Who is Commemorated?
Victims of the Large Ghetto in Vilnius
Description:
Two granite plaques are attached to the wall of the house at 18 Rūdninkų St. marking the location of the gate to the Large Ghetto (sometimes called the First Ghetto) of Vilnius. The upper plaque depicts the plan of the Small and Large Ghettos. The lower plaque contains identical inscriptions in Lithuanian and Yiddish.
Inscription:
Lithuanian:
Čia 1941.09.06 – 1943.09.23 buvo didžiojo
žydų geto vartai, pro kuriuos buvo
išvaryti mirčiai daugiau kaip 30.000 žydų
Yiddish:
אויף דעם אָרט איז געשטאנען דער טויער פון דער גרויסער
ווילנער געטאָ. דורך אים האָט מען פון 6-טן
סעפטעמבער 1941 ביזן 23-סטן סעפטעמבער 1943
געטריבן צום טויט מער ווי 30.000 ייּדן
Translation: In this place, stood the gate of the Large Ghetto of Vilnius. Through it, from September 6th 1941 to September 23rd 1943, more than 30,000 Jews were driven to their deaths.
Lithuanian inscription on the plaque with the ghetto plan:
Vilniaus getų planas
1. Biblioteka (pasipriešinimo centras)
2. Judenratas
3. Didžioji sinagoga
4. Ligoninė
5. Kalėjimas
6. Vartai
Translation: Plan of the Vilnius Ghetto:/ 1. Library (the center of resistance) / 2. Judenrat / 3. Great Synagogue / 4. Hospital / 5. Prison / 6. Gates
Commissioned by
Vilna Gaon Jewish State Museum and the Jewish Community of Lithuania, on the initiative of Vilnius Jewish historian Genrikh Agranovsky, and financed by the Vilnius municipality (Agranovskii 1994; Guzenberg 2013).