C E M E T E R I E S   /   P H O T O G R A P H Y

by Dovid Katz

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As dozens gathered at Vilnius Jewish cemetery to bid farewell to dear Joseph Levinson today, those who read Yiddish could not fail to notice the two symbolic gravestones he erected on the family plot, in Yiddish by choice.

The first, for his mother, a poignant reminder of the violence to so many gravestones in the region (these are just draft translations):

“To the memory of Máshe Kagan-Levinson [Maša Kagan-Levinsonienė] (1883 – 23 Dec. 1926), buried in the cemetery of Vishéy [Veisiejai], where during the years of occupation, not a trace would remain of her grave.”

The second, for his father, who perished in the Holocaust:

“To the memory of Avrom (Alter) Levinson [Abromas Levinsonas] (1879 – 3 Nov. 1941), murdered by the Nazis and their Lithuanian assistants near Lazdéy [Lazdijai], in Katkishke [Katkiškės].”

More on the remarkable life of Joseph Levinson:

https://defendinghistory.com/joseph-levinson-1917-2015/72949.