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ARTIFACTS
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MORAL CHOICES
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Historical Artifacts

Quote: Rudashevski captured the cultural blossoming that took place.
Rudashevski and the Quiet Period

Scholar text by Amy Simon

Two pages from the diary of a young man
Diary of Yitskhok Rudashevski

Vilna Ghetto, 1941-43. Diary of Yitskhok Rudashevski

Library card. White stock printed with black ink. Fillable entries on top and, right below, 3 columns. Handwritten with blue or black ink through the columns.
Pages from the diary of Gabik Heller

Vilna Ghetto, 1943. Handwritten diary on library cards

A drawing with children dancing in front of a field and sunset with an inscription in Polish
Rosh Hashanah album made by children of the Łódź Ghetto

Łódź, Poland, Circa 1941. Children of the Łódź Ghetto

Document from the Judenrat to the criminal police. Typed on white paper.
Accusation of Having Double Food Cards

Vilna Ghetto, 1942. Various documents.

Document typed in black ink on white paper. Left side in german and right side in Yiddish. Signature from issuer on both sides.
Trade School Certificate

Vilna Ghetto, 1943. School Certificate.

Handwritten letter in Yiddish. Blue ink on white paper with lines.
Music Theory Courses

Vilna Ghetto, 1942. Handwritten letter

Typed document in black ink on white paper. Yiddish, rectangular fomat, vertical.
Painting Competition Minutes

Vilna Ghetto, 1942. Document.

1 page containing a watercolor drawing of a domed stone house (of the “Rachel’s Tomb” design) in beige, in a desert setting with three palm trees (brown trunk and green leaves), a man leading a Bactrian (two-humped) camel in the back (all black), and a rising sun (yellow and orange over blue sky with a few white clouds). Lower right hand corner is torn off, with some missing text and image. Handwritten text on the bottom.
Hanukkah Presentation Poster

Vilna Ghetto, 1942. Watercolor poster.

Document typed in black ink on white paper. Yiddish, rectangular paper format, vertical orientation.
“Yung Vilne” Introductory Speech

Vilna Ghetto, 1942. Document.

Typed document in Yiddish. Black ink on white paper. Signature in green ink on the bottom. Rectangular shape, landscape orientation.
Ordinance to Not Wear Overcoats

Vilna Ghetto, 1943. Document.

Typed document in Yiddish. Black ink on white paper. Signature in green ink on the bottom. Rectangular shape, landscape orientation. Torn on upper left side.
Ordinance Forbidding Handshakes

Vilna Ghetto, 1943. Document.

Document typed in black ink on white paper. Yiddish, rectangular paper format, vertical orientation.
Concert Program

Vilna Ghetto, 1943. Program

Notepad page, rectangular shape, vertical orientation. Handwritten in Yiddish. Blue ink on white paper.
Page from Ghetto Notes by Shmerke Kaczerginski

Vilna Ghetto, 1943. Handwritten notepad

Typed document in Yiddish. Black ink on white paper. Table with 3 columns and several rows.
Ghetto Court Report

Vilna Ghetto, 1941-1942. Document

Chart hand drawn in black ink on white paper. Rectangular shape, landscape orientation. On the top there are four circles, one on top of the other, with Yiddish writing inside them. Then a rectangle below the 4th circle, also with writing in Yiddish, with 2 circles and 4 rectangles connecting to it below. Each rectangle has 2 or 4 circles connected below them. All shapes have writings in Yiddish inside them.
Diagram of the Vilna Ghetto Cultural Division

Vilna Ghetto, undated. Hand-drawn chart

Photo of a wall with several inscriptions carved on it.
Prison Wall Writing

Vilna Ghetto, undated. Photograph

Document typed in Yiddish. Black ink on white paper. Rectangular format, vertical orientation.
In the Ghetto It Is Forbidden to Give Birth

Vilna Ghetto, undated. Document

Rectangular page in vertical orientation. Handwritten in German, black ink on white paper.
Order Against Bringing Wood and Food into Ghetto

Vilna Ghetto, undated. Handwritten notice

Printed food ration card. Black ink on white paper. Rectangular format with landscape orientation. Middle column with fillable entries and expiration date. Several small coupons on both sides for food products - bread, sugar, salt, potato, etc. In German.
Food Ration Card

Vilna Ghetto, 1943. Document

poem by Avrom Sutzkever written in the vilna ghetto.
“The Lead Plates of the Rom Printers”

Vilna Ghetto, circa 1944. Poem and poem reading by Avrom Sutzkever.

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Moral Choices

In this section we propose questions to reflect on the moral choices made by individuals as they were going through extenuating circumstances.

Is the collapse of a person’s morals inevitable in a terrible situation?

Animation based on an entry of Yitskhok Rudashevski’s diary.

Why does one person choose to remain true to their principles during impossible circumstances, while another might choose to set aside their morals so that they can survive or benefit from dishonest or amoral acts?

The Quiet Period

After the many aktions in the Vilna Ghetto in 1941, only half of the ghetto’s initial population remained. Life then gradually became “normalized.” Little by little, Jews began to build a life within the ghetto. There were gatherings, schools, a library…all happening under the shadow of repression and terror from the Nazi regime. The German goal was not only to exterminate the Jewish people, but to kill Jewish culture altogether. Resistance through maintaining Jewish culture was another way to fight Nazi tyranny. Rudashevski chronicles many such acts of resistance in his diary, which we can see below by way of different experiences.

This experience will take approximately 25 minutes
info
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What was happening in the world?

In this section you will find headlines of newspapers showing what was happening in the world at the same time that we tell Yitskhok Rudashevski’s story, following the chapter’s timeline.

1941

newspaper clippings

Brooklyn Eagle, June 23rd, 1941. Courtesy of the Brooklyn Public Library.

newspaper clippings

The Daily Worker, June 30th, 1941.
Source: Marxists Internet Archive.

newspaper clippings

New York Times, December 9th, 1941. Courtesy of The New York Times.

1942

newspaper clippings

New York Times, May 16th, 1942. Courtesy of The New York Times.

1942
1942
Wannsee Conference held to discuss the “Final Solution”
Environment

Environment

This section presents the atmosphere of the ghetto, which was decidedly grim. Even if they survived German oppression, their lives would never be the same.

Collage

Culture and Relationships

This section focuses on youth activities and the cultural resistance practiced by ghetto inhabitants.

Moral and Ethical Dilemmas

Moral and Ethical Dilemmas

Here are entries from Rudashevski’s diary where he reflects on moral and ethical dilemmas in the Vilna Ghetto.

I, Yitskhok

I, Yitskhok

These are entries from Yitskhok Rudashevski’s diary that show multiple aspects of his personality.

These everyday activities were participated in under conditions that were anything but normal. Life under Nazi occupation was an act of resistance. Fear was constant, and they knew that at any minute everything could change.

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