Shalechet: Zagare Once was Home

Zagare, a small town in Lithuania was once famous for its Jewish culture, civilization and esteemed learning; its inhabitants known as 'Chachmei Zagare' (the Wise People of Zagare). Not a single Jew now remains.

Shalechet: There Once Was a Home, a memoir by Solomon Fedler recalls daily life where Lithuanians lived alongside a thriving Jewish population. It tracks the journey of a poor Jewish boy, born in Zagare at the turn of the century, who loses his mother and younger brothers, and is raised with the righteous devotion of his father. Exposed to life-altering misfortunes and exiled into Russia in 1915 with his father and grandparents, he returns only to fall in love with Chaya, a young seamstress who longs to be a poet.

In 1926, Solomon makes the difficult decision to board a boat for South Africa, leaving his father behind. He arrives penniless and without any English but slowly begins the life of an immigrant in a new land. In 1941, all family members left behind in Eastern Europe are murdered by the Nazi's and local collaborators. Solomon goes on to have a family, build a printing business and lose the love of his life, Chaya just as his youngest son turns thirteen.

This story of hardship, conviction and courage is one of the only accounts of Jewish life in a shtetl before it was extinguished by two wars. It is also a tale of the twists of fate and destiny wrought by a hidden letter, a bribe on a train at a border, sacrifices by a father, final goodbyes, tragic deaths and enduring faith through tumultuous times. It is the portrait of an ordinary man of extraordinary humanity, honour and character.