Final Hope

Faith and Fear

Moyshe Patursky and his wife were given a glimmer of hope amidst the horror. At the end of August 1941, they were released from the Pavartyčiai ghetto, where they had been imprisoned with other Jews from Šeduva. Local Lithuanian residents had tried to persuade Nazi collaborators that Patursky, as the town's doctor who had saved many lives, deserved mercy.

On September 16th, along with two other Jewish families from Šeduva, the Paturskys were baptized in the Šeduva church. The baptism ceremony was public, and the hall was filled with people.

Meanwhile, over 600 Jews from Šeduva had already been executed by their neighbors, their bodies lying in three mass graves.

It's hard to fathom the pain, fear, and confusion the Paturskys must have felt, forced to change their religion for a faint hope of survival.

Moyshe became Mozė, and his wife Rachel became Veronica. With these new "identities," they lived for about three weeks. Ultimately, like the other Jews of Šeduva, they were taken away to be executed.

On August 25th, we solemnly commemorate the 83rd anniversary of the destruction of the Šeduva Jewish community.