Jacob Bunka (; 13 July 1923 – 30 July 2014)
[Jakov Bunka Wooden Sculpture Exhibit](_blank)
Lithuanian Jewish Community, 12 July 2018 was a Jewish sculptor, known as the last Jew of
Plungė
Plungė (; Samogitian: ''Plongė''; ) is a city in Lithuania with 17,252 inhabitants. Plunge is the capital of the Plungė District Municipality which has 33,251 inhabitants (2022). Two parts of the city are separated by the Babrungas River and ...
who carved large monumental wooden statues at Holocaust sites in Lithuania.
[Around the Jewish World Lone Jew in Lithuanian Town Spends Life Preserving the Past](_blank)
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) is an international news agency and wire service that primarily covers Judaism- and Jewish-related topics and news. Described as the "Associated Press of the Jewish media", JTA serves Jewish and non-Jewish news ...
, 13 June 2002
Early life
Bunka war born in
Plungė
Plungė (; Samogitian: ''Plongė''; ) is a city in Lithuania with 17,252 inhabitants. Plunge is the capital of the Plungė District Municipality which has 33,251 inhabitants (2022). Two parts of the city are separated by the Babrungas River and ...
in 1923 to a Jewish family, half the town being Jewish in the interwar period. In 1941 Bunka and his family were found themselves in
Siberia
Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...
, where he was recruited into the Red Army.
[Paskutinis Plungės žydas, nustebinęs V. Landsbergį](_blank)
Delfi.lt, Mindaugas Jackevičius, 13 February 2014
World War II
In 1942, Bunka was drafted with his father and brother to the
16th Lithuanian Division (Soviet). Bunka and his father were wounded in battle and recuperated in Zlatoust Hospital. Sent to the Belorussian front, Bunka was attached to the 1452nd Self-propelled Artillery Regiment. He was subsequently attached to the 10th
Don Cossack
Don Cossacks (, ) or Donians (, ), are Cossacks who settled along the middle and lower Don. Historically, they lived within the former Don Cossack Host (, ), which was either an independent or an autonomous democratic republic in present-da ...
regiment, serving in an intelligence role due to his German language skills. Bunka served in the
Battle of Berlin
The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II.
After the Vistula–Od ...
. Bunka's father and brother died in service, while his mother and three sisters survived in Siberia. Following the end of the war Bunka served until 1947 in the
Soviet occupation zone
The Soviet occupation zone in Germany ( or , ; ) was an area of Germany that was occupied by the Soviet Union as a communist area, established as a result of the Potsdam Agreement on 2 August 1945. On 7 October 1949 the German Democratic Republ ...
in the village of
Ahrenshoop
Ahrenshoop is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany on the Fischland-Darß-Zingst peninsula of the Baltic Sea. It used to be a small fishing village, but is today known for its tourism and as a holi ...
.
Bunka was decorated with several medals during his service.
Post war
Bunka returned to Plungė, where following the war there were 138 Jews. In 1950 he married his wife Dalija, a Lithuanian, whom he knew from his childhood. Together they raised three kids, one passing away. The surviving Jewish population of Plungė emigrated over the years, including Bunka's mother and sisters who emigrated to Israel,
until he remained as the last Jew of Plunge.
Bunka was awarded the Knight's cross of the
Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas
The Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas is the Lithuanian Presidential Award which was re-instituted to honour the citizens of Lithuania for outstanding performance in civil and public offices. Foreign nationals may also be awarded this O ...
by Lithuanian president
Valdas Adamkus
Valdas Adamkus (; born Voldemaras Adamkavičius; November 3, 1926) is a Lithuanian politician, diplomat and civil engineer who served as the fifth and seventh president of Lithuania from 1998 to 2003 and again from 2004 to 2009.
Adamku ...
.
The 1995 "Moses in Plateliai" documentary by Rimantas Gruodis is about his life.
Bunka died in 2014, prime minister
Algirdas Butkevičius
Algirdas Butkevičius (born 19 November 1958) is a Lithuanian politician and was Prime Minister of Lithuania, serving between 2012 and 2016. He also served as the Minister of Finance from 2004 to 2005 and the Minister of Transport and Communica ...
expressed his condolences.
Art and memorial sites
In 1986, Bunka initiated the creation of a memorial for the
Plungė massacre
The Plungė massacre (in Yiddish Plungyan – פלונגיאן) was a World War II massacre committed on 13 or 15 July 1941 in the town of Plungė, in Lithuania. Following the anti-Soviet June Uprising in Lithuania and the German invasion as pa ...
near the village of Kaušėnai.
In 2007, the Jakovas Bunka Charity was setup to care for the site. He wrote a memorial
yizkor book
Yizkor books (, plural: , ''Yizkor-bikher'') are memorial books commemorating a Jewish community destroyed during the Holocaust. The books are published by former residents or ''landsmanshaft'' societies as remembrances of homes, people and ways o ...
for Plungė.
Bunka created memorials in at least 10 different mass murder sites in Lithuania, his large wooden sculptures towering above the scene. In addition, Bunka crafted small wooden figurines of figures from the lost Jewish community.
Bunka was unique in that he created Jewish imagery in traditional Lithuanian wood carving.
Jewish cultural heritage in Lithuania
Versus, 2006, page 18 According to Jonas Rudzinskas, chairman of the Union of Lithuanian Folk Artists, " His responsible, sincere attitude towards creative work and unique style set Jakov Bunka apart from others and he joins the ranks of our greatest folk artists who set the development of folk art."
Exhibits
In 2018, Bunka's work was displayed at Lithuanian National UNESCO Commission gallery, to the 95th anniversary of his birth.
References
External links
* ttps://www.visitplunge.com/sightseeing-places/memorial-of-victims-of-the-holocaust-in-kausenai/ Memorial of victims of the Holocaust in Kaušėnai, visitplunge.com
Jakovas Bunka Charity and Sponsorship Fund
Interview with Yankl Bunk (Jacob Bunka) of Plungyan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bunka, Jacob
1923 births
2014 deaths
Lithuanian Jews
Lithuanian sculptors
Knight's Crosses of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas
People from Plungė