Memorial plaque to the synagogues of Palanga

Every year on January 27, the world commemorates International Holocaust Remembrance Day. For the residents of Palanga, this day reminds them of a heartbreaking fact: on June 27 and October 12, 1941, more than 400 residents of our city—hardworking, intelligent, enterprising Jews who loved Palanga and the sea—became victims of the Holocaust. One in eight residents of Palanga at that time was tortured and shot during those two days of horror. And that is not the final number.

On January 26, 2023, another page of history was turned, commemorating the large Jewish community of Palanga, which made a significant contribution to the development of trade, crafts, especially amber processing, and, of course, recreation and resort businesses. A memorial plaque marking the location of the Great and Small Synagogues was unveiled. The memorial plaque is attached to the wall of the shopping center on Vytauto Street, at Senojo turgaus g. 1, Palanga. The memorial plaque, written in four languages – Lithuanian, English, Hebrew, and Yiddish – indicates that a Jewish house of prayer once stood on this site: the Great Synagogue, built in 1880, and the Small Synagogue, built in 1900.