The Lost Shtetl Museum of Šeduva Jewish History

The Lost Shtetl Museum in Šeduva, Lithuania, invites visitors to discover the vanished world of the Lithuanian shtetl — a once-thriving Jewish civilization that shaped the cultural identity of Lithuania and Eastern Europe for centuries. Through photographs, artefacts, maps, multimedia installations, and video testimonies from descendants of Šeduva’s Jewish community, the museum exhibition recreates the everyday life, traditions, and aspirations of the Jews who lived in Šeduva before the Holocaust.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the Lost Shtetl Museum took place in May 2018. The Lost Shtetl Museum was initiated and established by the YouthAid Foundation, a Switzerland-based philanthropic organization. The YouthAid Foundation has constructed, funded, and overseen the museum’s development from the very beginning through a separate legal entity established in Lithuania — the non-profit organisation “The Lost Shtetl – Museum of Šeduva Jewish History.”

Developed by Lithuanian curators together with leading international scholars and experts, the exhibition is grounded in academic research and authentic personal stories. It presents the voices of ordinary people whose lives and communities were destroyed during the Holocaust, honoring the memory of nearly 700 Jews murdered in the forests of Liaudiškiai and Pakuteniai in August 1941, as well as the wider Lithuanian Jewish community.

The museum complex also includes the restored Old Jewish Cemetery, where more than 800 surviving gravestones preserve centuries of local Jewish history. In the former marketplace at the centre of Šeduva, the sculpture “The Girl” commemorates the town’s lost Jewish community, while a monument in the former synagogue square marks the site of the destroyed synagogues. Beyond the town, memorials in the forests of Liaudiškiai and Pakuteniai mark the sites where the Jews of Šeduva were murdered during the Holocaust.

Surrounding the museum is The Memorial Park, inspired by the “Last Journey” of Šeduva’s Jews to their execution sites. Designed by Enea Landscape Architecture, the park features native trees, flowering meadows, wetlands, and orchards, creating a contemplative landscape dedicated to memory, reflection, and resilience.

Opening hours: Every day except Monday, 10:00–18:00. Individual visits, guided tours, and educational programmes for groups can be booked through the website.