JONISKELIS
Yanishkel (Joniskelis) (56 02', 24 10' Panevezys district Kaunas area) was located near the Latvian border and a small railway connected her with the cities of Birzh (Birzai),Siauliai, and later also to Ponevezh (Panevezys). About seventy Jewish families lived in Yanishkel (Joniskelis), most of them merchants, or small storekeepers. They were also craftsmen like tailors or shoemakers. Before the WWI, the Jewish population was much larger, but most of them immigrated to the United States and South Africa.
In 1915, the local Jews were deported deep into Russia. In 1918, when Lithuania became an independent state, most of the Jews returned to Yanishkel (Joniskelis), but not all of them until 1920-22. The Jews of Yanishkel (Joniskelis), together with the Jews of Vabolnik (Vabalninkas), Vashki (Vaskai), and Posvol (Pasvalys), were killed on August 26, 1944, in the forest of Zadeik near Posvol (Pasvalys).
