More Tragic History

Lithuania had a thriving Jewish community for 400 years. Vilnius was known as the "Jerusalem of the North" because several important Jewish religious, cultural and intellectual movements began here. During the Nazi occupation in World War II over 90% of Lithuanian Jews were killed. The Vilna Gaon Jewish Museum in Vilnius tells the history of the Jews in Lithuania and their destruction in a powerful exhibit called Shoah (Catastrophe). There is also a room called the Gallery of the Righteous filled with photographs and lists of names honoring those who risked their own lives to rescue Jews during the Nazi occupation. They are powerful and moving exhibitions and testaments both to the evil that human beings commit and to our incredible ability to do good. The photograph is of a synagogue that has been restored and re-opened since independence.