Around 120 children and 25 adults survived the Holocaust in Lithuania due to the direct intervention of Bronislovas Paukštys. A Roman Catholic priest and Salesian of Don Bosco, he utilized his clerical position to forge identity documents and secure clandestine shelter, activities that eventually led to his arrest and imprisonment within the Soviet Gulag system after World War II.
Early Career and Education
Born in 1897 in Kurynė, Paukštys began his career as a teacher after completing training in Kaunas in 1918. He instructed students in primary schools at Švediškiai and Jankai. By 1925, he joined the Salesians of Don Bosco, traveling to Italy to undergo religious and philosophical training. He attended the Valsalice Salesian High School in Turin, where he deepened his theological studies. During his time in Italy, he also contributed to the publication Saleziečių žinios before his ordination as a priest in July 1935.
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Upon his return to Lithuania in 1937, Paukštys managed the Salesian center in Vytėnai, currently known as Pilis I, while teaching literature and language. His assignments took him to Saldutiškis and the Church of the Holy Trinity in Kaunas. During his tenure as rector of St. Michael the Archangel Church from 1940 to 1942, and later as dean of the Holy Trinity Parish, he balanced his ecclesiastical responsibilities with humanitarian efforts under German occupation.
Humanitarian Rescue Operations
Paukštys focused his rescue efforts on providing forged birth certificates and baptismal records to individuals fleeing the Kovno Ghetto. He provided temporary sanctuary within his office and church buildings, later coordinating transport for refugees to rural farms in Suvalkija. According to his personal correspondence from 1963, he evaded the Gestapo three times while spending thousands of Reichsmarks to assist approximately 200 people. His brother, Juozas, provided essential support in these operations.
Soviet Imprisonment and Final Years
In August 1946, the Soviet NKVD detained Paukštys on charges related to assisting Lithuanian partisans. His sentence included ten years of forced labor in the Gulag, where he worked as a stone crusher, significantly impacting his physical health. Following his release in 1956, he resided briefly in Alytus. His vocal opposition to Soviet authorities necessitated periods of hiding. He eventually served as a vicar in Simnas starting in 1964 until his death in Kaunas in 1966, after which he was buried in Sutkai.
Fast facts
- Born: 1897, Kurynė
- Died: 1966, Kaunas
- Religion: Latin Church
- Occupation: Priest
- Citizenship: Lithuania
- Righteous Among the Nations: 1977
- Buried: Sutkai
- Languages: Lithuanian
Questions readers ask
What specific actions did Paukštys take to save people?
He forged baptismal and birth records and sheltered individuals in church buildings before relocating them to farms.
Why was Paukštys imprisoned after the war?
He was arrested by the Soviet NKVD in 1946, accused of supporting anti-Soviet Lithuanian partisans.
Achievements
- Righteous Among the Nations — 1977
- Worked as priest
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