The Rudashevski Diary: Life and Loss in the Vilna Ghetto

“The Diary of Yitskhok Rudashevski,:refers to the writings of Yitskhok Rudashevski, a teenage boy who documented his experiences during the Holocaust. His diary is a poignant account of life in the Vilna Ghetto (now Vilnius, Lithuania) during World War II. Yitskhok's observations offer a deeply human and insightful perspective on the struggles and resilience of the Jewish community under Nazi oppression.

In 1945, as Soviet authorities increasingly sovietized political and cultural life in Vilna, the diary was removed from its place in Lithuania and brought to the YIVO Institute of Jewish Research in New York. Today, Yitskhok’s diary, which resides in the YIVO Archives, preserves not just his memory, but that of the youth in the ghetto. Though tragic, his story highlights how young Jews were brave and creative in their efforts to resist Nazi violence.

This immersive event features expert panelists including Samuel Kassow (Historian), Mindaugas Kvietkauskas (Co-curator of the YIVO’s Rudashevski exhibition and Dean of the Faculty of Philology at Vilnius University), Jonathan Brent (CEO of YIVO Institute), and Karolina Ziulkoski (Chief Curator of the YIVO Online Museum), the discussion delves into the diary’s historical significance, its journey across languages, and its impact on understanding Jewish resilience during the Holocaust.

You may also like the following events from YIVO Institute for Jewish Research:

• Next Monday, 5th May, 06:30 pm, Person Place Thing with Jonathan Brent in New York
• Next Wednesday, 7th May, 05:00 pm, The Making of a Historian of East European Jewry and the Holocaust in New York, New York
• This month, 15th May, 07:30 pm, Chaim Grade’s Sons and Daughters in Astoria

Also check out other Exhibitions in Astoria.