BRIEF HISTORY:
On June 22nd, 1941, the Nazi Germany forces marched into Palanga, and soon after that all Palanga Jewish communities’ members were arrested and forcefully locked up in two synagogues – women, children, and elderly people were locked separately from men. Men soon met their tragic faith – on the next day, they were executed in the current southern part of Birutes park. Children, women, and elderly people were sent to the small ghetto in Vilimiškės village, and soon after that, they all were executed in the nearby forest. Only in 1958, the remains of the victims were excavated and reburied in the town’s public cemetery. A common tombstone was built there in the memory of Holocaust victims (Vytauto str. 176C).
CURRENT SITUATION:
In 1989, in the dawn of Lithuania’s independence, the monument to commemorate the Palanga Jews was built. The monument could not be erected on the exact specific sites as it belonged to the private individual. In Birutės park under the initiative of Greville Janner, a famous British politician and chairman of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, the marble pillar (called stele) was built, pointing to the symbolic place of massacre.
LOOKING AROUND:
Historical Palanga Jewish Quarter
Kretinga Jewish Settlement, called “Jewish Newtown” (Birutės str./Pievų str., Malūno takas, Žilvičių str.) 55.886643, 21.236545)
Kretinga old Jewish cemetery, Massacre sites and Graves (Kretinga, Žemaičių str./ Meguvos str.) 55.883438, 21.237486)
Monument to Berek Yoselevitz in Kretinga (J. Pabrėžos str. 8) 55.891183, 21.245217
Darbėnai Jewish Cemetery (Darbėnai, Kretinga district) 56.021667, 21.271944
Synagogue of Klaipėda Jewish Community (Žiedų skg. 3) 55.703611, 21.139722
Former Jewish Cemetery in Klaipėda (Sinagogų str.), 704627, 21.139655
Valsonok Memorial Plaque in Klaipėda (I. Kanto str. 9) 55.716867, 21.123736
Shelter for Impoverished Merchants in Klaipėda (Herkaus Manto str. 23) 55.716514, 21.128275
Education Institute for Girls in Klaipėda (Herkaus Manto str. 21) 55.716236, 21.128491
Former Building of Jewish Hospital in Klaipėda (Galinio Pylimo str. 3) 55.705923, 21.139799
Former Jewish School in Klaipėda (Grįžgatvio str. 6) 55.708256, 21.138441
