Vitka Kempner-Kovner grew up in a Revisionist home, and was the first woman to join Betar in Kalish. After graduating from high school, she studied at the Institute of Jewish Studies at Warsaw University. She joined various student organisations, including Hashomer Hatzair and Avuka. In September 1939, she arrived in Vilna, and after the establishment of the ghetto, she served as a liaison between it and the rest of the city. In early 1942, she took part in blowing up a German train, the first act of resistance of its kind in the area. In the Rudniki forest, she was a commander of reconnaissance units, and took part in a highly dangerous sabotage operation on the main street in Vilna. After the war, she immigrated to Palestine, where she was trained as a clinical psychologist. She settled on Kibbutz Ein Hahoresh, alongside her partner Abba Kovner, and her friend Rozka Korchak.