The End
Residents of the Vilna Ghetto lived in constant fear that the Germans would empty it and send all of its inhabitants to their deaths before liberation could arrive. Although they had no concrete information about the Nazis’ plan to murder all of Europe’s Jews, they heard rumors and scraps of news about neighboring ghettos being emptied. This made them fear the worst – especially when the “quiet period” ended and aktions in the ghetto became common again.
1943
New York Times, February 3rd, 1943. Courtesy of The New York Times
New York Times, March 13th, 1943. Courtesy of The New York Times
From left to right: New York Times, March 13th, 1943. New York Times, July 1st, 1943. Courtesy of The New York Times
1945
New York Times, May 8th, 1945. Courtesy of The New York Times.
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising begins on April 19th
The “Final Solution”
What was the "Final Solution?"
The “Final Solution of the Jewish Question” was the Nazis’ term for their plan to murder all Jews in Europe. It was the realization of what had been Adolf Hitler’s goal from as early as 1922. At that time, he had told journalist Josef Hell that “once I really am in power, my first and foremost task will be the annihilation of the Jews.” However, until the invasion of the Soviet Union in the summer of 1941, the idea of annihilating the Jews was more of a genocidal fantasy than a concrete plan.
Though many think of genocide as Hitler’s most urgent priority from the beginning of his rule, the “Final Solution” was actually the last phase of years of discriminatory, violent activity against Europe’s Jews. The Nazi Party came to power in January 1933 and used intensely antisemitic legislation to threaten Jews’ livelihoods, restrict the scope of their participation in society, and create a culture of fear. Initially, Hitler and his associates contemplated deporting all Jews from Europe. The island of Madagascar and the Arctic Circle were among the destinations considered, though this idea never really gained traction.
Violence, including the killing of Jews, certainly occurred before the adoption of the “Final Solution.” However, historians have been unable to pinpoint the precise moment when the murder of all Jews under Nazi control became official policy. During and after the June 1941 “Operation Barbarossa” invasion of the Soviet Union, special Nazi police units known as Einsatzgruppen (often referred to as “mobile killing units”) undertook mass shootings. These operations initially targeted Jewish men, Roma people, and Communist Party officials. But the Germans soon became aware of the effectiveness of this type of mass killing. By making use of Einsatzgruppen units, other Nazi police squads, and local recruits, Nazi military officials realized that soldiers would be willing to shoot even women and children in large numbers.
On December 12th, 1941, some 50 Nazi officials held a top-secret meeting. That same week, a massive Soviet counterattack had effectively ended German hopes of a quick and decisive victory in Russia. Enraged and seeking to escalate the war, Hitler declared war on the United States – and, in addition, seemed to have decided to deal with the “Jewish question” once and for all. Describing the December 12th meeting, Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi minister of propaganda, wrote in his diary: “With respect to the Jewish Question, the Führer has decided to make a clean sweep. He prophesied to the Jews that if they again brought about a world war, they would experience their own annihilation. That wasn’t just a phrase… If the German people have now again sacrificed 160,000 dead on the eastern front, then those responsible for this bloody conflict will have to pay with their lives.”
On January 20th, 1942, a second meeting was held in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee. There, top Nazi leaders gathered to set out the guidelines for their policy to annihilate the Jews of Europe, which they described as the “Final Solution.” Given official sanction by Adolf Hitler, they began the enormous and horrifying task of presenting their plans to various agencies of the Reich government and assigning them to the SS for implementation. From now on, more sophisticated logistics – intended to facilitate more efficient methods of murder – were put in place. These two meetings constituted a defining moment in the period of world history that would later become known as the Holocaust.
Concentration and extermination camps
Imperial Germany had used concentration camps before. During the 1904-1908 genocide of the Herero and Nama people in Namibia, an estimated 80% of the Herero people and 50% of the Nama people died in a rebellion resisting the seizure of their land by the German colonizers. Many others died from starvation and dehydration when they were driven into the Kalahari Desert. Those who were not initially murdered by the Germans and did not perish in these ways were sent to concentration camps, where they were starved and enslaved. German colonial officers also used the concentration camps’ inmates to study eugenics. One such officer was Dr. Eugen Fischer, and one of his students was Josef Mengele, who was later responsible for medical experiments in the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.
The Nazis established a concentration camp in Dachau, Germany in 1933. Initially, these camps were intended for the Nazis’ political opponents. The same was true of the first concentration camps in Poland. Until March 1942, the majority of prisoners in them were either non-Jewish Poles who were considered a threat to German rule or Russian prisoners-of-war. Stutthof near Danzig, for example, was opened the day after the invasion of Poland to imprison Polish citizens. Later, some of these camps also held Jewish prisoners. Eventually, many were turned into “death camps,” the primary purpose of which was the mass murder of Jews.
At the Wannsee Conference in January 1942, it was decided that all European Jews would be transported to “the East,” the Soviet-occupied Polish territory newly invaded by the Nazis, to forced-labor concentration camps. The working and living conditions were to be deliberately harsh so that large numbers of them would die from exhaustion, malnutrition, or disease. In this way, the Nazis could extract labor from their prisoners before disposing of them. Then, as SS General Reinhard Heydrich said during the conference, those who survived this ordeal would “doubtless consist of the elements most capable of resistance. They must be dealt with appropriately…” The officials at the conference estimated that 10 million Jews could be murdered in this fashion.
The mass shootings of Jews in the Soviet Union by SS units and mobile killing squads, sometimes known as “the Holocaust by bullets,” – similar to that carried out in the Ponar forest, as described by Rudashevski – were seen by the Nazis as inefficient. Though it is estimated that the Einsatzgruppen killed over one million Jews, their methods could not be replicated across Europe. Guns would jam or fail to work, and it was very hard psychologically on the troops who were tasked with killing thousands of people in this manner. Accordingly, it was decided to adopt a new approach: industrial-style mass-murder. In the summer of 1941, experiments were carried out at Auschwitz to investigate methods of mass slaughter using poisonous gas. Tens of thousands of physically and mentally disabled people had already been killed in Germany in this way. The first trials at Auschwitz used Zyklon B gas pellets, a cyanide-based insecticide that would later be used in the gas chambers. On this occasion, it took 48 hours to kill the prisoners in a sealed room. Subsequently, the amount of gas used was adjusted to achieve murder within a few minutes.
The Nazis established six death camps in Poland: Auschwitz, Belzec, Chelmno, Majdanek, Sobibor, and Treblinka. Auschwitz was the largest and most infamous. It consisted of three sections. One of the sections, Birkenau, was the killing center in which the gas chambers were located. Approximately 1,300,000 people were sent to Auschwitz. More than 1,100,000 were murdered. Approximately 960,000 were Jews. Some people sent to Auschwitz were sentenced to forced labor. Others were sent directly to the gas chambers.
The following are the best estimates for the numbers of victims at Auschwitz:
- Jews (1,095,000 deported to Auschwitz, 960,000 died)
- Non-Jewish Poles (140,000 - 150,000 deported, 74,000 died)
- Roma (23,000 deported, 21,000 died)
- Soviet prisoners of war (15,000 deported and died)
- Other nationalities (25,000 deported, 10,000 - 15,000 died)
Auschwitz was the only camp in which prisoners had their assigned numbers tattooed onto their skin. Only those who were selected to work were registered and received a number. Prisoners who were sent directly to the gas chambers were not recorded in any official documents.
The Battle of Stalingrad and liquidation of the ghettos
The alliance between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union in the early stages of World War II, known as the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, was never meant to last. Hitler never saw his pact with Stalin as a permanent arrangement, and he broke its terms with Germany’s attack on the Soviet Union in June 1941. In what was known as Operation Barbarossa, German troops launched a massive invasion of the Soviet Union. The attack was met with fierce Soviet resistance. The invasion of the Soviet Union by the Nazis, and the Soviet Union’s realignment with the Allied Powers, led to some of the most ferocious and large-scale battles of World War II, including the Battle of Stalingrad.
While many bloody battles in World War II were waged on land, air, and sea, perhaps none had the same psychological impact as the Battle of Stalingrad. Fought between Soviet and Nazi forces, it was a brutal and significant turning point in the war—and one that would have a dramatic impact on Jews in ghettos across Eastern Europe (including for Rudashevski, in Vilna). Though Soviet forces triumphed in the battle, their victory ensured that defeated Nazi forces would attempt to liquidate the concentration camps before Soviet troops could reach them. They would kill as many Jews as possible and try to hide all traces of their crimes.
Nazi forces, which had been fighting in Soviet territory for over a year, wanted to take control of Stalingrad: a strategically important city on the Volga River bearing the name of the infamous Soviet leader. By capturing Stalingrad, the Nazis intended to significantly weaken Soviet forces, demoralize the Soviet people, block the Volga River shipping route, and open the way to take control of the oil fields in the Caucasus. However, this was no short battle; Soviet and Nazi forces struggled for almost six bloody months, from August 23, 1942, to February 2, 1943.
Stalingrad was under siege, and the city was divided into different areas, with buildings, streets, and factories becoming battlegrounds. Both sides understood the significance of the battle in determining the outcome of the Nazi-Soviet conflict. Accordingly, the Soviet forces, despite being outnumbered, refused to surrender their city to the Nazis. Employing its buildings and ruins as cover, they used their unique knowledge of the city to their advantage. Nazi soldiers reported in their diaries and letters that the courage of the Soviet troops, especially the women, was unbelievable to them. As the battle dragged on, the harsh Russian winter arrived, making things even tougher. The soldiers on both sides had to endure freezing temperatures and limited supplies. Having thought that the battle would be won before winter, the Nazis lacked proper winter-time equipment and clothing. Better prepared for these conditions, the Soviet forces had yet another advantage.
Pinned down in Stalingrad, the German forces were eventually surrounded by Soviet armies advancing from the north and the south, which cut off their supply lines. This proved to be the turning point in the battle. The German soldiers were trapped and running out of food, ammunition, and medical supplies. They faced starvation and disease. Many Germans froze to death, while the Soviets received reinforcements and supplies. In February 1943, the German 6th Army surrendered. This was a major victory for the Soviet Union and a significant turning point in World War II. In many ways, it marked the beginning of the collapse of Nazi Germany’s control over Eastern Europe.
Rudashevski heard the news of the outcome of the Battle of Stalingrad and rejoiced, celebrating a Nazi defeat and hoping that liberation might soon occur. However, the defeat was also a significant motivating force for the Nazis. In a frenzied rush, they worked to liquidate concentration camps and the ghettos of Eastern Europe, including the Vilna Ghetto, before Soviet forces could reach them.
Thursday the 17th of September [1942]
“The Germans want to conclude their summer campaign by capturing Stalingrad, which would crown the German victories. Tens of thousands of men perish in the giant battles at Stalingrad. The Soviet people are defending Stalin’s city with all their might. We, sitting in the ghetto, read the reports every day and run around looking for good news. Everyone’s attention is now turned to Stalingrad. Everyone is waiting, exhausted, for something concrete, for Germany’s decisive defeat. Everyone is waiting for the longed-for peace when the exhausted world will straighten its back.”
Fareynikte Partizaner Organizatsie (United Partisan Organization)
The United Partisan Organization, also known as the FPO, was a group of resistance fighters that formed in the Vilna Ghetto in January 1942. It brought together scattered members of other youth movements to form a larger collective, organized around the principle of armed underground action. Armed resistance existed in some form in most of the major ghettos—including Warsaw, Kovno, Minsk, and Lublin—but took on specific characteristics in each place. In Vilna, for example, partisan fighters first took part in sabotage efforts from within the ghetto, including collecting materials for homemade weaponry and smuggling a homemade bomb out of the ghetto to destroy a German train line. They did not see armed resistance as a way to save the lives of all of the Jews within the ghetto; instead, they sought to defend Jewish life in whatever way possible— and, if necessary, to die an honorable death in struggle.
In the ghetto, the FPO operated under strict protocols of secrecy, its leaders distributing information to members only as needed in order to protect the organization should an individual member be caught. The FPO met in small groups, to gather and build weapons. Unlike their counterparts in the Warsaw Ghetto, who sought to organize an uprising throughout the entire ghetto, FPO members in Vilna never achieved mass resistance on such a scale. Instead, when it eventually became too difficult to continue sabotage efforts from within the ghetto, many of the partisan fighters were sent to the nearby Rudniki and Narocz forests. There, many joined forces with Soviet partisans: fighters that included both former Red Army men from units destroyed by the Nazis and escaped prisoners of war. While Jews did not have an easy time in all Soviet partisan brigades—in many units, they encountered overt hostility—they had a common cause for the sake of survival.
The Soviet partisans were engaged in loosely-organized guerilla warfarel. But by the summer of 1943, they were being airdropped both tactical and material support—in the form of arms, reinforcements, and specialists—from the Soviet Union. Jewish partisans, unlike the Soviet partisans they joined forces with, could not plausibly seek help from locals in the countryside, where they hid. The Jewish population of Vilna was either still ghettoized or had been decimated, and many Lithuanian locals responded with hostility to partisan activities taking place near where they lived.
Jewish partisans were also involved in rescue activities significantly more than their Soviet counterparts. Many Soviet partisan commanders forbade rescue activities. At great personal risk, Jewish partisans disobeyed such orders.
Not all partisan camps were organized solely around armed resistance. Some, referred to as “family camps,” primarily helped coordinate civilian escapes from the ghetto and housed escapees in the forest. Though the FPO could not prevent the deaths of thousands of Vilna Jews, its members remained resolute, and many who survived in the forests would eventually participate in the liberation of Vilnius.
“An order was issued by the German authorities concerning the liquidation of 5 small ghettos in the Vilna region. The Jews are being transferred to the Vilna and Kovno ghettos. Today the Jews from the neighboring small towns are already beginning to arrive. In the street it is rainy and gray. The peasant carts sadly enter the ghetto like Gypsy covered wagons. On the carts sit Jews with children and their bag and baggage. The newly arrived Jews have to be provided with places to live. The school at 1 Shavler Street has been taken over for the newly arrived Jews. The school at 1 Shavler Street has moved into the building of our school. Classes are held in two shifts. Today we already went to class in the evening. School doesn’t make any sense. All of us are depressed. The mood is gloomy.”
![Letter written Sunday the 28th [of March 1943].](https://museum.yivo.org/wp-content/themes/yivo/images/the-war-ends/Letter_March_28_1943.jpg)
“The mood in the ghetto is very oppressive. Squeezing so many Jews into one place is a signal of something. Bringing food through the gate has become very difficult. Several people have already been arrested and sent to Lukishki Prison. People go around gray and preoccupied. Danger lurks in the air. No! This time we will not let ourselves be led like dogs to slaughter! We have been talking about this lately at our [Pioneer meetings]. We are ready for every moment. We have to work on ourselves. This thought strengthens our nerves, restores our courage and endurance.”
“Sunday at 3 o’clock the streets were closed off in the ghetto. A group of 300 people, from the Jews of Sol and Smorgon, went away to Kovno on a large transport. A transport of Jews from the region had arrived at the railway station. Standing at the gate, I could see them packing. Happily and in a good mood they went to the train. Today we received the terrifying news: 85 railway cars of Jews, about 5000 people, were not taken to Kovno as they had been promised, but were taken by train to Ponar, where they were shot to death. 5000 new bloody victims. The ghetto was profoundly shaken, as if struck by a thunderclap. The mood of massacre has taken hold of the population. It has begun again. The claws of the hawk have appeared before us again. People sit confined in a crate and on the other side lurks the enemy, who is preparing to annihilate us in a refined way according to a plan, as today’s massacre has shown. The ghetto is dejected and saddened. We are defenseless and faced with death. Once again the nightmare of Ponar hovers over the little ghetto streets. It is terrible, terrible. People are walking around like the living dead. They wring their hands. In the evening an urgent meeting: the situation is clear-cut. We have no one to rely on. The danger is very great. We have confidence in our own strength. We are ready at any minute.”
“The situation is oppressive. All the terrifying details are now already known. Instead of to Kovno, 5000 Jews were taken to Ponar where they were shot to death. Like wild animals faced with death they began as a matter of life and death to break out of the railway cars. The broke the little windows that were fortified with strong wires. Hundreds of Jews were shot while running away. The railway lines are covered with the dead for a long stretch. There were no classes in school today. Children are running away from their homes where it is terrible to remain because of the mood there, because of the women. At school the teachers are devastated as well. So we sit in a circle. We pull ourselves together. We sing a song. In the evening I went out into the street. It is 5 o’clock in the afternoon. The ghetto looks dreadful. Heavy leaden clouds move over the ghetto and envelop it. It is dark like before a storm. Our mood, like the sky, is overcast. The streets are filled with people, lost and frightened. 25 policemen were taken to clear away the dead from the pits. Many survivors have escaped from Ponar. Here comes a Jew and after him a crowd of people. He is pale, with wild eyes. His coat is entirely covered with lime. Here they are leading in three children brought by peasants. Wounded are being brought in. It keeps getting darker. Suddenly, thunder and lightning and it starts to rain. The anxious, unhappy people are driven off the couple of little streets with whips. The rain pours angrily, as if it wished to wash everything away from the world. At night I am at the Club. It is dark. The lights won’t come on until 9 o’clock. So we sit in the dark. The group sings a song. It feels oppressive and painful. The situation is still very tense. We are on guard. Yes, that very thought relieves the difficult hours.”
“The mood has improved a little. In the Club you can already hear a happy little song. But we are prepared for everything, because Monday has revealed that we must trust nobody, believe nobody.”
This was the last time Rudashevski wrote in his diary. Everything we know beyond April 7th, we know through the brave efforts of his cousin Sore, who was the family’s sole survivor.
As the horrifying news of ghettoes being emptied of their inhabitants made its way to Vilnius, Yitskhok Rudashevski and his family prepared for the worst. They knew that, sooner or later, the Germans would come for them, as well. Some ghetto dwellers were sent to labor camps in Estonia, but most remained trapped, with no choice but to prepare malines (hiding places) and hope that they could somehow survive.
On September 23rd, 1943, the Germans ordered everyone in the ghetto to report to the gate. After months of aktions, everyone in the ghetto knew what this meant. Sore bundled up photos of her family as quickly as she could. Rudashevski stuffed his diary in his coat pocket and ran to his cousin’s house with his parents. He, his parents, Sore, her sister, her mother, and five neighbors met at the bottom of a flight of stairs and breathed fresh air one more time before hurrying, one by one, into the attic.
Life in the maline was a terrifying existence in limbo: Everyone was in constant fear of being discovered. The space was small, overcrowded, and stuffy. Sore later remembered that Yitskhok was quiet and depressed, not writing and barely speaking. The Germans shut off the water in the building to flush out any ghetto inhabitants left hiding, leaving them only the water and supplies that were stashed prior to the liquidation. Everyone in the maline knew that their supplies would not last forever. They had one glimmer of hope: News had spread that the Soviet Army was advancing throughout Eastern Europe, liberating ghettos one by one. Their sole focus was to somehow survive in the maline until the Soviet Army could arrive to liberate the ghetto.
The family held out for 11 days. Finally, with no water left, someone had to venture out in hopes of somehow, miraculously, finding water to bring back without getting caught.
But the worst happened. The person sent out for water for the inhabitants of the maline was followed and caught. Forced to give up the location of the maline, all of those in hiding, including Rudashevski, were captured and taken to prison. Rudashevksi left his diary on the floor when he was led away. Within days, all of the inhabitants of the maline, except for Sore, were shot and killed at Ponar.
