Tverjonaitė Rozalija

Tverjonaitė, Rosalija Jurgilienė, Bronislava Rosalija Tverjonaitė lived in the town of Skaudvilė, Tauragė County, with her brother Motiejus and her niece Bronislava (Bronė) Jurgilienė. Tverjonaitė became acquainted with the Levys when she had worked in the home of their relatives before the war. In May 1942, many months after the Germans had perpetrated a massacre of the town’s Jews, Tverjonaitė went past the local jail, where she recognized 16-year-old Nachum Levy among the prisoners. He told her that the Germans had murdered his entire family and that he had managed to escape and hide in a nearby village until one of the villagers had handed him over to the Germans. From then on, Tverjonaitė began to visit the Jewish youth at the jail every day. She tried to raise his spirits and brought him food and clothing. A week later, Levy managed to escape from the jail and came to Tverjonaitė’s home. Since widespread searches for the escaped Jew were sure to be conducted in the vicinity, Tverjonaitė advised Levy to temporarily get far away from the town. About two months later, Levy returned to Tverjonaitė’s home, where she cared for him with true motherly devotion. His presence was kept secret from Motiejus, but Bronė Jurgilienė, on the other hand, joined her aunt in the act of rescue. Levy was hidden in the barn and occasionally in the house. For reasons of security, he used to leave Tverjonaitė’s home periodically, and hide somewere else, but after some time always came back. Thus, Levy survived to witness the liberation of the area, in October 1944. After the war he immigrated to Israel. On January 1, 1998, Yad Vashem recognized Rosalija Tverjonaitė and Bronislava Jurgilienė as Righteous Among the Nations.