Rusnė

Žemaičių Naumiestis

Švėkšna

The Jews in Šilute (Heydekrug)

The life of the Jews in Šilutė and in the surrounding area was different from that in Švėksna or Žemaičių Naumiestis, the towns located in the neighbourhood of Šilutė. The differences were predetermined by the fact that Šilutė and its area was part of Germany. It was more difficult for Jews to compete with German business people there as various restrictions by local authorities were imposed on them.

Despite all the hindrances, the Jews continued to settle in Šilutė. According to the historical information available, the first Jewish families started living here in the middle of the 19^th century. However, the growth of the Jewish community in Šilutė was slow. There were only 250 Jews residing in Šilutė at the beginning of the 20^th century.

With the outbreak of World War II, the majority of Jews left Šilutė. Retreating from the anti-Semitic policy of the Nazi, they settled at their relatives or friends in the bordering towns of Lithuania, such as Švėksna, Žemaičių Naumiestis, Kretinga, Jurbarkas, Tauragė and some other places. Still Lithuania did not become a safe retreat for them. With Germany attacking the Soviet Union in 1941, Lithuania was occupied by the German troops. Soon the German occupation administration started the mass extermination of the Jews, to which part of the local population contributed.

There were some forced labour camps for Jews in Šilutė in the wartime established. One labour camp was located in the present Kęstučio Street, whereas the other one was behind the present fire prevention service building. There was one more camp near the Šyša (Sziesze) River in Varnamiškis (Rabenwald). The Jews interned in the camps had to do all kinds of work for the town municipality; they drained wetlands in Ramučiai (Ramutten) and Pašyšiai (Paszieszen), built roads, etc. In winter time they cleared streets and roads of snow, loaded cargoes in Stoniškiai (Stonischken) railway station. The above mentioned camps were liquidated in 1943. The Jews from those camps were transferred to the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland. Only very few of them have survived.

This is the end of the tragic history of the Šilutė Jews. Their destiny is very much like that of the majority of Jews in Lithuania, when in the course of World War II nearly the whole of the Jewish community was exterminated. At present, there are only some places in Šilutė left, reminiscent of the Jewish life in this town.

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