Kleyn

Relationship Family/ Pre-Marriage Name First Name Father’s Name Mother’s Name Occupation or Nickname Place of birth/ Residence Age or birth date Place and date of death
Husband Kleyn Zusa Baker in a bakery Shkud 69 Shkud, July 1941
Wife Kleyn Ester Housewife Shkud 65 Alka Hill
Son Kleyn Zusa Ester Shkud, Paris 32 Paris, France
Daughter Kleyn Merl Zusa Ester Shkud, Paris 30 Paris, France
p. 78
Daughter Kleyn Sheyna Zusa Ester Shkud, Paris 27 Paris, France
Son Kleyn Zusa Ester Shkud 25 Shkud
Son Kleyn Zusa Ester Mentally ill Shkud 23 Shkud
Daughter Kleyn Zusa Ester Mentally ill Shkud 21 Alka Hill
***
Kleyn Chaim And family Shkud Shkud
***
Husband Kleyn Yakov Odd jobs. “Yanke the Hunchback” – tattletale Shkud 45 Shkud
Wife Kleyn Etl Shkud 40 Alka Hill
***

According to Hana Shaf-Brener, Zusa Kleyn, a baker, age 69, was married to Ester. The couple had six adult children: two daughters, Merl and Sheyna, a daughter whose name we do not know, and three sons whose names we do not know. The three older children – a son and the two daughters Merl and Sheyna – emigrated to Paris. The two youngest children, a son and daughter, were “mentally ill.”

Chaim Kleyn and his family also lived in Shkud.

A third family, Yakov Kleyn and his wife Etl, lived in Shkud. Yakov seems to have been a colourful character. Known as “Yanke the Hunchback,” he did odd jobs for a living and was considered a tattletale. Aaron Malkinson recalls, “I remember there was one Jewish informer who was a hunchback and was called “Yanke der Heiker.” He used to make a living by reporting Jewish smugglers to the police. He got many hidings, but somehow managed to survive” (“My Shtetl Shkud 18; see link on this page).

Jewish Gen’s Lithuania Tax and Voters Lists database lists members of the Kleyn family in Skuodas from at least 1877. A Zusman Kleyn appears, but he is too old to be the Zusa Kleyn above; perhaps an uncle or maybe a grandfather?

Jewish Gen’s Lithuania Deaths database tells us that in 1931, Rivke Leya Kleyn, daughter of Chaim Kleyn and his wife Mere (nee Yozef) died in Skuodas, aged 33. Mere herself died in 1936, aged 61. Chaim and Zusa appear to have been about the same age – perhaps they were brothers, or maybe cousins.

The document “Jews in the Memory of Skuodas People” (see link on this site) tells us that Chaim Klayn was a dealer in household goods; his business was on Vilniaus Street (19).

Kehilat Shkud provides a photo of a Kleyn daughter: Merl or Sheyna? Did the Kleyns who moved to Paris survive?

18 HaNoar “Ha’Noar” association in Shkud, 20 Sivan, 5695 (June 21, 1935)

Bottom row (right to left): Yitzhak Aibel, Yechezkel Yudelman (now in the USA), Shoshana Yudelman (now in the USA), Benjamin Shtiris, Mira Chatzkel, Sarah Fil (now in the USA), Abraham Yorburski.
Second row: Leah Mines, Shlomo London, Chaya Sheindling Mevezis (now in Israel), Mendel Baskind (now in South Africa), Liba Shaf, Shraga Perlgeber (now in Israel), Miriam Savel, Alexander Pinta (now in Israel), Yeshayahu Fogelman.
Third row: Liba Tov, Leah Perlgeber, Yehudit EIsen Halpern (now in Israel), Mendel Segal, Roda Chin, Sarah Reif Piotrkowski (now in Israel), Tova Levin, Miriam Katz Gelfand (now in Israel), Liba Horvitz, Pesia Dorfman, Mane Yudelman (now in South Africa).
Fourth row: Eliezer Baskind (now in South Africa), Leib Friedman (now in South Africa), Klein (now in France), Feiga Hadasin (now in South Africa), Mina Cohen, Rosa Axelrod, Abraham Tenor (now in South Africa), Temma Meller (now in Canada) (Kehilat Shkud 18)

Yad Vashem has this to say about the Kleyn family of Shkud:

Chaim Klein was born in Skodas, Lithuania to Zusel and Riva nee Manochovitz. He was married to Miriam. Prior to WWII he lived in Skodas, Lithuania. During the war he was in Skodas, Lithuania. Chaim was murdered/perished in Lithuania. This information is based on a Page of Testimony submitted by his cousin (http://db.yadvashem.org/names/nameDetails.html?itemId=8128995&language=en)

Miriam Klein was born in Skodas, Lithuania. She was married to Chaim. Prior to WWII she lived in Skodas, Lithuania. During the war she was in Skodas, Lithuania. Miriam was murdered/perished in Lithuania. This information is based on a Page of Testimony submitted by her relative (http://db.yadvashem.org/names/nameDetails.html?itemId=8128996&language=en)

Berel Klein was born in Skodas, Lithuania to Chaim and Miriam. Prior to WWII he lived in Skodas, Lithuania. During the war he was in Skodas, Lithuania. Berel was murdered/perished in Lithuania. This information is based on a Page of Testimony submitted by his cousin (http://db.yadvashem.org/names/nameDetails.html?itemId=8128997&language=en)

Yankel Klein was born in Skodas, Lithuania to Chaim and Miriam. Prior to WWII he lived in Skodas, Lithuania. During the war he was in Skodas, Lithuania. Yankel was murdered/perished in Lithuania. This information is based on a Page of Testimony submitted by his cousin (http://db.yadvashem.org/names/nameDetails.html?itemId=8128998&language=en)