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Media Essay

Kovno - Photographs

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Kovno Lithuania ghettos occupation forced labor

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Jews move into the Kovno ghetto. Lithuania, ca. 1941-1942. [LCID: 81064] — Jews forced into the Kovno ghetto move their belongings into the ghetto. In the center, a man is pulling a disassembled wardrobe. He was never able to put it together because of the crowded conditions in the ghetto. Clothes were often hung from nails in the wall instead. Lithuania, ca. 1941-1942.
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Jewish women return to the ghetto after forced labor on the outside. [LCID: 81105] — Jewish women return to the Kovno ghetto after forced labor on the outside. They line up to be searched by German and Lithuanian guards. Kovno, Lithuania, between 1941 and 1944.
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A group of children in the Kovno ghetto. Kovno, Lithuania, between 1941 and 1943. [LCID: 81165] — A group of children in the Kovno ghetto in Lithuania. This photograph was taken by George Kadish between 1941 and 1943.
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In the Kovno ghetto, the body of a Jewish man executed on German orders hangs from gallows erected near the Jewish council building. [LCID: 70798] — In the Kovno ghetto, the body of a Jewish man executed on German orders hangs from gallows erected near the Jewish council building. Kovno, Lithuania, November 18, 1942.
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An impoverished ghetto resident sells bread on the black market. [LCID: 81114] — An impoverished ghetto resident sells bread on the black market. Kovno, Lithuania, between 1941 and 1943.
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A wedding celebration. Kovno, Lithuania, ca. 1938. [LCID: 01522] — Family and friends are gathered for a Jewish wedding celebration in Kovno. Among those pictured are Jona and Gita Wisgardisky (standing at the back on the right).

In the summer of 1941 soon after the German occupation of Lithuania, the Wisgardisky family was forced into the Kovno ghetto. During a roundup of children in the ghetto in 1942, Henia (Gita and Jona's daughter) was hidden in a secret room that her father built in a pantry in their apartment. Later she was smuggled out of the ghetto and placed with the Stankiewicz family. Jonas Stankiewicz had worked as the foreman in Jona Wisgardisky's chemical plant before the war, and had taken it over after the occupation.

After successfully securing a hiding place for their daughter, the Wisgardiskys fled from the ghetto. They found refuge on a potato farm, where they lived in a root cellar.

Photograph taken in Kovno, Lithuania, ca. 1938.
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Clandestine photograph taken by George Kadish: scene during the deportation of Jews from the Kovno ghetto. [LCID: 81088] — This clandestine photograph taken by George Kadish captures a scene during the deportation of Jews from the Kovno ghetto in German-occupied Lithuania in 1942.
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Deportation of Jews from the Kovno ghetto. Lithuania, 1942. [LCID: 81079] — Deportation of Jews from the Kovno ghetto to a work camp. Lithuania, 1942.
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Ruins of a building in the Kovno ghetto gutted when the Germans attempted to force Jews out of hiding during the final destruction ... [LCID: 81133] — Ruins of a building in the Kovno ghetto gutted when the Germans attempted to force Jews out of hiding during the final destruction of the ghetto. Photographed by George Kadish. Kovno, Lithuania, August 1944.
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Two young brothers, seated for a family photograph in the Kovno ghetto. [LCID: 06546] — Two young brothers, seated for a family photograph in the Kovno ghetto. One month later, they were deported to the Majdanek camp. Kovno, Lithuania, February 1944.

Pictured are Avram (5 years) and Emanuel Rosenthal (2 years). Emanuel was born in the Kovno ghetto. The children, who were deported in the March 1944 "Children's Action," did not survive. Their uncle, Shraga Wainer, who had asked George Kadish to take this photograph, received a copy of it from the photographer after the war in the Landsberg displaced persons camp.
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Child forced laborer in a ghetto factory. Kovno, Lithuania, between 1941 and 1944. [LCID: 81181] — Yakob Vizgordiski works at a machine in a ghetto factory. Kovno, Lithuania, between 1941 and 1943.
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Children forced laborers in a carpentry shop. Kovno ghetto, Lithuania, between 1941 and 1944. [LCID: 81180] — Children forced laborers in a carpentry shop. Kovno ghetto, Lithuania, between 1941 and 1944.
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Two young cousins shortly before they were smuggled out of the Kovno ghetto. [LCID: 10945] — Two young cousins shortly before they were smuggled out of the Kovno ghetto. A Lithuanian family hid the children and both girls survived the war. Kovno, Lithuania, August 1943.
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Jewish forced laborers at work making shoes in a ghetto workshop. [LCID: 10813] — Jewish forced laborers at work making shoes in a ghetto workshop. Kovno, Lithuania, December 1943.
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Jews carrying bundles of possessions before their deportation from the Kovno ghetto. [LCID: 10687] — Jews carrying bundles of possessions who were forced to gather at an assembly point before their deportation from the Kovno ghetto, probably to Estonia. Kovno, Lithuania, October 1943.

This photograph was taken by George Kadish.
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Photograph taken by George Kadish: a member of the Kovno ghetto underground hides supplies in a well used as the entrance to a hiding ... [LCID: 81109] — Photograph taken by George Kadish: a member of the Kovno ghetto underground hides supplies in a well used as the entrance to a hiding place in the ghetto. Kovno, Lithuania, 1942.
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