grandmother and my mother.”
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“She [Grandmother] knew what happened to all her relatives that were in towns around Šiauliai. She felt that nothing good will happen. So, she started to think, what to do with her own child. In 1943, Germans from the Ghetto decided to open some working camps around, like in Daugėliai. My grandmother decided to go there, in order to save the child. My grandmother hid my mother in a coat, and all the Jewish ladies were around them, in order that Germans wouldn’t see, she has a child with her. They came to Daugėliai. They put her in a bed of sick people, because Germans used not to go, where sick people stayed.”
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“My grandmother knew Lithuanian manager of the camp and he gave my grandmother work at his house as a cleaning lady. In his place, there was a couple, Grigalaitis family, to whom she spoke. “When they will take us,” she knew, Germans, will take them. “Please, raise our daughter with you.” They agreed.”
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“In 1943 November 15, there was an action in Daugėliai. When my grandfather saw Germans coming, he took my mother and went to a stove. My mother’s aunt closed the door of the stove, and, during the action, they were hiding there. Germans came and took six females and nine children that were there. Lithuanian manager of the camp asked, where is the daughter of Funks. He thought she was also taken. My grandmother started to cry and shout. Her sister, who closed the stove, told her “Don’t cry. The child is alright.” When the Germans went out, they took my grandfather and my mother out.”
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“All the people that were released [from concentration camps] by Americans decided to stay on that side. But my grandmother and grandfather knew they have to go back. They have a child. When they came back, my mother was a little child, she asked: “Who are those Jews?” She didn’t want to go back on the first days. She forgot all the Yiddish. Later they took her back and moved to Kaunas. During the time they started to build their life from the beginning. In 1952, my grandmother got another child, my uncle, Dove. They started to live their life, but the emotion in my grandfather’s mind was always that he has to go to Israel. This is the land for the Jews. He wanted that his children would live in a free country for Jews.”
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“My mother used to work as a nurse. A lot of children, that survived the Holocaust, took work as helping professionals – as psychologists, doctors, nurses, as social workers. They went to take this part of life, in order to help others. And she was very helpful for 35 years. The work didn’t stop with the workplace. People used to come to our home, and she used to treat them even there. All the time.”
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“From 1967 they had no connection. In 1989, after the first day the Israel people were allowed to go to the Soviet Union, my grandmother immediately went there. From that time, almost every year, sometimes twice, three times a year, she comes to Lithuania. Usually with my father, but also with me and my sister. Even my grandmother came back with her. It was emotional, but it was stronger for her. She saw them, Grigalaitis’ children, as her brothers and sisters, and they saw her like that too. And when we came back this time, her brother, Pranas Grigalaitis said “We thought, after your mother died, we won’t have any connection. You surprised us.” I told them, this is the connection that is not meant to be broken. This is not only the connection of blood but the connection of blood, emotion, everything. We owe our life to his parents.”
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“It is emotional for us. But I’m also optimistic because these are the places, where my mother was saved.”
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“The first time I was here in 1994, I saw suspicious looks of people. They saw different people – darker, my sister was without hair. We saw those people looking. And today, when you go on the street, it’s more acceptable. Nobody’s looking. You can even see that people are smiling more. It’s a change, it’s a different view. You especially see this in young people. They are not looking about changes and different things. They are looking for common things to share it together. It is important in the town like Kaunas, where more than 25 percent of people before the war were Jewish and other nationalities as well.”
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ZOHAR CHESSAKOV
Zoharis a son of Liuba Funkaitė Chessakov, which grew up in Kaunas after the World War II. In 1943 Liuba's parents were moved from Šiauliai ghetto to Daugėliai working camp. Secretly they took their three year old daughter with them and hidden her in the baraks (kids were not allowed in there). Liuba's mother started to work as a cleaning lady in Grigalaitis family. Funkai family asked them to find a safe spot for Liuba thus she became Aldutė. When Daugėliai camp and Šiauliai ghetto were closed, Funkai were taken to Stutthof concentration camp. They survived it miraculously and came back to Lithuania for their daughter, which was safe with Grigalaitis family the whole time. In 1959 Funkai emigrated to Izraeli. Liuba's family is big - 3 kids, 9 grandkids and 2 great grandchildren. After Soviet union colapsed, Liuba visited Lithuania several times, her family is doing that until now.
Interview date: 2018-07-12