Jewish youth – do not trust those who attempt to mislead you. From the eighty thousand Jews of “Jerusalem de-Lita” [The “Jerusalem of Lithuania”, Vilna] survived but twenty thousand. To our eyes, our parents, brothers and sisters have been torn away from us.
Where are the hundreds of men who were abducted to work by the Lithuanian “abductors”? Where are the naked women and the children, who were taken away from us in that horrific night of the provocation? Where are the Jews of Yom ha’Kippurim? Where are our brothers from the other ghetto?
All those who were taken from the ghetto did not return. All of the ghetto’s ways lead to Ponnar. And Ponnar is death! Those who are hesitant – cast away any illusion. Your children, your husbands and your wives are no more. Hitler plots to exterminate all of the Jews in Europe. The Jews of Lithuania are the first in line. We shall not go as sheep to the slaughterhouse! Yes, we are weak and defenseless, but the only answer to the enemy is resistance!
Brothers! We shall rather die as free warriors than live at the mercy of murderers. Defend! To the last breath of life.
--A proclamation read in an assembly of “Pioneering Youth”, Vilna – January 1st 1942
I have read many similar letters, proclamations and announcements while studying for my history finals (I’m still revising). I related to this one in particular, and felt a sudden urge to post it in Hatrack. Forgive me if I failed translating it properly.
And now…back to my revision.
Posted by imogen (Member # 5485) on :
The courage and hope in the face of what we know was to come...
It's a good testament to human spirit, against a background of the darkest of human evils.
Posted by Phanto (Member # 5897) on :
Didn't they pretty much go along anyway? Or am I confused about the facts?
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Phanto, if you meant that the fact that they die eaquals to "going as sheep to the slaughterhouse" - this phrase means to surrender, and to die obediently, submissively and without a fight.
If you meant that most Jews did no rebel, you were right - partially. Because also staying alive, in the face of unhuman physical conditions and mental crisis, is, indeed, a rebellion.
Edit: From some reason I did not relate to the obvious Jewish resistance in my post, note my next one that is palced after Kwea's.
[ May 24, 2005, 02:12 PM: Message edited by: Beanny ]
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Just like anywhere else, there was resistance in the Ghettos, but it wasn't always an obvious resistance. There was a lot at stake, to be sure, but not all of them were led to slaughter...
Posted by Beanny (Member # 7109) on :
I was regarding to the Jews that haven't rebeled - and yes, and there were quite a few obvious Jewish resistance actions. In Ghetto Warsaw a rebellion of 60 thousand people, all inhabitants of the ghetto, lasted for an entire month. The Nazis had to bring in special corps to vanquish the Jews. There was even a rebellion in Auschwitz - girls working in one of the factoies managed to get their hands on some explosives. They hid whatever they could carry without being caught in their clothes, and the Zundercomandos blew up the gas chambers and the crematorium.
Posted by Beanny (Member # 7109) on :
Thanks for the links, rivka. I knew who Abba Kovner was, I didn't know that the citation was his.
I saw that the manifesto was written differently at that website, but I believe that the original was in Hebrew - so the differences don't really matter.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
quote:I saw that the manifesto was written differently at that website, but I believe that the original was in Hebrew - so the differences don't really matter.
Almost certainly the original would have been in Yiddish, I would think.
quote: Because also staying alive, in the face of unhuman physical conditions and mental crisis, is, indeed, a rebellion.
Very, very true.
Posted by Beanny (Member # 7109) on :
quote: Almost certainly the original would have been in Yiddish, I would think.
This was a meeting of Zionist youth, most of which knew Hebrew or were in mid-learning it - and not a meeting with all Jews of ghetto Vilna. My guess is that they used Hebrew, not Yiddish.