Publisher's Synopsis
OUR LITVAK INHERITANCE Volume One of Our Litvak and South African Jewish Inheritance The book is of the history, life and times of the Jews in Lithuania. Section one commences with a timeline of Jewish History, leading on to a detailed history of the Jewish settlement of Keidan and of Lithuania. It reports on the migration of the Jews from the east to the west and discusses origins, philosophies and values of South African Litvak Jews. Section two tells of the horrors of WWI and its aftermath through reports in the foreign press and from the American Joint Distribution Committee. It also tells of the displacement of Jews from Lithuania and Latvia in 1915. The third section tells of life in the shtetl through family histories and photographs and also articles and photographs from the Yizkor book of Rakishok and Environs and The Keidan Yizkor book. The forth section tells of the massacre of the Jews in the second half of 1941. It includes the Jäger Report detailing Jews murdered and documents the murder of the Jews in 21 Lithuanian towns The fifth section consists of reports of visits back to Lithuania after Lithuanian independence in 1990. Also included is a history of Latvia, Riga and Libau and visits after independence The sixth section discusses the reasons for immigration, problems encountered along the way and why Lithuanian Jews chose South Africa. Also included are memories of early immigration to South Africa Volume two of this book - South African Jewish History - will be published PG by the end of the year.
