United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Irena Veisaite, born on January 9, 1928 in Kaunas, Lithuania. Following her parents divorce in 1938, she lived with her mother in Kaunas. Irena attended a Yiddish school. Plans were made for Irena to escape to Helsinki but the day she was supposed to leave, the war started in Poland. I June 1941, the Germans invaded. Irena’s mother was arrested while recovering from kidney surgery and imprisoned. It is believed she was executed in mid-July 1941. In August 1941, Irena, her grandparents and an aunt were imprisoned in the Kovno ghetto. With the help of family friends, the Strimaitis family, Irena escaped the ghetto and survived the war in hiding.
folder 1
The Irena Veisaite photograph collection is arranged in a single series.
The Irena Veisaite photograph collection consists of two photographs related to the Kovno Ghetto. One photograph is a photograph of Margaret Kagan, Irena Veisaite's cousin, was taken in the Kovno Ghetto in 1943. A Star of David patch is visible on left lapel of her jacket The second photograph is a photograph of Moses Braun, the director of the Jewish Hospital in the Kovno Ghetto, taken after the war, circa 1945-1949.
Irena Veisaite photograph collection