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ARTIFACTS
1
MORAL CHOICES
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Historical Artifacts

“If there was a ship that could hold 3 million human beings, the 3 million Jews of Poland would board it to escape to America”

Scholar Text by Daniel Soyer

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

Vilna Ghetto, 1941-43. Diary of Yitskhok Rudashevski

Memo discussing the prospect of getting visas for Anne and her sister
Document regarding attempts to rescue Anne and Margot Frank

United States, 1941. National Refugee Service Memo

Cable to Brooklyn, New York, United States. Handwritten with black ink, block letters, on white paper. It says: "Our home Lodz burnt are Vilno homeless without means save us send clothing money telegraphically on sons address Abram Lejzer Nowomiast Vilno Wileka Pohulanka 14/58. Brother Shlamtsho"
International Cables of Jewish Refugees in Vilnius

Vilnius, Lithuania, 1939. Cables

Visa for travel to Japan
Visa issued to family escaping Eastern Europe

Kaunas, Lithuania, 1940. Visa Issued by Japanese Consul Sugihara

Cartoon, white background printed in black ink.
Evil-doer, Why Do You Beat Your Brother?

New York, United States, 1924. Political Cartoon

Cartoon, white background printed in black ink.
There’s No Place to Set One’s Foot Down

New York, United States, 1924. Political Cartoon

Typed text in English. Black ink on white paper.
Correspondence with the Danzig-American Hebrew Association

New York, United States, 1939. Correspondence

Cartoon of Uncle Sam between "good" and "evil"
What’s It Going to Be, Uncle Sam?

New York, United States, 1924. Political Cartoon

Photograph of Polish Jews expelled from Germany
Expelled Jews stranded on the border between Germany and Poland

Poland, 1938. Expulsion of Polish Jews

Back cover of Freeland in Poland and Yiddish
Back cover of Frayland (Freeland)

Warsaw, Poland, 1934. Issue of Frayland (Freeland)

Mourning victims of antisemitic violence

Kałuszyn, Poland, Circa 1935. Film Clip of Mourners at a Grave

Antisemitic leaflet
Antisemitic leaflet advocating a boycott of Jewish businesses

Poznań, Poland, Circa 1930s. Antisemitic Leaflet

Report from the Stefan Batory University on segregated seating
Report on “Ghetto Benches”

Vilna, Poland, 1937. Segregated Seating Policy

ID card of a Jewish woman in Germany
ID Card of a German-Jewish woman

Darmstadt, Germany, 1939. Identity Documents

Black and white photo of a crowded room. People are depicted from the chest up. A man is at the center. He is white and wears a hat.
Photos of Refugees in Vilnius

Vilnius, Lithuania, 1939. Photographs of refugees

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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.

What if you could save someone else’s life?

Document regarding attempts to rescue Anne and Margot Frank.
Document regarding attempts to rescue Anne and Margot Frank. United States, 1941. National Refugee Service Memo
Visa Issued by Japanese consul Sugihara to a family escaping Eastern Eurpo.
Visa Issued by Japanese consul Sugihara to a family escaping Eastern Eurpo. Kaunas, Lithuania, 1940.

Given the worldwide restrictions on immigration following the Great Depression, only some Jews were able to emigrate and escape the horrors that were about to begin. One of those who tried is the father of Anne Frank, who attempted to move to the United States. Unfortunately, his visa attempts were denied.

Another example are the efforts of Sempo (Chiune) Sugihara, the Japanese Consul in Kaunas, Lithuania, who went against the orders of his superiors. Acting on his own, he helped over 2,000 mostly Jewish refugees escape Europe. He was punished for his actions back home in Japan and was eventually retired from the foreign service.

If you are in a position to help someone escape how would you choose who is able to leave? Are some lives worth more than others? Think too about the personal risk involved. What would you risk in order to save one life? Would you risk more to save 10 lives, or 100? How is this section relevant to the immigration crisis in the United States and around the world today?

The world around Yitskhok

This is a shared experience between the exhibitions on the lives of Yitskhok Rudashevski and Beba Epstein.

The world was changing rapidly. The essays produced by Yitskhok’s classmates show their personal views and hopes about what they know and expect in the near and more distant future. But what is happening around the world that could affect Yitskhok and his classmates? The stock market crashed in 1929, leading to the Great Depression. This was a time of turmoil across the world, financially and otherwise. Amid this crisis, the world was closing its doors to immigration just as antisemitism was growing more rampant. Large numbers of European Jews were facing very difficult choices about their future.

Why didn’t they flee? Many thought about emigrating, but it was a daunting task. Explore the globe and select from the highlighted countries to learn more about the difficulties involved.

This experience will take approximately 45 minutes
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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.

1930–1936

newspaper clipping

From left to right: New York Times, February 28, 1930. New York Times, September 
16th, 1935. New York Times, July 20th, 1936. Courtesy of The New York Times.

newspaper clipping

The Daily Worker, September 19 th , 1935.
Source: Marxists Internet Archive.

1937

newspaper clipping

New York Times, July 3 rd , 1937. Courtesy of The New York Times.

1937–1939

newspaper clipping

From left to right: New York Times, January 6th, 1937. New York Times, April 9th, 1939. New York Times, June 8th, 1939. Courtesy of The New York Times.

1938

newspaper clipping

New York Times, November 11th, 1938. Courtesy of The New York Times.

1939

newspaper clipping

From left to right: New York Times, July 18th, 1939. New York Times, December 10th, 1939. New York Times, December 27th, 1939. Courtesy of The New York Times.

1937
1937
Japan invades China

What comes next is difficult to comprehend. Yitskhok’s life is about the turn upside down.

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