The Blum and Lubecky Families of Olite



THE BLUM AND LUBECKY FAMILIES OF OLITE date unknown

The above is a photograph of the Blum (Bliumas) and their neighbors, the Lubeckys of Olite (now Alytus), Lithuania. Pictured left to right, front row: Feige Blum (nee Epstein), the youngest daughter, Shulamit (behind her), ???ese Lubecky, Roma Lubecky, Kusiel Lubecky and on the far right, Sore-Cine Lubecky. Pictured left to right, back row: Meilach Blum, Misha Lubecky, Chane-Mire Blum, the oldest Blum daughter, the nephew of Lubecky Larry, and ? Lubecky. All of those pictured in the above photograph were murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust.



FAYGE EPSTEIN BLUM AND HER DAUGHTERS date unknown		KUSIEL LUBECKY AND HIS FAMILY IN OLITE early 1900s

From Howard V. Epstein re "Fayge Epstein Blum and her Daughters": Our first cousins, z"l, daughters of our Aunt Fayge, oldest sister of our Epstein parent, and their father Uncle Elimelech (Max) Blum. The cousin's names were Chana Miriam; Shulamit; Rachele and Chayele. Re "Kusiel Lubecky and his Family in Olite": Left to right: my father Kusiel, his youngest brother Shmuel, his youngest sister Tzipora, with their oldest sister Fayge. Photo taken at the M. Abramowich studio in Olite (Alytus).



THE BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTERS OF FAYGE AND ELIMELECH BLUM

Pictured above: Chana Miriam (left); Shulamis (center, front); Rachele (center, back); Chayele (right).

From Howard V. Epstein: "The Jews of Olite (Alytus) were all marched into the forest outside the shtetl. And on the first Sunday of September 1941 they were all murdered. And thus my Aunt Fayge, Uncle Elimelech Blum and their daughters were among those killed. Aunt Fayge was the oldest sibling of my father's Epstein family. This Blum family as the other Jews of Olite refused to leave Lithuania despite efforts of my father and his brother. About one hundred and twenty Jews were killed on that day. Their bodies were left for years where they died. Finally when the Baltic States declared their independence when the Russians left, honor was given to their remains by being placed in a memorial among the trees of the forest--all that remained of th bodies were placed in nine mass graves under silver pyramids. The entrance to the forest memorial of tears is a huge "broken" Mogen David. And thus my Lithuanian family is always in our memories. MAY THEIR MEMORIES ALWAYS BE FOR A BLESSING!