Urgent search launched in Lithuania for descendants of WWII heroes who saved Jewish lives

A poignant search is underway in Lithuania to locate the descendants of Juozas and Ona Augustinavičiai, a couple honored as Righteous Among the Nations for their bravery during World War II. The couple risked their lives to hide Jewish individuals from Nazi persecution in their home near Kėdainiai.

The Vilnius Gaon Jewish History Museum has initiated an appeal, hoping that community memory will help fill the historical gaps surrounding the Augustinavičiai family. The couple was recognized by Israel's Yad Vashem memorial institute in 1998 for their heroic actions. However, due to the initiative coming from the survivors themselves, neither Yad Vashem nor the museum possesses detailed information about the Augustinavičiai's later lives, exact residences, or their descendants.

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Since this recognition was initiated by the survivors, neither Yad Vashem nor our museum has data on their further lives, exact place of residence, or descendants.

Museum researcher Gintarė Žuravliovaitė is reaching out to the Kėdainiai community, seeking any information about the family who may have lived near Kėdainiai or in the village of Pėdžiai. The Augustinavičiai family, along with others like the Gedaika and Rimavičienė families, provided refuge in hidden spaces such as attics and cellars.

Specifically, the Augustinavičiai family sheltered Chaja Kėdanskytė for nearly half a year in their attic and cellar. They also assisted Chaim Kunderis. While the survivors eventually moved to Israel or the U.S. after the war, or remained in Lithuania, contact with the Augustinavičiai family was lost. The museum hopes to find living relatives who can provide necessary documentation to formally recognize the Augustinavičiai family with Lithuania's state award, the Cross of Rescue of those perishing, a medal intended for rescuers of Jews.

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The Gedaikas and Rimavičienė provided help to their friends. Rimavičienė equipped a secret wall in a closet, behind which brothers Josef and Chaim Lisonai hid. However, for security reasons, the hiding places had to be changed.