Ilya Gerber (F / Lithuania, 1924-1943), Holocaust victim

Ilya Gerber (F / Lithuania, 1924-1943), Holocaust victim

• KEYWORDS : Kovno Ghetto

• MEMOIRS : The Diary of Ilya Gerber, 1942-43

Biography

Ilya Gerber was born on July 23, 1924, in Kovno, Lithuania. Ilya was the youngest of two children, and his father was a well known music teacher and conductor in the community.

In June 1940, the Baltic States, including Lithuania, were annexed to the Soviet Union under the terms of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact. One year later, Germany invaded the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, severing this agreement and initiating the start of war between Germany and the Soviet Union.

German forces occupied Kovno, immediately implementing repressive decrees and carrying out several mass executions at the nearby Seventh Fort. Ilya Gerber and his family were among the 17,000 Jews who survived the roundups and executions. On July 10, 1941 the Germans decreed that the Jews of Kovno, approximately 30,000, were to be moved into the sealed Kovno Ghetto.

During his time in the ghetto, Ilya lived as a member of what was considered a more "privileged" class because of his father's connections to high-ranking members of the Jewish Council.

However, between October 1943, when massive roundups resumed, and the final liquidation of the Kovno Ghetto in July 1944, Ilya and his entire family are presumed to have perished, although nothing specific is known about their fate. The only thing that is left is the diary she wrote during her confinement in the Kovno Ghetto.