Yitzhak Wittenberg

Yitzhak Wittenberg ( also Itsik Vit (s) nberg / Leo Itsig ) (* 1907, † July 16, 1943 in Vilnius ) was a Jewish communist and commander of the Jewish resistance organization Fareinikte Partisaner Organisatzije ( FPO) in the Ghetto Vilna.

Life

The skilled tailors Wittenberg occurred early in the Communist Party of Poland and was active for this during the brief Soviet occupation of Vilna. After the German invasion of the Soviet Union on June 1941 and the occupation of Vilna by the Germans 22, he went into hiding. In founding the FPO on January 21, 1942 Wittenberg was chosen because of his experience in the underground commander.

By July 1943, succeeded Wittenberg to remain undetected, but when the Germans aufrollten the network of communist resistance in Vilna, the Gestapo became aware of him and demanded his extradition. Jacob Gens, Chairman of the Judenrat in the ghetto Vilna, Wittenberg then invited you to a meeting where he was arrested by (presumably Lithuanian ) policemen. Even before he could be handed over to the Gestapo, Wittenberg was liberated by the FPO. Then put the Gestapo an ultimatum: either Wittenberg would be delivered or liquidate the entire ghetto. Under these circumstances, Wittenberg voluntarily turned the ghetto police.

That same night, Wittenberg was handed over to the Gestapo. In Gestapo prison, he took his own life, reportedly with a cyanide capsule, which is said to have leaked to him gene.