The sad fate of Lithuania's wooden synagogues

Tužna sudbina drvene sinagoge u Litvi

Lithuania's wooden synagogues, the vestiges of a Jewish presence that was wiped out in the Holocaust, are falling into ruin from a lack of funding and support. After the Second World War it was used as a grain warehouse.

Littvanska drvena sinagoga, svjedočanstvo židovskog prisustva u zemlji , koje je izbrisano tokom Holokausta, nalazi se u ruševnom stanju zbog nedostatka sredstava i potpore. Nakon II. svjetskog rata upotrebljavala se kao skladište za pšenicu. Sada je kao skladište upotrebljava susjedni seljak. Židovska zajednica i  njene humanitarne organizacije je žele obnoviti. Prve drvene sinagoge su se pojavile u Litvi u drugoj polovini 17.stoljeća. 

Prije rata je Litva imala  uspješnu židovsku zajednicu od oko 200.000 ćlanova, a nacistička Njemačka i njezini lokalni suradnici su ubili oko 90% Židova  između 1941 i 1944.

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Lithuania has 13 wooden synagogues today, according to estimates by Gilles Vuillard, a Lithuania-based French artist who has depicted them in his work since 2009.

"Wood was the cheapest material around," said Maria Rupeikiene, an architect and author of several papers on the Jewish heritage.

Today, a lack of money and too few worshippers mean the synagogues are closed and rundown. The oldest of the lot, in the northern city of Pakruojis, was damaged in a fire in 2009.

"The most important thing is to preserve them. One option is to use them as libraries," said Faina Kukliansky, lawyer and interim president of the Jewish community.