Historical Context
The Real Characters of Echoes of Vilna
YITSKHOK RUDASHEVSKI
ELIAHU RUDASHEVSKI
ROSA RUDASHEVSKI
GRANDMOTHER (BUBBE) RUDASHEVSKI
A Jewish teenager born in Vilna, Lithuania on December 10, 1927. He lived with his mother (Rosa), father (Eliahu) and grandmother. Yitskhok lived in Vilna during a tumultuous time when Vilna was both independent and ruled by the Soviet Union. He lived in Vilna when it was at the center of Jewish and eastern European culture. He was an excellent student who excelled at school in the Real Gymnasium, a secondary school. In June, 1941, when Yitskhok was 13, the Nazi regime took over Vilna and created a ghetto for the Jews. Yitskhok’s diary was written between June, 1941 and April, 1943. He documented the atrocities of Nazi rule and the resilience of the Jewish people within the Ghetto walls. Yitskhok was executed by the Nazis in the Ponary Forests in late September, 1943 during the liquidation of the Vilna ghetto. Click HERE to learn more about Yitskhok.
Yitskhok’s father. He worked as a typesetter for the Vilner Tog, a Jewish daily newspaper.
Yitskhok's mother. Rosa worked as a seamstress before and during the Vilna ghetto. She was born in Moldova.
Yitskhok's grandmother, Chaya Rudashevski. Lived with Yitskhok. Eliahu Rudashevski and Zelda Voloshin’s mother. As is typical in Jewish families, she was called Bubbe. A survivor of the Russian pogroms.
SORE VOLOSHIN
Yitskhok’s cousin. She was 9 months younger thanYitskhok. Sore lived 3 doors down from the Rudashevski family. She was often in the same classes at the Real Gymnasye and clubs (circles). She became a member of the resistance in a group with Yitskhok.
SARAH KALIVETS
SHULA VOLOSHIN
AHARON VOLOSHIN
Sarah is the only person from the Rudashevski family to survive the Vilna ghetto. She escaped the Vilna Ghetto and joined the Partisans. Later, she married and emigrated to Israel. Sarah worked for 50 years at Yad Vashem. Her son, Zvi, a clinical psychologist interviewed her while she was in her 80s to learn about her story. Her son provided background information for this story. Sarah also has a daughter living in California.
Sore’s older sister. She meets a boy (Herschel), falls in love despite the conditions in the Ghetto. When the boy disappears and is presumed dead, she never recovers from her depression.
Father of Sore and Shula Voloshin. Yitskhok's uncle. He works as administrative director of the Vilner Tog, a Jewish daily newspaper.
ZELDA VOLOSHIN
Mother of Sore Voloshin. She is a housewife and Yitskhok’s aunt. She is clever and was able to keep all the children safe when her husband was captured and moved to another Ghetto for a time.
GABIK HELLER
Gabik is a close friend and confidant of Yitskhok. Gabik is frequently mentioned in Yitskhok’s diary. Gabik and Yitskhok are both members of the Pioneer Club, in Vilna. Gabik’s father is a librarian at the Vilna Yiddish library. After Gabik’s father died, he continued to work in the library where he made contact with the Partisans. Gabik’s diary helped inform the last two months of ghetto life.
ONA SIMAITE
Ona is a Christian who worked in the Vilna Ghetto Library. She worked on behalf of the Paper Brigade rescuing Jewish books and artifacts. She also worked to save Jews. Ona was a member of the Partisans. She was later tortured by the Gestapo but released after a large ransom was paid. She survived the war, penniless. She is recognized as Righteous Among the Nations.
MRS. ABRAMSON
A middle-age Jewish woman who is a conglomeration of olderJewish secular women in the ghetto. Somewhat of a lovable busybody who loves to tell stories and early on admonishes Yitskhok to remove his Pioneer (Soviet) pin.
LEHRER (TEACHER) MIRE
One of Yitskhok’s favorite teachers. She also serves as head of the Pioneer club and principal of the Real Gymnasye the school Yitskhok, Sore and Shula attended.
PETRAS & JONAS
YANKEV GERSHTEYN
Lithuanian policemen who collaborated with the Nazis. Petras and Jonas represent the Lithuanians who helped murder over 70,000 Jews at Ponar and other places.
From Vilna, he is a musician, teacher, choral director, and writer about music who inspired the Jewish residents of Vilna. A fervent Nationalist, he is revered by all. He suffers with a disease of the eyes and had a heart ailment that ultimately contributes to his death.
LEVAS
Appointed as the commander of the Jewish Ghetto Police in September 1941 by the head of the new Judenrat, Anatol Friend.
SUTSKEYVER (ABRAHAM)
A Yiddish-language poet whose works chronicle his childhood in Siberia, his life in the Vilna (Vilnius) Ghetto during World War II, and his escape to join Jewish partisans. After the Holocaust he became a major figure in Yiddish letters in Israel and throughout the world. Sutskeyver transferred Yitskhok’s diary to the Yivo Institute.
MOYSHE HELLER
Gabik Heller’s father. He worked in the library until his death.