Stankevičienė Antanina
*1895 – 1957
*Recognized in 2008
Eiguliai cemetery, Kaunas, Lithuania
Stankevičienė Antanina
54.933541
23.920929
About the rescuer and the rescue story
The Kaltinauskai (Kaltinovski) family was sent to the ghetto among all other Jews of Kaunas. In 1942 their little girl was born and they named her Genia.
Soon the family heard the rumors that the Children’s Action was about to take place, so the couple started looking for someone to help them save their little baby. They reached the Stankevičius couple, who had no kids of their own. In March 1944, when a two-year old girl was asleep, they put her in a sack and took her out of the ghetto and finally gave her to the Stankevičius couple.
The Stankevičius had already faked documents prepared for her under the name of Genute Stankevičiute.
Every now and then the Nazis would come and carry out searches. That put them all in great danger, mainly because of the neighbors. On those occasions Antanina would take the little girl to the village for some time.
Genute’s parents survived the war and returned to Lithuania in 1945. Although the Stankevičius loved the girl as if she was their own child, they returned her to her true parents. Of course, the girl did not know her real parents when they came to take her.
After the war the two families remained in very close relations. When Kaltinauskai, who was a tailor, had some financial difficulties, Stankevičius helped him out. He also bought him a fancy car.
In 1946 the Soviets arrested Stanislovas Stankevičius. He died in prison.
The widow remained in Kaunas alone, because by that time the survivors moved to Vilnius. They remained in touch and every now and then Genute would go and visit Antanina.
In 1971 Henia and her mother moved to Israel.
Rescued persons (Yad Vashem webpage):
Genia Kaltinauskaitė Zalishanski
54.933541
23.920929
Antanina with the Kalinauskas
Antanina and Stasys Sinkevičius
Genia Kalinauskaitė