Lithuania
Overview
Lithuania was once considered the “Jerusalem of the North” for its historical importance as a center of Jewish learning and culture. It was home to Zionist leaders, artists, and intellectuals, as well as the birthplace of the YIVO Institute, the preeminent center for the study of Eastern European Jewry and Yiddish.
The Holocaust nearly destroyed all that, taking the lives of more than 90 percent of Lithuania’s Jews. The decades of communist rule that followed World War II further repressed those who survived the Nazis. By the time of the Soviet Union’s collapse, Jewish communal life in Lithuania had been almost completely annihilated. In 1991 Lithuania became the first of the Soviet republics to declare independence. It has been a member of NATO and the European Union since 2004.
Need
Back from the brink of extinction, Lithuania’s Jewish community has experienced an extraordinary recovery since the fall of the Soviet Union. Still, there remains a great need for support for community building to ensure a permanent return to Lithuania’s proud history as a Jewish cultural hub.
The task is complicated by economic difficulties in the Baltic region. The Lithuanian Jewish community needs support for many basic services for the most vulnerable: the elderly (many of them Holocaust survivors) and at-risk children.
Response
JDC’s focus in the Baltics is on achieving greater self-sufficiency while encouraging the renewal of Jewish life at regional and local levels. JDC programs include:
- Winter relief for the aged, including Holocaust survivors
- Food and medicine for families in need
- Jewish camps, retreats, and holiday celebrations
Impact
Building on the “Jewish Community Center (JCC) without walls” concept, JDC has facilitated the creation of a vibrant Jewish life throughout the Baltic communities. Successful efforts have seen:
- 130 seniors participate in the annual Golden Age retreat
- 1,200 community members engage in Jewish learning at the Limmud-Keshet grassroots studyfest
- 350 children benefit from Olameinu summer camps
- 150 participants attend a young families retreat
- 150 children attend a winter camp
Meanwhile, JDC social welfare programs assist 1,800 people, including 1,400 elderly Holocaust survivors.
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