Efraim Oshry (1914–2003)

This account, written by a very pious Orthodox rabbi, is in the first half a memoir of his own experiences in the Kovno Ghetto, and in the second half a listing of Lithuanian Jewish communities that were annihilated by the Nazis. Rabbi Oshry focuses on the religious life of the Lithuanian Jews, careful to name the rabbis in each town he lists. According to him, Kovno had a remarkably observant Jewish population: "A whole book could be written about the spiritual life of the Kovno ghetto. A long string of pearls was woven into the fabric of that awesome period in which, despite everything, a life full of beauty and wealth was revealed." Many of the chapters (which are generally quite short, three or four pages on average) focus on the Kovno Jews' efforts to abide by Jewish law and perform the required rituals under very difficult circumstances.

This book would be good to read alongside other books about Kovno, such as the Hidden History of the Kovno Ghetto. I think perhaps Rabbi Oshry's memoir overemphasizes the spiritual life of the city, but he is certainly a valuable source of information and he was a genuinely gifted writer.… (més)