Sara Ginaite-Rubinson
Sara Ginaite-Rubinson was born in Kaunas, Lithuania in 1924 during the first presence of Hitler’s reign in Germany. She was the youngest born into a well-educated family. Her father studied Engineering in France and her older sister attended higher education in Belgium. As the Third Reich gained power in 1933,
Sara recalls Jewish parents withdrawing their children from private schools. Her family followed suit as they attempted to enroll her into Lithuanian schools. Despite her nationality, she was not accepted because of her lack of proficiency in the language. Instead, she entered a school designated for the “Jewish” children in the surrounding area.
Sara’s daily life was immediately affected in 1940 when the Soviet Union invaded Lithuania. Soon afterwards, they occupied the territory. Following this, numerous racial restrictions were implemented. Jewish owned businesses, including Sara’s father’s, were liquidated with their money devalued and Jewish schools were closed. In August of 1941, the Germans exerted full control over the country, forcing Sara and her family to be transported to a nearby ghetto in the town of Kaunas.
Soon, the ghettos were closed down and the Nazis began organized executions of the innocent civilians who resided in them. With great luck, her family was not chosen by the guards and were able to leave the ghetto. While they were evacuating the area, Sara witnessed around 9,200 individuals being marched up to the Ninth Fort. This incident inspired her to join the resistance against the Third Reich.
In the spring of 1942, she participated in directing military operations with the Anti-Fascist Fighting Organization centered in Kaunas. A photo was taken by a Jewish Soviet photojournalist during her participation in the Anti-Fascist Fighting Organization in Lithuania. Published on the cover of Soviet newspapers, Sara became the “it girl” for anti-fascist Soviet partisan war efforts. The journalist allowed her identity to remain anonymous to the public. Therefore, the supporting citizens were not aware they were supporting a Jewish individual. It created the image of her into an immortalized symbol of the normalized warfare that defeated Nazi Germany. This group was liberated by the Soviet army in July of 1944.
After the end of WWII, Sara continued to reside in Lithuania with her husband. She pursued an Economics degree and later was hired as a professor of Political Economy at a local university. She immigrated to Canada with her daughters after her husband passed away, transferring to York University to continue her teaching career. Later, she published a book revolving around her during the Holocaust titled, Resistance and Survival: The Jewish Community in Kaunas. Sara died on April 2nd, 2018.
Written by Emma Rieser