Or, shall it be said, that 90 percent of the Jews had been murdered. Vilnius' Jewish population today is 5,000, a mere five percent of what it once was. The country is home to but 6,500 Jews, some 200 of whom are Holocaust survivors. Most of the two hundred pre-war communities were decimated, wiped off the map entirely. There is only one Jewish newspaper.
Few people speak Yiddish anymore.
Today, there remains exactly one synagogue in Vilnius. Jews have lived in Lithuania since the 14th century. They came at the invitation of the Grand Dukes Augustus II and Augustus III, who had recognised the utility of the merchants, artisans, and traders as an integral component in the development of the nation. Jews also played important roles in diplomatic missions and defense. Over the centuries, however, the Jewish community rode a volatile rollercoaster of turmoil and peace.