{"product_id":"so-we-died-a-memoir-of-life-and-death-in-the-ghetto-of-siauliai-lithuania-9780817361747","title":"So We Died: A Memoir of Life and Death in the Ghetto of Siauliai, Lithuania","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eA powerful eyewitness account of the Shavl ghetto in Nazi-occupied Lithuania\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eSo We Died: A Memoir of Life and Death in the Ghetto of Siauliai, Lithuania\u003c\/i\u003e (\u003ci\u003eAzoy zaynen mir geshtorbn\u003c\/i\u003e) is a powerful eyewitness account of the Shavl ghetto during the Nazi occupation of Lithuania. Written in Yiddish by Levi Shalit and available now for the first time in English, the work fills a stark void in historical records. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Shalit divided his work into four sections. In the first, he describes the German invasion of Siauliai, the murder of thousands of Jews in the city and surrounding countryside, and the forced relocation of the surviving Jews into the Shavl ghetto. In the second, he describes daily life in the ghetto in engrossing detail. In the third, titled \"The Masada Book,\" Shalit describes ghetto residents' attempt to organize a resistance group of which he himself was a member. In the fourth, he narrates the transformation of the ghetto into a concentration camp and the seizure and deportation of the community's children. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Few accounts of the Shavl ghetto survived the war. Shalit's work offers English-language readers a rare insight into a vital chapter of history. The translators artfully reveal Shalit's literary prowess and the ways he illuminated the Shavl ghetto's daily struggles, false hopes, and atrocities. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e More than an account of a previously overlooked episode in Holocaust history, \u003ci\u003eSo We Died\u003c\/i\u003e is a testament to the enduring power of the human spirit in the face of unspeakable tragedy. It offers keen insight into a time of war, fascism, and resistance. A must-read for anyone seeking understanding and remembrance. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eLevi Shalit\u003c\/b\u003e (1916-1994) was born in Kuybyshev (now Samara), Russia, and raised in Lithuania. During World War II, he was confined in the ghetto in Siauliai, Lithuania, then transported to the Dachau concentration camp in Germany. After the war, he lived in Munich, where the original Yiddish-language edition of this book, \u003ci\u003eAzoy zaynen mir geshtorbn\u003c\/i\u003e, was published. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eVeronica Belling\u003c\/b\u003e is author of \u003ci\u003eBibliography of South African Jewry\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eYiddish Theatre in South Africa: A History from the Late Nineteenth Century to 1960\u003c\/i\u003e. She is translator of Leibl Feldman's \u003ci\u003eJews in Johannesburg\u003c\/i\u003e and author of many scholarly articles. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eJustin Cammy\u003c\/b\u003e is a professor of Jewish studies and world literatures at Smith College. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eEllen Cassedy\u003c\/b\u003e is translator of \u003ci\u003eOn the Landing: Stories by Yenta Mash\u003c\/i\u003e, the cotranslator (with Yermiyahu Ahron Taub) of \u003ci\u003eOedipus in Brooklyn and Other Stories\u003c\/i\u003e by Blume Lempel, and author of \u003ci\u003eWe Are Here: Memories of the Lithuanian Holocaust\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAndrew Cassel\u003c\/b\u003e is a former newspaper editor and reporter. He is cotranslator (with Gabriel Laufer) of \u003ci\u003eNotes from the Valley of Slaughter: A Memoir from the Ghetto of Siauliai, Lithuania\u003c\/i\u003e by Aharon Pick. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"University Alabama Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50869140095250,"sku":"9780817361747","price":34.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_f0583840-f5d4-4e83-992d-f82716ad69a4.jpg?v=1737748544","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/so-we-died-a-memoir-of-life-and-death-in-the-ghetto-of-siauliai-lithuania-9780817361747","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}