Yitzhak Wittenberg Explained

Yitzhak Wittenberg (Yiddish: איציק װיטנבערג, Hebrew: יצחק ויטנברג; 1907 – 16 July 1943) was a Jewish resistance fighter[1] in Vilnius during World War II. He was a member of the Communist Party.[2] He was the commander of the Fareynikte Partizaner Organizatsye (FPO), a resistance group in the Vilna Ghetto which was preparing an uprising should the final moments of the ghetto come. When the Germans learned about the existence of a Communist, Wittenberg, in the ghetto, they made a request to the head of the Jewish council, Jacob Gens, that Wittenberg should be surrendered to them.[3] Gens betrayed Wittenberg to the police who arrested him, but he was freed by young FPO fighters.[4] Subsequently, Gens insisted that Wittenberg surrender. Feeling he did not have the support of the ghetto for an uprising and fearing a massacre, he surrendered.[5] [6]

Some accounts say that he was later found dead in his prison cell having swallowed poison; others say that his mutilated body was found the next day.[7] [8] It has been speculated that Gens slipped the poison to Wittenberg. The Wittenberg affair was discussed in the Eichmann trial.[9] The story of his death is told in the song Yitzhak Wittenberg.[10] [11]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: The Holocaust: An Encyclopedia and Document Collection [4 volumes]]. Bartrop. Paul R.. Dickerman. Michael. 2017-09-15. ABC-CLIO. 9781440840845. en.
  2. Web site: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
  3. Web site: Yad Vashem.
  4. [Asael Lubotzky]
  5. Book: Halik, Kochanski. The eagle unbowed : Poland and the Poles in the Second World War. 2013. Penguin . 9781846143588. 849065604.
  6. Web site: RESISTANCE IN THE VILNA GHETTO. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20120816173145/https://www.ushmm.org/research/center/lerman/medal_award/award.php?content=vilna. 2012-08-16. 2020-04-24.
  7. Book: Lester, David. Suicide and the Holocaust. Nova Publishers. 978-1-59454-427-9. 7. 2005.
  8. Book: The destruction of the European Jews. Hilberg, Raul. 0841909105. Student. New York. 12421088. registration. 1985.
  9. Web site: Eichmann trial - The District Court Sessions. https://web.archive.org/web/20110717104159/http://www.nizkor.org/hweb/people/e/eichmann-adolf/transcripts/Sessions/Session-025-06.html. dead. 2011-07-17. 2011-07-17. 2020-04-24.
  10. Web site: "Itsik Vitnberg" | Music of the Holocaust.
  11. Web site: How Did Itzik Wittenberg, Hero of the Vilna Ghetto, Die?. 24 April 2017.

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