Yitzhak Arad
Encyclopedia
Yitzhak Arad (né Itzhak Rudnicki) (born November 11, 1926), is an Israeli historian
, retired IDF
brigadier general and a former Soviet partisan who has served as director of Yad Vashem
from 1972 to 1993. He is wanted for war crimes by Lithuania
, and is accused by the prosecution of having served in the NKVD
.
(now Švenčionys
, Lithuania
). In his youth, he belonged to the Zionist youth movement
Ha-No'ar ha-Tsiyyoni. During the war – according to Arad's 1993 interview with Harry J. Cargas – he was active in the ghetto underground movement from 1942 to 1944. In February 1943, he joined the Soviet partisans
of the Markov Brigade, a primarily non-Jewish unit in which he had to contend with antisemitism
. Apart from a foray infiltrating the Vilna Ghetto
in April 1943 to meet with underground leader Abba Kovner
, he stayed with the Soviet partisans until the end of the war, fighting the Germans, taking part in mining trains and in ambushes around the Narocz Forest of Belarus
. "The official attitude of the Soviet partisan movement was that there was no place for Jewish units" acting independently, said Arad.
Historian Mark Paul explains that Arad (then Rudnicki, aged 18), belonged to a partisan unit which was part of the Voroshilov Brigade based in Narocz forest, involved in punitive missions against other partisan groups whom they considered as enemies. The Voroshilov brigade partisans were representing Soviet interests in the region and followed the NKVD directives in numerous "Revenge" actions. Noah Shneidman estimates that there were at least 300 Jewish partisans in it, one-fifth of its numerical strength. Piotr Zychowicz (Rzeczpospolita
), points out that according to evidence in possession of the Lithuanian court system, Arad joined the NKVD at the end of 1944, and became active in combatting the anti-Communist Lithuanian underground. He participated in the NKVD destruction of Tigras brigade of the Lithuanian Liberation Army
. In his interview Arad insisted that he was not on the NKVD payroll, thus contradicting the physical evidence presented by Rytas Narvydas from the Lithuanian prosecutor's office. He was allegedly dismissed from the NKVD ranks for his undisciplined behaviour. However in the same interview it is clearly stated that the documents allegedly demonstrating the participation of Arad to the criminal actions (that would have happened while the war was still ongoing) are being kept secret and are not available to the public.
In December 1945, Yitzhak Arad immigrated illegally
to Palestine
, on the Ha'apala (Aliyah Bet) boat named after Hannah Szenes
. In Arad's military career in the IDF, he reached the rank of brigadier general and was appointed to the post of Chief Education Officer. He retired in 1972.
, he has researched World War II
and the Holocaust, and has published extensively as author and editor, primarily in Hebrew. His current research deals with the Holocaust in the USSR. Dr. Yitzhak Arad served as the director (Chairman of the Directorate) of Yad Vashem
, Israel's Holocaust Remembrance Authority, for 21 years (1972–1993). He remains associated with Yad Vashem in an advisor's capacity.
asked Israel to extradite Arad to Lithuania for questioning. The chief prosecutor of Lithuania suspected that Arad had served in the NKVD
and had been involved in executions of Lithuanian civilians and members of the anti-Soviet resistance movement. Israel refused the request, and called it "nothing short of outrageous". Arad denied involvement, claiming that the allegations are a vendetta for his having painstakingly listed atrocities committed by Lithuanian collaborators. Nevertheless, Lithuanian prosecutor Rimvydas Valentukevicius told AFP, based on materials made available by the Lithuanian Genocide and Resistance Research Center: "We have many documents, which allow us to think that Arad participated in criminal activities." It should be noted, however, that at that time Arad was 18 years old and, as soon the war ended, emigrated to Palestine.
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
, retired IDF
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
brigadier general and a former Soviet partisan who has served as director of Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem is Israel's official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, established in 1953 through the Yad Vashem Law passed by the Knesset, Israel's parliament....
from 1972 to 1993. He is wanted for war crimes by Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, and is accused by the prosecution of having served in the NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
.
Early life and war experiences
Arad was born Itzhak Rudnicki on November 11, 1926 in what was then Święciany in the Second Polish RepublicSecond Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
(now Švenčionys
Švencionys
Švenčionys is a city located north of Vilnius in Lithuania. It is the capital of the Švenčionys district municipality. As of 2005, it had population of 5,658 of which about one-third is part of the Polish minority in Lithuania.- Name :...
, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
). In his youth, he belonged to the Zionist youth movement
Zionist youth movement
A Zionist youth movement is an organization formed for Jewish children and adolescents for educational, social, and ideological development, including a belief in Jewish nationalism as represented in the State of Israel...
Ha-No'ar ha-Tsiyyoni. During the war – according to Arad's 1993 interview with Harry J. Cargas – he was active in the ghetto underground movement from 1942 to 1944. In February 1943, he joined the Soviet partisans
Soviet partisans
The Soviet partisans were members of a resistance movement which fought a guerrilla war against the Axis occupation of the Soviet Union during World War II....
of the Markov Brigade, a primarily non-Jewish unit in which he had to contend with antisemitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
. Apart from a foray infiltrating the Vilna Ghetto
Vilna Ghetto
The Vilna Ghetto or Vilnius Ghetto was a Jewish ghetto established by Nazi Germany in the city of Vilnius in the occupied Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic , during the Holocaust in World War II...
in April 1943 to meet with underground leader Abba Kovner
Abba Kovner
Abba Kovner was a Lithuanian Jewish Hebrew poet, writer, and partisan leader. He became one of the great poets of modern Israel. He was a cousin of the Israeli Communist Party leader Meir Vilner.-Biography:...
, he stayed with the Soviet partisans until the end of the war, fighting the Germans, taking part in mining trains and in ambushes around the Narocz Forest of Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
. "The official attitude of the Soviet partisan movement was that there was no place for Jewish units" acting independently, said Arad.
Historian Mark Paul explains that Arad (then Rudnicki, aged 18), belonged to a partisan unit which was part of the Voroshilov Brigade based in Narocz forest, involved in punitive missions against other partisan groups whom they considered as enemies. The Voroshilov brigade partisans were representing Soviet interests in the region and followed the NKVD directives in numerous "Revenge" actions. Noah Shneidman estimates that there were at least 300 Jewish partisans in it, one-fifth of its numerical strength. Piotr Zychowicz (Rzeczpospolita
Rzeczpospolita
Rzeczpospolita is a traditional name of the Polish State, usually referred to as Rzeczpospolita Polska . It comes from the words: "rzecz" and "pospolita" , literally, a "common thing". It comes from latin word "respublica", meaning simply "republic"...
), points out that according to evidence in possession of the Lithuanian court system, Arad joined the NKVD at the end of 1944, and became active in combatting the anti-Communist Lithuanian underground. He participated in the NKVD destruction of Tigras brigade of the Lithuanian Liberation Army
Lithuanian partisans
The Lithuanian partisans can refer to various irregular military units in different historical periods active in Lithuania against foreign invaders and occupiers:...
. In his interview Arad insisted that he was not on the NKVD payroll, thus contradicting the physical evidence presented by Rytas Narvydas from the Lithuanian prosecutor's office. He was allegedly dismissed from the NKVD ranks for his undisciplined behaviour. However in the same interview it is clearly stated that the documents allegedly demonstrating the participation of Arad to the criminal actions (that would have happened while the war was still ongoing) are being kept secret and are not available to the public.
In December 1945, Yitzhak Arad immigrated illegally
Ha'apala
Aliyah Bet |bet]] being the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet) was the code name given to illegal immigration by Jews to the British Mandate for Palestine in violation of British White Paper of 1939 restrictions, in the years 1934-1948. In modern day Israel it has also been called by the Hebrew...
to Palestine
Mandate Palestine
Mandate Palestine existed while the British Mandate for Palestine, which formally began in September 1923 and terminated in May 1948, was in effect...
, on the Ha'apala (Aliyah Bet) boat named after Hannah Szenes
Hannah Szenes
Hannah Szenes , often anglicized as Hannah Senesh was a Hungarian Jew, one of 37 Jews from the British Mandate for Palestine that were trained by the British army to parachute into Yugoslavia during the Second World War in order to help save the Jews of Hungary, who were about to be deported to...
. In Arad's military career in the IDF, he reached the rank of brigadier general and was appointed to the post of Chief Education Officer. He retired in 1972.
Academic career
In his academic career as a lecturer on Jewish history at Tel Aviv UniversityTel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University is a public university located in Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel. With nearly 30,000 students, TAU is Israel's largest university.-History:...
, he has researched World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and the Holocaust, and has published extensively as author and editor, primarily in Hebrew. His current research deals with the Holocaust in the USSR. Dr. Yitzhak Arad served as the director (Chairman of the Directorate) of Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem is Israel's official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, established in 1953 through the Yad Vashem Law passed by the Knesset, Israel's parliament....
, Israel's Holocaust Remembrance Authority, for 21 years (1972–1993). He remains associated with Yad Vashem in an advisor's capacity.
Wanted for war crimes
In 2007, LithuaniaLithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
asked Israel to extradite Arad to Lithuania for questioning. The chief prosecutor of Lithuania suspected that Arad had served in the NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
and had been involved in executions of Lithuanian civilians and members of the anti-Soviet resistance movement. Israel refused the request, and called it "nothing short of outrageous". Arad denied involvement, claiming that the allegations are a vendetta for his having painstakingly listed atrocities committed by Lithuanian collaborators. Nevertheless, Lithuanian prosecutor Rimvydas Valentukevicius told AFP, based on materials made available by the Lithuanian Genocide and Resistance Research Center: "We have many documents, which allow us to think that Arad participated in criminal activities." It should be noted, however, that at that time Arad was 18 years old and, as soon the war ended, emigrated to Palestine.
Names
He was born Itzhak Rudnicki, later adopting the Hebrew surname Arad . During World War II, he was known as "Tolya" in the underground and among the partisans.As author
- The partisan : from the Valley of Death to Mount Zion (1979)
- Ghetto in flames : the struggle and destruction of the Jews in Vilna in the Holocaust (1980)
- Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka : the Operation Reinhard death camps (1987) ISBN 0-253-21305-3
- In the Shadow of the Red Banner (2010), Gefen Publishing House. ISBN 978-9652294876
As editor
- Documents on the Holocaust: selected sources on the destruction of the Jews of Germany and Austria, Poland, and the Soviet Union (1982, rev. 1989, 1999) with Israel Gutman and Abraham Margaliot
- The Einsatzgruppen reports: selections from the dispatches of the Nazi Death Squads’ campaign against the Jews July 1941-January 1943 (1989) with Shmuel Krakowski and Shmuel Spector
- Pictorial History of the Holocaust (1990)
- Ponary diary, 1941-1943 : a bystander’s account of a mass murder, by Kazimierz Sakowicz (2005, from the Polish)