Unheard Voices

Rudashevski's Testament

"At any moment, the worst can happen to us," fifteen-year-old Yitskhok Rudashevski wrote in 1943. For two years, he had been living in the Vilnius Ghetto, where he began documenting his life in a diary. Yitskhok became a witness to history, gathering stories from fellow prisoners by visiting their homes and recording their experiences. By April 1943, fear gripped the ghetto as news spread of renewed extermination actions. Thousands of Jews had just been taken to Ponary for execution.

The persecution and mass murder of Lithuanian Jews began in June 1941, following the German invasion. Within the first year, most of Lithuania’s Jewish population was killed. On September 23-24, 1943, the Vilnius Ghetto was liquidated. Today we mark the National Memorial Day for the Genocide of the Lithuanian Jews. Approximately 190,000 Jewish lives were lost, including Yitskhok Rudashevski.