auf das Leben*

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The Rudnicki Forest, a vast swampy woodland about twelve miles from the centre of Vilnius, became a refuge for partisan fighters during the Second World War. The first groups, consisting mainly of Russian soldiers and Communist resistance members, arrived in 1942 and established their base around a cluster of lodges that had once served as a hunting camp.

In the days leading up to the liquidation of the Vilna Ghetto, small groups of Jewish partisans escaped through side gates or made their way through the sewers to reach the forest. Among them were Abba Kovner and his resistance group, known as The Avengers. Over time, the number of Jewish partisans in the forest grew to around 300.

They lived in underground bunkers dug into the earth, each sheltering up to one hundred fighters who slept side by side on wooden platforms. The camp included a communal washroom, a makeshift hospital, and a commissary. Food shortages, primitive living conditions, and harsh weather took a heavy toll. The partisans suffered from gum disease, influenza, scurvy, lice infestations, scabies, rickets, pneumonia, and chronic hunger.

From their forest base, they set out almost daily on dangerous sabotage missions or ventured into the surrounding countryside to obtain weapons and food from local farmers.

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