Ejszyszki, its History and Destruction

About This Book

The Jewish community of Eišiškes (Yiddish: Eishishok), Lithuania, dated back to the 11^th century.

Jews in this small town in Lithuania were once 75% of the town's 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 chadarim 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.

This thriving Jewish community 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.

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.

May this book be a memorial to those who lived, worked and dreamed in Eishishok.

Place Details

Alternate names for the town:

Eišiškes [Lith], Eshishuk [Yid], Ejszyszki [Pol], Eishishki [Rus], Eišišķes [Latv], Aisheshuk, Aishishak, Aishishuk, Eishishuk, Eishyshok, Eyshishkes, Eyshishok, Aišiškės

Eišiškes, Lithuania is located at 54°10' N 25°00' E and 38 miles SSW of Vilnius.

Nearby Jewish Communities:

Radun, Belarus 8 miles S
Lida, Belarus 23 miles SSE
Voranava, Belarus 14 miles E
Jašiunai 24 miles NE
Valkininkai 14 miles NNW
Dieveniškės 25 miles E
Byenyakoni, Belarus 16 miles ENE
Panošiškes 26 miles NNW
Degsnės 16 miles NNW
Onuškis 27 miles NW
Varėna 18 miles W
Vasilishki, Belarus 27 miles SSW
Šalčininkai 18 miles ENE
Lipnishki, Belarus 28 miles ESE
Lieponys 22 miles NNW
Daugai 30 miles WNW

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