December 31 1941 – 11 Tevet 5702
At a meeting for Zionist youth held in a convent outside Vilna, Abba Kovner read out his famous declaration, “We shall no longer go like sheep to the slaughter.” Kovner had recently discovered the true fate of the Jews sent in transports to “transit camps” such as Treblinka, and he called for armed resistance. As a result of the meeting and his stirring call to action, Jews in Vilna formed the United Partisan Organization, and a revolt was organized. Kovner’s revolt failed and he became part of a partisan unit. Later, he was active in smuggling Jews into Mandate Palestine, and in the Revenge movement which pursued and killed Nazis who’d escaped justice. After fighting in the War of Independence, Kovner settled down on a kibbutz with his wife and pursued a career as a poet. He was one of the main witnesses for the prosecution at Adolph Eichmann’s trial in Jerusalem.
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