Table Of Content

(cid:2) EPi olophilia (cid:2) EPi olophilia (cid:2) (cid:3) Wrıtıng e Life of Ona Šimaıt˙e Julija Šuky s University of Nebraska Press · Lincoln & London 1. Šimaitė, Ona, 1894–1970. 2. Šimaitė, © 2012 by Julija Šukys Ona, 1894–1970—Correspondence. The letters in chapters 4 and 11 3. Šimaitė, Ona, 1894–1970—Diaries. appeared as “Letters from a Librar- 4. Biography—Authorship. 5. Righteous ian: Lost and Found in Vilna.” Gentiles in the Holocaust—Lithuania— pmla 118 (2003): 302–17. Vilnius—Vilna—Biography. 6. Holocaust survivors—Lithuania—Vilnius—Vilna— Portions of the book, including Biography. 7. Holocaust, Jewish (1939– parts of chapters 3 and 5, appeared 1945)—Lithuania—Vilnius—Vilna. in “Ona Šimaitė and the Vilnius 8. World War, 1939–1945—Jews—Rescue Ghetto: An Unwritten Memoir.” —Lithuania—Vilnius. 9. Librarians— Lituanus 54 (2008): 5–25. Lithuania—Vilnius—Vilna—Biography. All rights reserved. Manufactured 10. Vilnius (Lithuania)—Biography. in the United States of America. I. Title. D804.66.S54S85 2012 940.53'18092—dc23 Library of Congress [B] 2011030426 Cataloging-in-Publication Data Frontispiece: Ona Šimaitė. Šukys, Julija. Epistolophilia: F15-561. Mažvydas National writing the life of Ona Šimaitė Library of Lithuania Rare Books / Julija Šukys. p. cm. and Manuscripts Department. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-0-8032-3632-5 Set in Arno by Kim Essman. (cloth: alk. paper) Designed by Nathan Putens. In memory of Ona Šimaitė’s friends: Gershon Malakiewicz, Kazys Jakubėnas, Anna Abramowicz, Tanya Shterntal, and so many others. Ω n. Epistolophilia /i ' pist(ə) lə( ) ' filiə/ Love of letters and letter writing; affection for the art of epistolography; a sickness characterized by excessive letter writing. List of Illustrations ix Acknowledgments xi A Note on Place Names xiii Contents part one 1. The Woman in the Park 3 2. Vilnius 10 3. Correspondence 16 4. Ona Šimaitė’s Letters to Marijona Čilvinaitė, 1957–1958 23 5. Caregiving and Letters 29 part two 6. A Childhood Tale 43 7. Russian Letters 47 8. Everyday Writings 53 part three 9. Ghetto 61 10. Mowszowicz 69 11. Letters to Kazys Jakubėnas, 1941–1943 79 12. Destruction of the Ghetto 88 part four 13. Kazys 95 14. Kazys’s Death 101 15. Alfonsas’s Theory 107 part five 16. Catholicism, Sex, and Sin 111 17. Mothering 119 part six 18. Ludelange 127 19. Freedom 130 20. Toulouse 135 21. Letters to New York 141 22. La Courtine 149 part seven 23. The Ghetto Library 155 24. Librarians 163 25. Writing a Woman’s Life 165 part eight 26. Aldutė 171 27. Family Letters 176 28. Soviet Schizophrenia 180 29. Death in Vilnius 186 30. Paris 1968 195 31. Single and Crazy 199 part nine 32. Cormeilles 205 33. October 208 Notes 209 Works Cited 213 maps 1. Ona Šimaitė’s journey xvi 2. The Vilna Ghetto and surrounding neighborhood 67 Illustrations photographs 1. Ona Šimaitė xiv 2. Šimaitė’s apartment building in Paris 6 3. Šimaitė’s letters 17 4. Vytautas Kauneckas 18 5. Marijona Čilvinaitė 22 6. A page from Šimaitė’s diary 28 7. Details from Šimaitė’s diaries 31–33 8. Šimaitė in Israel 34 9. Šimaitė, possibly with the Estonian woman 37 10. Isaac Nachman Steinberg 46 11. Šimaitė in Israel 56 12. Šimaitė with the dolls she made 57 13. The Franciscan Church in Vilnius 64 14. Number 13 Savičiaus Street 65 15. Kazys Jakubėnas 78 16. Sala Vaksman/Tanya Shterntal with her husband 118 17. Toulouse 134