Anna Klinitskaya with her husband and Edvardas Gurvichus

This is my cousin Anna Klinitskaya with her husband and my son Edvardas Gurvichus. The picture was made in 1954 on Klinitskiy's 50th birthday party in their house in Vilnius.

My cousin Anna and her husband were lucky to run away from Germans in June 1941 [Great Patriotic War] and stayed in evacuation. There they organized a Lithuanian music band, where Anna's husband was a leader. After war they came back to Lithuania and settled in Vilnius. Klinitskiy became a rather popular compose and their family was rather well-to-do. Anna did not have children. She died in Vilnius in 1995.

At the beginning of 1947 I gave birth to a son, whom I named Edvardas. My son was a wonderful, clever and obedient boy. He went to the kindergarten. He was loved by everybody. My cousin Anna and her husband Klinitskiy loved my sonny very much, they helped me as well.

Edvardas made me happy with his good marks. There were a lot of mixed marriages at Russian school, where he went to, so children felt not anti-Semitism. He chose my nationality when he turned sixteen and came to get a passport. His choice was to be a Jew, though he knew his father and saw him rather often. Eldargas entered Vilnius affiliate of Kaunas Polytechnic institute, Television and Radio Department. Upon graduation he was drafted in the army and served in radiolocation as an officer. It incurred some negative consequences for our family. When I was anxious to leave for Israel, we understood that he would not get a permit as he had an access to secretive military information, which life term would last for thirty years. He had never wanted to emigrate from Lithuania.

My son recently got married. His wife, a Lithuanian lady Lima, is a very good woman. She came of a family of former underground. She has a very good attitude towards the Jews. My son has two children. The eldest Thomas is 21. Having finished school he went to Dublin. There Thomas found a job. He is trying to succeed on is own. Younger Julia was born in 1987. Julia has arts talent of her grandfather Augustinas. She is finishing school this year and going to enter Arts Academy. I helped my son raise grandchildren. They love me very much. Though Lithuanian nationality is written in their records, all of them, especially Julia is interested in the past and often asks me about prewar history of our family.