Ejszyszki, Its History and Destruction (Eisiskes, Lithuania)

The Jewish community of Eisiskes (Yiddish: Eishishok), Lithuania, which dated

back to the 11th century, came to a sudden end in the Fall of 1941. On September

22, Jewish men aged 18-40 were taken from the market and synagogue, brought to

the old cemetery, forced to lie in pits, and shot. The following day, women, children, and

old people were shot, as well as Jews brought from other towns.

Jews here had once numbered 75% of the population. They traded in wood, cattle, and

grain, ran restaurants, bakeries, inns, and stores. They opened mills, factories, and leather

and fur workshops. The community boasted three prayer houses, several chedarim and

yeshivot, a girls' private school, and, in the 1920s, a Hebrew school. Cultural, sports, and

Zionist clubs flourished, along with a library, recreation areas, children's camps,

live theatre, and even a cinema.

What was life here like, before and during the Holocaust? For the first time in English

translation, the words of survivors and emigres bring Jewish Eishishok back to life.