Vilna Ghettos
Background:
At the end of August 1941, the Nazi administration in Vilna created two ghettos, Ghetto 1 and Ghetto 2 were both in the center of the old city of Vilna. It was an area that already held a large number of Jewish residents. Of those who lived in the demarcated area, some remained in their homes, others were taken from their homes and executed in preparation of the formation of the ghetto.
When the Jewish residents were forced into the two ghettos in September 1941, they were allowed to to take only what they could carry. As people walked, the items became heavier, children needed to be carried, and items were discarded along the way. When they arrived, the ghettos were overcrowded and disorganized. People searched for a place to live.
In Stronger Than Iron, The Destruction of Vilna Jewry 1941-1945: An Eyewitness Account, Holocaust survivor Mendel Balberyszski writes, "The place (Ghetto 2) was bubbling like a boiling kettle. From the court I went out into the street and began walking the old lanes of Vilna that I knew so well. It was a short walk. I went over to Zydowska Street and after a few paces realized that I had reached the boundary of the ghetto...Crossing to the other side of the lane I began searching for a place to spend the night but I saw nobody that I could ask. It was already dusk and all of us were mentally only half functioning." Balberyszski's mother finds a place for them to stay. He continues, "We climbed up to the second floor of the house and found a little place for our packs. The children immediately fell down on them. My mother and my wife found accommodations in the corner near the packs and another man and I bedded down for the night on the table." (page 77)
More information can be found in Yad Vashem's online exhibit, The Jerusalem of Lithuania: The Story of the Jewish Community of Vilna.
When the Jewish residents were forced into the two ghettos in September 1941, they were allowed to to take only what they could carry. As people walked, the items became heavier, children needed to be carried, and items were discarded along the way. When they arrived, the ghettos were overcrowded and disorganized. People searched for a place to live.
In Stronger Than Iron, The Destruction of Vilna Jewry 1941-1945: An Eyewitness Account, Holocaust survivor Mendel Balberyszski writes, "The place (Ghetto 2) was bubbling like a boiling kettle. From the court I went out into the street and began walking the old lanes of Vilna that I knew so well. It was a short walk. I went over to Zydowska Street and after a few paces realized that I had reached the boundary of the ghetto...Crossing to the other side of the lane I began searching for a place to spend the night but I saw nobody that I could ask. It was already dusk and all of us were mentally only half functioning." Balberyszski's mother finds a place for them to stay. He continues, "We climbed up to the second floor of the house and found a little place for our packs. The children immediately fell down on them. My mother and my wife found accommodations in the corner near the packs and another man and I bedded down for the night on the table." (page 77)
More information can be found in Yad Vashem's online exhibit, The Jerusalem of Lithuania: The Story of the Jewish Community of Vilna.
To Consider:
Labkovski depicts the horrible struggle people experienced upon entering the two ghettos. If you look closely at the pieces representing the first days of the ghetto, what do you notice? Does Labkovski depict the confusion and the difficulties the people faced? What tools does he use to reflect the emotions and anxiety? Notice in the piece on the right, the foreground of people are disproportionately small compared to the buildings in the background. Typically as the eye is drawn to the background, objects appear smaller. What is he trying to convey?
Of Interest:
Did you notice the yellow Star of David found on the outerwear. The forced wearing of the stars was an order used to separate and isolate Jews from their non-Jewish neighbors. Labkovski uses the stars to clearly mark the pieces depicting the Holocaust. Labkovski survived the war as a prisoner in the Soviet Gulag, Prison Camp; he was not in Vilna during the Holocaust. Why was it important to Labkovski to differentiate his story from the experiences of his community?
