For one year, between the time they were rounded up
and their final transport to concentration camps, all the Jews in the city of
Vilna lived in a ghetto—a tiny, squalid neighborhood blocked off from the rest
of the city. But contrary to what we tend to think about ghetto life, the area
was bustling, as residents learned how to live in terrible conditions, support
themselves and each other, and create some culture and hope as they did so. Seventy-two years after the ghetto's liquidation, Menachem Kaiser and the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research are creating reVilna, a virtual map of the area. Complete with photos, stories, markers of shops and synagogues, and a timeline showing the history of its population and depopulation, the map attempts to recreate that tragic time—and that fascinating culture—in a virtual world.
The map is online now, though its functionality is still limited. reVilna recently ended a Kickstarter fundraising campaign to complete the project.
- Matthue Roth
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