Lithuania

The Holocaust took the lives of more than 90% of Lithuania’s Jews. Pre World War II, Vilnius' Jewish population was nearly 100,000, about 45% of the city's total. There were around 200 Jewish communities across the country, sustaining the lives and livelihoods of about 240,000 people. The post-war numbers are horrifying: Only 24,000 Jews survived. By the time of the Soviet Union’s collapse, Jewish communal life in Lithuania had been almost completely annihilated. Lithuania’s Jewish community has experienced an extraordinary recovery since the fall of the Soviet Union, with an estimated population today of 6,000 (5,000 of whom live in Vilnius, a mere 5% of what the population once was). Still, there remains a great need for support for community building to ensure a permanent return to Lithuania’s proud history as a Jewish cultural hub.

The declining economic health of the Baltic region has significantly increased the need for welfare services, particularly among impoverished elderly (many of them Holocaust survivors) and at-risk children.