ReVilna Map of Vilnius Ghetto

I selected the mapping project titled, “ReVilna,” which is a map of the Vilnius Ghetto. This project uses maps in order to give a visual to a narrative. It brings location into the narrative and permits viewers to create an association between places and events. There are several options in the methods in which you can explore the Vilnius Ghetto using the map. You can navigate via clicking on an animated story which takes you through everything, step-by-step, or you can manually explore. If you opt to manually explore, you can click on each story to view them in the order you wish, you can view the image gallery, or you can view all of the places on one map. I particularly liked the “all places” view, because there is an easy to understand key, which uses colors and shapes. All of the places included in the various stories are visible together, permitting a wider scope of where the events took place. You are able to zoom in and out on the map, but the zoom out feature only goes out so far. All in all, I think the maps help bring credibility to the narratives and makes everything feel much more real.

The map reflects several assumptions, with the main one being that the viewer has heard of the Vilnius Ghetto before. It assumes you already have a background on the subject and already understand the “why” behind it all. It also assumes you are familiar with some Lithuanian words. I had absolutely no prior knowledge of the Vilnius Ghetto, and it took some exploring of the map for me to realize what it was about. I was lost with some of the terminology, which was not explained very well, if at all. The point of view which this map reflects, is that of a historian or a (possibly) local expert with great interest in the subject matter.

The map reveals photographic images, locations, and “stories” of the Vilnius Ghetto. It also reveals street names in order to give more reference to the locations they are discussing. I believe the map obscures quite a bit, however. The ability to zoom is very limited, and it was difficult for me to really see where all of this occurred. I would have liked to see the country’s position in relation to the rest of the world. The map also does not provide nearby building features or anything about what the area looks like today. The areas on the map are mainly gray, with simple outlines of building shapes and dots showing where the photographs were likely taken. In addition, I feel the narrative is lacking in personal accounts of the events and any type of personalization whatsoever. The “stories” are not so much stories, but are broad retellings of events. There is no feeling to the narrative, and it brought about no emotion from me. The narrative is simple an account of what actions were performed, where, and when. There is no context behind anything and no explanations.

In an alternate map, I can imagine it being more detailed. I would like it to show the locations on a map which reflects the surroundings in the way it looks today. I would also like the “stories” to actually reflect individual stories, and for the map to evoke feelings from viewers. The ability to zoom would also be fixed so people could zoom in and out as they would be able to do on a Google Map, in order for viewers to gain a better perspective.