This April, 70 years since the Nazi invasion on Lithuania destroyed the 800-year connection of the country with the Jewish people, a $50 million package was passed to compensate Jewish families whose property was stolen during the Holocaust, according to a report by JTA.
Though Jewish groups call the move a milestone for Lithuanian-Jewish relations, some say Lithuania has never taken responsibility for its role in the Holocaust.
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Before World War II, the Lithuanian Jewish population was approximately 160,000, about 7% of the total population with Vilna’s population of nearly 100,000, comprising about 45% of the city’s total population.
Today, only about 3,000 Jews live in Lithuania.
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