The Last Days of the Jerusalem of Lithuania: Chronicles from the Vilna Ghetto and the Camps, 1939-1944

806 Pages·2002·8.316 MB·English

by  Herman Kruk, Benjamin Harshav (editor)

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T H E L AS T DAYS
O F T H E J E R U SA L E M
O F L I T H UA N I A
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T H E L A S T D AY S
O F T H E J E R U S A L E M
O F L I T H U A N I A
Chronicles from the Vilna Ghetto
and the Camps, 1939–1944
. . . . . .
H E R M A N K R U K
edited and introduced
by benjamin harshav
translated by barbara harshav
yivo institute for jewish research
yale university press
new haven and london
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Published with assistance from the Nusach Vilne Society
Yiddish diary and English-language translation copyright © 2002
by yivoInstitute for Jewish Research. Preface, introduction, and
compilation of this edition copyright © 2002by Benjamin Harshav.
All rights reserved.
This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including illustrations, in any form
(beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107and 108of the U.S. Copyright Law and except
by reviewers for the public press), without written permission from the publishers.
Set in ITC Charter type by The Composing Room of Michigan, Inc.
Printed in the United States of America by R. R. Donnelley & Sons.
Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
Kruk, Herman, 1897–1944.
[Togbukh fun Vilner geto. English]
The last days of the Jerusalem of Lithuania : chronicles from the Vilna ghetto and the
camps, 1939–1944/ Herman Kruk ; edited and introduced by Benjamin Harshav ;
translated by Barbara Harshav.
p. cm.
Includes bibliogaphical references and index.
isbn0-300-04494-1(alk. paper)
1. Kruk, Herman, 1897–1944. 2. Jews—Persecutions—Lithuania—Vilnius.
3. Holocaust, Jewish (1939–1945)—Lithuania—Vilnius—Personal narratives. 4. World War,
1939–1945—Jewish resistance—Lithuania—Vilnius. 5. Vilnius (Lithuania)—Ethnic
relations. 6. Klooga (Concentration camp) 7. Concentration camps—Estonia.
I. Harshav, Benjamin, 1928– II. Title.
ds135.L52v554813 2002
940.53!18!092—dc21
[b] 2002016736
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on
Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Unless otherwise noted, all illustrations appear courtesy of the
yivoInstitute for Jewish Research.
Yale University Press would like to acknowledge the invaluable assistance of Donald J. Cohen
(1940–2001), former director of the Yale Child Study Center and chairman of the Committee on
Publications of Yale University Press. Without his unflagging support, the publication of this
book would not have been possible.
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[In September 1943, the Vilna Ghetto was liquidated and several thousand remain-
ing Jews, including Herman Kruk, were transported to camps in Estonia, notably to
Klooga, near Tallinn. Kruk continued writing his chronicle—in the form of diaries,
narratives, and poems—up to the last day. He was killed and burned with most of the
surviving Jews just hours before the Red Army liberated the area on September 19,
1944. The following poem, written in Yiddish in precise amphibrachic meter, was
found among his writings from this last period and is presented here in a literal
translation.]
for future generations
Neighbors in Camp Klooga often ask me
Why do you write in such hard times?—
Why and for whom? . . .
. . . For we won’t live to see it anyway.
I know I am condemned and awaiting my turn,
Although deep inside me burrows a hope for a miracle.
Drunk on the pen trembling in my hand,
I record everything for future generations:
A day will come when someone will find
The leaves of horror I write and record.
People will tear their hair in anguish,
Eyes will plunge into the sky
Unwilling to believe the horror of our times.
And then these lines will be a consolation
For future generations, which I, a prisoner,
Kept in my sight, things
I recorded, fixed faithfully. . . .
For me it is superfluous,
For future generations I leave it as a trace.
And let it remain though I must die here
And let it show what I could not live to tell.
And I answer my neighbors:
Maybe a miracle will liberate me.
But if I must die, it must not die with me—
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The time of horrors I leave for future worlds.
I write because I must write—a consolation in my time of horror.
For future generations I leave it as a trace.
—March 24, 1944
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[The following note was found with Kruk’s papers,
hidden in the ruins of the Vilna Ghetto.]
to those who may find this material!!
The materials gathered here—the chronicle along with all the documents,
manuscripts, and other texts—were collected, written, and preserved
in the most difficult days of my life, from 1941to April 1943.
I beg the honest discoverer to respect my wish, preserve the materials,
and carefully ship them to my friends or relatives.
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. . . . . .
CONTENTS
Maps x
Foreword Carl J. Rheins xiii
Preface Benjamin Harshav xv
Introduction: Herman Kruk’s Holocaust Writings Benjamin Harshav xxi
1.The Collapse of Poland: September 1939–June 1941 1
2.The Destruction of Jewish Vilna: June 22, 1941–September 6, 1941 46
3.The Vilna Ghetto: September 7, 1941–February 17, 1942 100
4.Between yivoand Ponar: February 19, 1942–July 9, 1942 212
5.Putsch in the Ghetto: July 11, 1942–October 28, 1942 326
6.The Second Winter: October 29, 1942–March 18, 1943 391
7.The Sky Is Overcast Again: March 19, 1943–May 10, 1943 480
8. The Ghetto Will Not Calm Down: May 12, 1943–July 14, 1943 536
9.Narrative Chronicles of the Ghetto: 1941–1943 593
10.The Camps in Estonia: August 1943–September 1944 659
Appendix: Place Names 707
References 713
Index to People and Places 715
Illustrations follow p.390.
ix
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Map 1. Vilna Ghetto. Based on map in Yitzak Arad, Ghetto in Flames(Jerusalem:
Yad Vashem and Anti-Defamation League of B’nai Brith, 1980).