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Stefa recalls: One day, during the German Nazi Occupation-period, Stefa was
cycling from Klovainiai to the forest of Rozalimas to pick nuts and berries .She
remembered: It was a beautiful sunny day in August 1941.Suddenly she saw a horse
cart full of men. Four of them,
Lithuanians, carried guns and the unarmed other five were Jews. They were from
Klovainiai. Their names of Jewish men were: Irshkis,
Kaimukas (Irshkis’
brother-in-law), Dermeika (Fredke’s and Zyske’s father;
Fredke and Zyske
were Stefa’s closest friends), Dermeika’s brother-in-law and lastly a person
whose name Stefa couldn’t recall. Irshkis and Kaimukas often went from
Klovainiai to Rozalimas to buy flax from the farmers.
Stefa
recognised one of them as Irshkis, the young man whom she often danced with at
parties. He was such a fine dancer! Irshkis could only nod at Stefa to express
his honour and greetings to her. They were about three kilometres off Rozalimas.
As soon as she reached the bushes full of nuts and Stefa started picking them.
Suddenly she heard shooting. After a few hours of picking berries and nuts, she
decided to search for the spot from where she heard the shooting. Stefa found
the place and was terrified: The earth and bushes were stained with blood and at
a certain spot she could see that the ground was recently dug. She understood
that the Jews were shot, and that her dancing-friend Irshkis must have been
killed too. It was clear to her that they were buried on the same spot as they
were murdered.
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Stefa
was very shocked and she cried and didn’t sleep for days.
Later
the bodies were reburied at the Jewish cemetery, but when exactly, I don’t
know. It could have happened in August 1941 (during the German Nazi Occupation)
or in August 1944, after the liberation from the German Nazis.
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