Pope Francis on Sunday paid homage to Holocaust victims who perished in the Vilnius ghetto, 75 years to the day after the Nazis liquidated it, and remembered those who risked and lost their lives to challenge the Soviet regime in Lithuania. Pre-war Lithuania was home to a thriving Jewish community of more than 200,000 people known as "Litvaks", with its capital Vilnius a hub of learning known as the "Jerusalem of the North".



More...