Haapalah / Aliyah Bet

Krakės
Krok

In the middle of the 17th century, Jews settled in Krakes.

In 1884, a pogrom in Krok, left forty Jewish homes burned, and their inhabitants were left homeless.
Only eight Jewish homes remained unharmed.

In 1915, at the start of World War I, the Jews of Krakes, like other Jews of Lithuania, were expelled from their homes a to internal areas of Russia, but some found a temporary haven in Vilnius.
The expelled Jews of Krakes returned to their homes, after the Germans conqueres the region,

In June, 1941, before the start of the war between Germany and Russia, Krakės was taken over by Lithuanian nationalistic elements, who arrested Communists, including Jews, whom they transferred to Keidan, where it is believed they were executed.
They took Rabbi avid Goldberg, together with shochet, Rabbi Shabtai Farber, and the shoemaker Reuven, outside of the town, forced them to dig a large grave, and then shot them.
The remaining Jews of Krakės were forced to live in one street, which became a ghetto.
At the end of August 1941 Jews were brought to the Krakės ghetto from the surrounding villages of Baisogola, Gudziunai, Grinkiskis and Pociueliam.
On September 2, 1941 (10 Elul 5701), with encouragement and support from the Catholic bishop, the Jews were marched to Pestinukai, 1.5 kilometers away from Krakės, and shot.