Davidovskis Samuelis

On 20 May 1922, Simonas and Malka Davidovskis welcomed their son Samuelis. He supported himself during the final years of the gymnasium by giving private lessons. The additional workload did not stop this talented young man from passing his gymnasium graduation examinations with the highest grades. He finished the coeducational private Jewish gymnasium of Ch. Epstein and I. Speizer in Vilnius with Polish as the language of instruction. Although Samuel was very good at a number of subjects, he was attracted by the exact sciences and chemistry in particular. Thus it was not a surprise that in 1940 he made up his mind to study chemistry in the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences of Vilnius University and was admitted that same year. It is not clear why at the beginning of his studies he moved from his parents’ house on Pylimo Street to Lvovo Street. What is known is that in January of 1941 he visited his father in the Belarusian Socialist Republic, but soon returned and continued his studies in February. However, he did not finish his studies because on 19 September 1941 he, like many other Jewish students, was expelled from the Chemistry Department in the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences of Vilnius University on the basis of the Order of 17 September 1941 of the Higher Education Department of the Board of Education, which was subordinate to the Nazis. Samuelis Davidovskis was killed during the Holocaust. His death was verified by his father, a Holocaust survivor.

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