Language:
German
Year of publication:
2008
Titel der Quelle:
Theresienstädter Studien und Dokumente
Angaben zur Quelle:
(2008) 180-219
Keywords:
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
;
Jews
;
Jewish ghettos
;
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
Abstract:
Discusses the rich cultural life in the Vilna ghetto and its role in the everyday life of the inhabitants. During the ghetto's existence between 1941-43, in an atmosphere of constant fear of Nazi actions in which nearly all of the 40-60,000 Jews were killed, numerous cultural and educational institutions were set up and activities were organized by the Judenrat and ghetto organizations. Many schools functioned despite official Nazi prohibitions, and they served as an antidote to moral corruption. Prominent artists and intellectuals participated in the education of children and became role models. A theater group, two choirs, a symphony orchestra, and numerous smaller cultural groups provided entertainment and distraction, but also functioned as places for mourning. Involvment in Jewish culture strengthened Jewish self-awareness and increased the Jews' will to resist. Emphasizes that culture reached all social layers of the ghetto. The library headed by Herman Kruk became an important refuge and meeting place; reading, the most widespread cultural activity, was both an escape and a way to confront the situation. The Nazis mostly took a passive or indifferent stand to the cultural activities in the ghetto; they saved their energy for the deportations. In some cases Jewish culture was encouraged, but at the same time "Stab Alfred Rosenberg" in Vilnius was busy collecting Jewish cultural heritage for destruction or transport to Germany. Concludes that culture served many purposes in the ghetto and notes the difficulty of defining which type can be viewed as "spiritual resistance".
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