“I feel as if I were in a dungeon”
Yitskhok Rudashevski was born in Vilnius, in 1927. He was an only son, who loved to read, write and take trips. In 1941, Yitskhok was deported to the Vilnius Ghetto with his parents. In the ghetto, Yitskhok kept a diary.
Yitskhok didn’t survive, but his diary was discovered by his cousin after the Holocaust and was eventually published.
In this extract from Yitskhok’s diary he is angry about the change in his life. Everything he had before entering the ghetto, is now gone. How does Yitskhok describe life outside the ghetto? How does he portray life inside the ghetto?
Click 2 to see Yitskhok’s picture.
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“ I feel as if I were in a dungeon. There is no air to breath. Everywhere you turn, you stumble into a gate, blocking your way… my freedom is being taken away, my home is being taken away, even the familiar nice streets of Vilnius, which I love so much. I am stripped of everything I like and care about.” 
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