The Shadow of Death The Holocaust in Lithuania

"The Shadow of Death: The Holocaust in Lithuania"

By Harry Gordon

There are stories that touch our lives when we hear them. Harry Gordon's story in "The Shadow of Death" does just that. After reading this book, it is amazing that Gordon is even alive to this tell this story.

The Holocaust is one of the most documents events is history. The shocking horrors of this historical time period are retold in numerous books, films, and documents. But none can be any more eye-opening than Gordon's personal recollection of his experience in Lithuania during this historical nightmare.

Gordon's story begins in June of 1940 when Konvo was suddenly surrounded by military tanks which many assumed were from Germany. This frightened many Jews, including Gordon and his family because they had heard that the Germans had already taken over France and Poland and were sending the Jews to ghettos and concentration camps. As soon as the saw the red stars and realized that they were Russians instead of Germans, their fears instantly disappeared. Little did they know that this was only the beginning of this horrendous event. Then in March of 1941, an order was issued that all German citizens in newly annexed Russian territory were to return to Germany. Jews now realized that war between Germany and Russia was unstoppable.

War began on June 22, 1941; this was also the beginning of a long battle to survival for Gordon. Gordon and his family, along with many other Jews in Konvo, tried to escape, only to find out that they had to turn around and return home. People were being shot to death and women were being tormented and raped; everything was chaos. Gordon was also faced with another tragedy in his life when he returned home: the death of his mother, who had died in a German hospital of "poison," as the German hospital worker told him.

The Jews were soon forced by the Germans to move into the ghettos. Many had to leave so quickly that they could not take many of their belongings, however, this didn't matter because once they were in the ghetto, the Germans collected the valuables leaving Jews with almost nothing. While in the ghetto, Gordon worked for the airfield work brigade working very hard for eighteen hours a day.

The little ghetto was liquidated on October 4, 1941; Gordon and his family along with other Jews in the small ghetto were all moved into the big ghetto, left to find a new place to live.