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| Kvedarna (also known as Chweidan or Chaviadan) is a small village
on the coastal plain of north-western Lithuania, which in the late 19th
century was in the Rasseiniai distict of the province (guberniya)
of Kaunas (Kovno). In independent Lithuania it is in the Tavrig district.
In the 1890's it was home to about 120 Jewish families, who made up just over half of the total population. A large number of the Jewish population emigrated to South Africa from about 1893 onwards. In these pages you can read: |
| A brief description and history of the shtetl |
| About its Jewish Community |
| About contemporary records helpful in family research |
| About others researching family links with Kvedarna |
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Brief description and history of the shtetl
Originally a fortress that was destroyed by the Crusaders in 1329, Kvedarna
developed in to a regional centre by the 16th century. In Czarist
Russia the village was originally known as Konstantinova (New Constantine).
An attractive village, surrounded by forests, it is situated a mile away
from the River Jura, and with two lovely hills between it and the river.
It is about near the Western boundary of Lithuania, about 35 miles
from the Baltic sea, and from the port of Kleipada (Memel), and also close
to the port of Libau. There was no railway station before the establishment
of the independent state of Lithuania in 1918; the nearest rail station
was 12 miles away, in Svekshna.
In previous centuries nearly all the houses were built of wood, and
the thick forests surrounding the village rendered it very vulnerable to
fires. It was originally situated on the right bank of the River Jura,
but a great fire of 1843 caused so much damage that the whole village had
to be rebuilt; this was about two kilometers away from the old site.
There were only 4 brick houses in the new town, two of them double-storied;
the rest were still wooden. In 1880 half the town was destroyed by
fire, in 1881 only 2 houses survived. The situation of the Jewish
inhabitants was so bad that the Rabbi of Memel organized a collection for
their assistance amongst the neighbouring communities, and a sum of 500
roubles was raised. 100 roubles was distributed amongst the
inhabitants, and the balance was set aside for the building of a beit midrash.
Fifteen years later, in 1896, another large fire destroyed 100 houses out
of 110. The town had 3 cheders, a Talmud Torah, a Tarbut school,
a Jewish Peoples' Bank, a charitable (interest free) loan society, and
Linat Hazedek. Building of the beit midrash was completed in 1898.
The Jewish community of Kvedarna
The first record of Jews living in Chweidan dates back to 1662: there were 3 men and 4 women. In 1765 there were 186 Jews who paid a head-tax. Chweidan was one of the 19 communities in Lita which did not respond to the Ukase of 12 May 1843, which required all Jews to leave their homes which were less than 50 versht from the Western boundary. By 1897, there were 671 Jews (120 families) out of a total population of 1190 (56%).
Many of the Jewish population made their living out of trades related to wood, and there were a number of prosperous wood merchants. Others worked in trade (flax, chickens and grains) and in crafts.
Before World War I, when there was fighting between Germany and Russia
in the area, most of the Jews in Chweidan fled, and only a portion returned
after the war, when the independent state of Lithuania was created.
Nevertheless, in 1923 there were 394 Jews (80 families) out of a total
population of 950 (41%). Execution of the Jewish inhabitants by the
Nazis, with the not-unwilling help of the local Lithuanian community, took
place on 29 June, 1941.
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