TE15 Lithuanian Honey Cake

Irena Veisaitė & Aurimas Švedas

Marcelė about the encounter. We learned that some of the personnel had begun to suspect that I was Jewish. But Dr. Rudaitis categorically denied the rumors and it seemed that, for now, I was safe. Indeed, Dr. Rudaitis did not know the whole truth—Marcelė had told him that I was “half-Jewish.” Everything seemed to settle down. But then, exactly a

Irena and her mother, Sofia Štromaitė-Veisienė. Kaunas, 1938. Photo: Zinaida Bliumentalis Studio.

week later, a nurse ran into the ward and announced that the Gestapo had surrounded the building. I was sure that they had come for me. I frantically asked myself, “What do I do now?” I tried to gain control of my emotions . . . I went into the washroom, flushed the toilet, and began to think it through logically. If I tried to run, they would surely catch me. Then, since I am registered as living at Pranas’s home, he, too, would suffer consequences. If I stayed in my workplace, I wouldn’t give myself away. But if I were arrested, I might

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