THE STORIES
Lives Behind the History.
History is remembered through the lives of those who experienced it. These stories preserve the people, families and communities whose experiences illuminate the larger history of Lithuania and its Jews.
Featured Stories
Begin with the lives at the center of the Gens Family Project, then explore the wider history of Lithuanian Jewry through testimony, family history and primary sources.
ADA GENS-USTJANAUSKAS
Witness. Survivor. Public Servant.
From an independent Lithuanian childhood through occupation, hiding, exile and a lifetime of public service, Ada’s story spans nearly a century of European and American history.
JACOB GENS
Soldier. Father. Jewish Leader.
A veteran of Lithuania’s struggle for independence, Jacob Gens became one of the most consequential and controversial figures of the Vilna Ghetto before his execution by the Gestapo in 1943.
THE GENS FAMILY
One Family Across War, Occupation and Exile.
Through the lives of the Gens family, the upheavals of twentieth-century Lithuania become personal: independence, occupation, persecution, survival and exile.
SURVIVOR VOICES
Their History. In Their Own Words.
Firsthand testimony preserves the voices of those who lived through the destruction of Jewish Lithuania, ensuring that memory remains rooted in lived experience.
One Family. A Century of History.
Across generations, the history of one family traces the upheavals that transformed Lithuania—from independence and occupation to survival, exile and the restoration of freedom.
1920s–1930s
A YOUNG REPUBLIC
A Family in Independent Lithuania.
Ada grew up in a newly independent country, surrounded by family, education and the optimism of interwar Lithuania. It was a world that seemed secure—until history overturned it.
1940–1944
OCCUPATION AND GHETTO
A World Torn Apart.
Soviet occupation was followed by Nazi invasion and the destruction of Jewish life across Lithuania. For the Gens family, war brought separation, persecution and impossible choices.
1945–1989
EXILE AND SERVICE
Survival Meant Beginning Again.
After the war, Ada rebuilt her life in Germany, Australia and the United States. In America, decades of public service kept her closely connected to Lithuania and its struggle for freedom.
1990–1992
FREEDOM RESTORED
A Return to a Free Lithuania.
Half a century after Lithuania lost its independence, Ada witnessed its restoration and returned in public service during one of the most consequential moments in the country’s modern history.
More Voices. More Stories.
The history of Jewish Lithuania survives through individual voices, families and acts of memory. These stories preserve lives and experiences that reveal the human reality behind the larger history.
SURVIVOR TESTIMONY
VOICES OF THE VILNA GHETTO
The Ghetto in Their Own Words.
Through survivor testimony, the people of the Vilna Ghetto speak in their own words—preserving memories of family, culture, resistance, loss and survival that no archive alone can recover.
SURVIVOR STORY
LISA NUSSBAUM DERMAN
A Life Remembered.
Through one survivor’s story, the history of a family and a vanished world comes into focus—preserving personal memory within the larger history of Jewish Lithuania.
RESCUE & MEMORY
THE VENCLAUSKAS FAMILY
Courage in Occupied Lithuania.
During the German occupation, the Venclauskas family helped shelter Ada and Elvyra from Nazi persecution. Their story preserves a remarkable legacy of courage, compassion and moral responsibility.
Explore the Stories
Explore biographies, survivor accounts, family histories and research-based stories that illuminate the people and experiences of Jewish Lithuania.
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On This Day…
READ STORY →: On This Day… -
In The News
READ STORY →: In The News -
We Were There
READ STORY →: We Were There -
Happy Birthday, Papa
READ STORY →: Happy Birthday, Papa -
Presidential Interpreter
READ STORY →: Presidential Interpreter -
Historical Timeline
READ STORY →: Historical Timeline
Help Preserve These Stories
Every testimony, photograph and document helps preserve a history that might otherwise disappear. Support the Gens Family Project’s work to research, document and share these stories for future generations.