ORT Kaunas vocational school teachers: standing third from left, teacher Nechama
Garonaitė. Photograph taken before 1936. Judith Rozina’s personal archive.
Riva Pažerskaitė-Altfeldienė, founder (in 1929),
manager and teacher at the women‘s-clothing
cutting and tailoring department. Daughter Judith
Rozina’s personal archive.
Teacher Eiga Rozengolcaitė. LCVA. Graduating
from Vytautas Magnus University, Rozengolcaitė
taught anatomy and hygiene at the dressmaking
section. She also headed a six-month course for
hairstylists that was opened in 1935.
Teacher Vladas Jocius, 1928. LCVA. A humanities
faculty graduate from Vytautas Magnus University,
he taught Lithuanian at the ORT school from 1931.
Teacher Raichė Blumbergaitė-Bandienė, 1927.
LCVA. Graduated from the humanities faculty of
Vytautas Magnus University in 1936. From 1935
she taught Lithuanian and Yiddish, history, social
science and economics, mathematics and calculus
at the ORT vocational school.
Teacher Jokūbas Rabinavičius, 1924. LCVA. In
1930 he completed his studies at the technical
faculty at Vytautas Magnus University; taught
technical drawing and metalworking at the ORT
school from 1931. In 1932 he taught practical
electrical engineering at the course for electricians.
Junior teacher Juozas Soloveičikas, 1926. LCVA.
Graduated from the mathematics and natural
sciences faculty at Vytautas Magnus University,
and the College of Aeronautics in Paris. Started
work at the ORT school on 1 October 1937. In
1937–1938 he taught the science of engines,
technology, and technical drawing.
Teacher Izraelis Kušelevičius, 1929. LCVA. In
1913–1914 Kušelevičius studied at Bern, and in
1918–1919 at Voronezh universities; in 1929
graduated from Vytautas Magnus University. At the
ORT school he taught Yiddish, mathematics and
geometry from 1921. He was one of the longest
serving teachers at the school.
The vocational school’s teachers: excellent specialists in
their field
The vocational secondary school was the pride of ORT, while the
pride of the school was its teaching staff. In 1939, sixteen teachers
and fourteen instructors worked at the school. Many of them had
graduated from Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas, some from
foreign universities.
Jacob Oleiski (born 1899) was the school principal from 1929. In
1925 he graduated from the faculty of agronomy at Halle
University; in 1927, from the faculty of chemistry at the same
university. Before becoming the school principal, in 1928 and 1929
he headed the Jewish school of agriculture. Besides being its
principal, he also taught metal technology (at the metalworking
section), metal plating (electrical engineering section), and theory
of fabrics (at the dressmaking section).
Teacher Levi Chaimas Jofė was educated at Zurich University,
while engineer Šleima Lipšicas completed his studies in mechanics
in 1932 and electrical engineering in 1933 at Ghent University.
Having worked for some factories in Belgium, Lipšicas returned to
Lithuania and in 1936 started work as the head of ORT’s
vocational school workshops and as a teacher. Jofė gave lectures at
the course for tinsmiths, where he also taught technical drawing.
ON LEVI CHAIMAS JOFĖ
“Professor Jofė, a kind, shy man, taught us physics. He
achieved everything with kindness and incredible goodness.
He never raised his voice, spoke softly, but he knew how to
explain the not-so-easy subjects so well that we listened to
his explanations with great interest.”
ON RABINAVIČIUS AND NOMBERGAS
“Qualified engineers Jokūbas Rabinavičius and Izraelis
Nombergas taught us the basics of electrical engineering
and mechanics with great persistence and consistency.
These two fine specialists managed to assemble and put
into operation with the help of the students an autonomous
electric power station that generated enough power for the
needs of the school.”
ON VLADAS JOCIUS
“Among the school teachers there was a teacher of
Lithuanian, Jocius. Being Lithuanian, he managed to grow
into the Jewish atmosphere. Educated and well behaved,
Jocius knew the specific surroundings and behaved
respectively. He looked upon us with respect, and we
respected him. He was a very good teacher.”
ON MEILACHAS KORNAS, JOKŪBAS and IZRAELIS BER
ZNICKIS
“It is worthwhile to say several words about our teachers of
practical disciplines. They were not engineers with diplomas,
not long ago they themselves were students of the ORT
vocational school, were among the first school graduates. Jacob
Oleiski, with his remarkable insight, noticed their pedagogical
talents and gave them the chance to develop them. Among the
teachers there was a highly qualified milling machine operator,
Meilachas Kornas, who was also an accomplished turner and
taught us the subject. The Berznickis brothers, Jokūbas and
Izraelis, were also good specialists and teachers. Jokūbas, who
taught blacksmith’s work, spoke very little and was quite
special. He had his own teaching system. Having told us several
theoretical things, he proceeded to practice. First he would do,
very consistently, everything himself, and then make us repeat
it. For him it was simple and easy; for us it was very
complicated.”
ON IZRAELIS KUŠELEVIČIUS
“I myself most of all respected our class master, teacher of
mathematics and literature Kušelevičius. ... Without doubt he
was the best teacher, a great patriot of his people, in love with
the profession of a teacher. ... There was no noise during his
lessons; we were silent as we all listened to the teacher with
great attention, to his unexpected insights into well known
books by Russian, Jewish and Lithuanian writers.”
W. Vilensky.
“Twists of fate: A Book of Memoirs”.
Jerusalem,1986
A student’s perspective
CV of Bencijonas Levinas, metalworking teacher and a
graduate of the same vocational school,
1932. LCVA
Jacob Oleiski’s application requesting a summer vacation,
30 July 1932. LCVA