Rescuers of Jews
Arlauskas Kazimieras
ARLAUSKAS KAZIMIERAS & VERONIKA
One autumn night in 1942 wounded Saul Brovski knocked at the door of the Arlauskas family’s house. He said he was a Jew who escaped from the Action of murder of Jews, where he was wounded and asked the Arlauskas to let him in. The family accepted him and he stayed in the house. Kazimieras Arlauskas and also his elder son Vytautas-Feliksas used to bring him medicine to cure the wound. In 2-3 months Saul brought to the house his wife and they both stayed with the Arlauskas family. When somebody was approaching the house, they used to hide in haystacks, where they had a specially made hiding place. The children of the family were forbidden to go to that place and to talk about it.
One year later, in autumn 1943, the elder of the village came to the house and told that he knew the Arlauskas had been hiding Jews. Then he explained that it was necessary to hide them in a different place for 3 days. Not far from the Arlauskas house there lived another farmer whose name was Saurkaitis and who was of German origin. He agreed to hide the Jews. Next day the Germans arrived at the Arlauskas’ house to search for the hiding Jews, but they did not find anybody. Saurkaitis confirmed that Jews had never been hiding at the Arlauskas’ house. The Germans made a few shots at the hiding place in hay, but there was no one there.
After that case the Jews left the house and only after the war Saul came to the Arlauskas again and told them that his wife and daughter remained alive and that the family was leaving for America via Poland.
One autumn night in 1942 wounded Saul Brovski knocked at the door of the Arlauskas family’s house. He said he was a Jew who escaped from the Action of murder of Jews, where he was wounded and asked the Arlauskas to let him in. The family accepted him and he stayed in the house. Kazimieras Arlauskas and also his elder son Vytautas-Feliksas used to bring him medicine to cure the wound. In 2-3 months Saul brought to the house his wife and they both stayed with the Arlauskas family. When somebody was approaching the house, they used to hide in haystacks, where they had a specially made hiding place. The children of the family were forbidden to go to that place and to talk about it.
One year later, in autumn 1943, the elder of the village came to the house and told that he knew the Arlauskas had been hiding Jews. Then he explained that it was necessary to hide them in a different place for 3 days. Not far from the Arlauskas house there lived another farmer whose name was Saurkaitis and who was of German origin. He agreed to hide the Jews. Next day the Germans arrived at the Arlauskas’ house to search for the hiding Jews, but they did not find anybody. Saurkaitis confirmed that Jews had never been hiding at the Arlauskas’ house. The Germans made a few shots at the hiding place in hay, but there was no one there.
After that case the Jews left the house and only after the war Saul came to the Arlauskas again and told them that his wife and daughter remained alive and that the family was leaving for America via Poland.