Re: pilelis lithuania birth cert. help
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In reply to:
Re: pilelis lithuania birth cert. help
melissa Krause 6/03/05
I'm still wondering how a 5 or 6-year-old boy could know his surname. He must have lived with his parents, or mother, or some relatives for quite a long time to learn it. By the way, is it clear what was his original name?
I’ve just read in some books on Lithuanian history about Klaipeda land or area (Klaipedos krastas). This is a region with a specific history. As you already know, Germans occupied this land on March 22, 1939 after Hitler’s ultimatum. In October 1944 the greater part of Klaipeda area was already in soviet hands. Klaipeda itself was taken (‘liberated’) by soviets at the end of January 1945. Germans fought back heavily. At the same time, day and night, they were evacuating civil people from the town and other refugees – not only Lithuanians, but Latvians and Estonians – they all were trying to escape from the returning soviets (they were already aware of soviet ‘deeds’ in 1940, when thousands of our people were deported to Siberia just for nothing, or because they were educated, respected people).
It is believed that 114.000 from 154.000 citizens of Klaipeda land left westwards. Some of them didn’t reach the western allies occupied zone – Russians cut them off. But even they never returned back.
After Germans left Klaipeda town there were no women and children left. The town was 65% ruined. Those people who stayed in town were either killed during the battles or (what an example of soviet generosity!) deported far East or North of the wide Russia.
Now we can only guess that the boys’ father was taken to German army (it seems to me not far from truth in war time). And the boy himself (maybe with his mother or even alone) with other refugees may have successfully reached that part of Germany, which was occupied by the USA, Britain or France. And that’s where he may have been taken to the USA. By whom? Maybe by Catholic charity, maybe by Red Cross. You should check both.
The other thing that you could do – look for possible relatives in Lithuania using the Phone Book addresses, writing to Pilelis families, living in villages (because often they are older, living longer in one place). There are still many people left who remember the wartime. So you may be just lucky.
And finally, there is one more way. There is one Lithuanian journal and a TV show, where they help people, looking for their long lost friends or relatives. But they aren’t magicians too – they will need some primary information to start work with and maybe photos.
My message looks like a scientific work, but I hope, that you weren’t bored reading it, and hope this will help you in your further investigations.
Good luck. Asta