Eržvilkas (Samogitian: Eržvėlks) is a town in Taurage County, Lithuania. According to the 2011 census, the town has a population of 429 people.[1]
Eržvilkas | |
|---|---|
Town | |
 | |
 Coat of arms | |
  Eržvilkas | |
| Coordinates: 55°15′50″N 22°42′30″E / 55.26389°N 22.70833°E | |
| Country |  Lithuania |
| County | Tauragė County |
| Municipality | Jurbarkas District Municipality |
| Population (2011) | |
• Total | 429 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
History
editJewish history
editBefore World War II and the Holocaust, the village had an important Jewish community. In 1923, they were 46% of the total population.
Among others, Hermann Schapira (1840-1898), a mathematician and important forerunner of the Zionist movement, was born in the village.
At the beginning of the Second World War there were 180 Jews living in the village.[2][3]
In 1941 these Jews were exploited as forced labour.[4] In September 1941, they were murdered in mass executions perpetrated by an Einsatzgruppen of Lithuanian policemen at the Gryblaukis forest.[5]
References
edit- ^ "2011 census". Statistikos Departamentas (Lithuania). Retrieved August 16, 2017.
- ^ "Pinkas Hakehillot Lita: Erzvilkas". jewishgen.org. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
- ^ "ERZVILKAS: Kovno | lithuania - International Jewish Cemetery Project". iajgsjewishcemeteryproject.org. Archived from the original on April 19, 2017. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
- ^ "המכון הבין-לאומי לחקר השואה - יד ושם". yadvashem.org. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
- ^ "Taurage county - Online Guide of Murder Sites of Jews in the Former USSR - Yad Vashem". yadvashem.org. Retrieved July 15, 2017.