Macha Rolnikas, also Maria Rolnikaite and Masha Rolnik (21 July 1927, in Vilnius - 7 April 2016, in Saint Petersburg) was a

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

n writer and Holocaust survivor. Rolnikas' family were Jewish and prominent in the local community, and when the Wehrmacht took control of

in 1941, her father joined

the underground resistance ''The Underground Resistance'' is the 15th studio album by Norwegian black metal band Darkthrone. It was released 25 February 2013 by Peaceville Records. Production The album was recorded from spring 2010 through summer 2012 at Necrohell II Stu ...

. Rolnikas and the remainder of her family were sent to the

Vilna Ghetto The Vilna Ghetto was a World War II Jewish ghetto established and operated by Nazi Germany in the city of Vilnius in the modern country of Lithuania, at the time part of the Nazi-administered Reichskommissariat Ostland. During the approximatel ...

, and subsequently moved to Stutthof concentration camp for employment as an undertaker. As a result of her "employment", she survived in the camp until the Red Army liberated Stutthof in 1944. She was reunited in Vilnius with her older sister and father; her younger siblings and mother were most probably killed in Paneriai after the liquidation of the Vilna Ghetto. Following the end of the war, Rolnikas moved to the Soviet Union, first to study at the

Maxim Gorky Literature Institute The Maxim Gorky Literature Institute (russian: Литературный институт им. А. М. Горького) is an institution of higher education in Moscow. It is located at 25 Tverskoy Boulevard in central Moscow. History The insti ...

, and later to Leningrad after she was married. Her concentration camp diary was later adapted into a book, ''I Must Tell'', that was published in the USSR in 1964 in

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

, Hebrew and

Lithuanian Lithuanian may refer to: * Lithuanians * Lithuanian language * The country of Lithuania * Grand Duchy of Lithuania * Culture of Lithuania * Lithuanian cuisine * Lithuanian Jews as often called "Lithuanians" (''Lita'im'' or ''Litvaks'') by other Jew ...

, and in Paris in

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

in 1966. Translated into English by Daniel H. Shubin.

References

External links

I Must Tell, Maria Rolnikaite, Masha Rolnik
English translation by Daniel H. Shubin, 2018, with biography. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rolnikas, Macha 1927 births 2016 deaths Writers from Vilnius Stutthof concentration camp survivors Vilna Ghetto inmates Lithuanian Jews Soviet Jews Maxim Gorky Literature Institute alumni