Born: 6 January 1894 (Akmenė, Lithuania)
Died: 17 January 1970 (outside of Paris)
Ona Šimaitė (6 January 1894 – 17 January 1970) was a Lithuanian librarian at Vilnius University who used her position to aid and rescue Jews in the Vilna Ghetto during World War II. She is recognized as a Righteous Among the Nations.
Born in Akmenė, Lithuania on 6 January 1894, Šimaitė was later educated in Moscow. She became a librarian at Vilnius University in 1940. However, in 1941, the Nazis invaded Lithuania and created the Vilna Ghetto. It was during this time that Šimaitė’s bravery and compassion came to the fore.
Under the pretext of recovering library books from Jewish university students, Šimaitė began entering the ghetto. Over the next three years, she risked her life to smuggle small arms, food, and other provisions into the ghetto. She was aided by Kazys Boruta and others in her efforts. Additionally, she smuggled out literary and historical documents for the Paper Brigade, a group dedicated to preserving Jewish cultural artifacts.
Šimaitė also served as a mail carrier for ghetto inhabitants, connecting them with the outside world and providing a vital lifeline of communication. She searched for people who would forge documents for Jews, offering them a chance at survival. Furthermore, she opened her own home as a temporary refuge for Jews and smuggled Jewish children out of the ghetto, placing them with families willing to hide them.
In April 1944, the Gestapo arrested Šimaitė and subjected her to torture. However, a ransom paid by the university rector kept her from immediate execution. She was then deported to Dachau concentration camp in Germany, and later transferred to an internment camp in Ludelange, France.
After the camp was liberated by the Allies, Šimaitė remained in France and worked as a librarian. She spent a period from 1953 to 1956 in Israel. On 15 March 1966, she was recognized by the Israeli organization Yad Vashem as a Righteous Among the Nations. In her honor, a tree was planted by Yad Vashem.
Šimaitė passed away outside of Paris on 17 January 1970, and per her request, her body was donated to science. In 2015, Vilnius unveiled Lithuania’s first street named in honor of a Righteous Among the Nations, and it was named Šimaitės Street after her.
Awards:
– Righteous Among the Nations, recognized by Yad Vashem in 1966.