Fearless Defiance: Courageous Story of the Bielski Partisans

[Music] In the year 1941 the Jews of Eastern Europe were  being massacred by the thousands amid the chaos   Carnage and bloodshed Three Brothers managed to  escape certain deaths and take refuge in the dense   forests they had known since childhood there they  began their desperate battle against the Nazis   the brothers turned A Primitive struggle to  survive into something far more consequential   a way to avenge the deaths of their  loved ones by Saving thousands of others   at first it was all they could  do to survive and stay alive   but gradually as Whispers of their daring exploits  spread they began to attract others men and women   young and old willing to risk everything  for the sake of even a moment's freedom   as the brutal winter descended they worked to  create a community and to keep Faith alive when   all Humanity appeared to be lost join me as we  follow the exploits and explore the fascinating   story of tuviabieski and his brothers Jewish  partisans who dared to defy the Iron Fist of   Hitler and the Nazi regime this is an epic tale  of family honor Vengeance and salvation [Music]   thank you foreign it was early in 1943 and the  navagrada ghetto was buzzing with Whispers there   were rumors of an impending Nazi raid rumors  that the ghetto would be liquidated which was   a code word for the mass murder of all Jews  living inside its walls when war broke out   between Germany and the Soviet Union in June 1941  there had been over 6 000 Jews in Nova Groton in   December 1941 all these Jews were forced into a  ghetto between July 1941 and May 1943 the Jews   of navagrada were murdered in a series of Nazi  raids dwindling the Jewish population from over 6   000 down to less than 300. this small bedragle  group of Jews were determined to survive   as rumors of a final liquidation of the camp  increased leaders in the community decided that   they needed to act in order to save themselves  however Escape seemed like an Impossible Dream   the ghetto was guarded Around the Clock by a  unit of armed Nazi soldiers in addition the   entire ghetto was surrounded by two walls even  if one or two of the ghetto inmates could manage   to make it past the guards and walls and barbed  wire it was impossible for all of them to escape   and the Nazi policy was to kill everyone left  behind in the event that a handful did manage   to leave if the Jews of navagrada ghetto were  to escape then they needed to make sure that   no one was left behind finally they decided that  their only option was to Tunnel out of the ghetto   choosing the space under someone's bed is  the entry point of the tunnel a group of 50   diggers began to slowly shovel their way under  the ghetto finally after months of digging and   despite of challenges the tunnel was ready on  the 26th of September 1943 at 9 00 PM the first   Jews slipped through the entrance of the tunnel  and disappeared into the depths of the Earth   realizing that something was amiss the god  founded the alarm and began to open fire   in discriminatory but by this time many of  the evacuees were emerging on the other side   of the tunnel outside of the Ghetto Walls  breathing in their first taste of freedom   one of them a young 14 year old girl stumbled  into the dark moonless night it was raining   and the sounds of gunfire and The Barking of  attack dogs surrounded her in the distance   seeing a farmhouse she made a run she hid  in the Outhouse sitting in it for hours   too fearful to sleep listening to the shouts  and the gunshots and the dogs finally Adorn   when the activity had died down she decided to  run to the forest she had heard of a group of   Jewish resistance Fighters partisans who lived  in the forest defending themselves against Nazi   attacks Scavenging for food and above all else  refusing to bow to the tyranny of the Nazi machine   after hours of wandering the girl stumbled onto  the camp in the nalabaki forest in Western Belarus   she was welcomed with open arms given food and a  place to stay she had reached the campsite of the   vielskiotriate a group of 1200 Jews led by the  bioski brothers determined to survive the war when the Nazis Rose to power in 1933 their leader  Adolf Hitler had only two agenda items in mind   the first was to create a German super state that  dominated Europe and the world the second was to   systematically eradicate the Jewish race from  the face of the Earth quietly he began to put   in place measures to separate exclude and expel  Jews from every facet of German Society Germans   were ordered to boycott Jewish businesses and Jews  were systematically removed from civil service   then in November 1938 Herschel Greenspun  a Polish German Jew living in France   shot and killed Ernest vomrath a German Diplomat  living in Paris grinchpan was seeking revenge for   the German treatment of Jews including his own  family who had been forced into Exile in Poland   soon after vomrath's death Joseph Goebbels the  Nazi minister in charge of propaganda ordered   mob violence this took the form of what was  later known as the crystal Nach program or   the night of broken glass during crystallnacht  German paramilitary troops and Hitler Youth units   burned looted and vandalized thousands  of Jewish homes stores and synagogues   soon after this thirty thousand Jewish men were  arbitrarily arrested and sent to concentration   camps then on the 1st of September 1939 Germany  invaded Poland kicking off World War II by June   of 1940 Germany had invaded and occupied Denmark  Norway Belgium northern France and the Netherlands   then in June 1941 Germany launched Operation  Barbarossa and invaded the Soviet Union   however Hitler's ever-expanding Empire  held an increasing number of Jews and he   soon began to look for ways to deal with  what he referred to as the Jewish Problem   his deadly response became known as the final  solution Jews across Europe were labeled with   yellow stars and herded into ghettos or shipped  off to concentration camps to be exterminated   today we are familiar with the harrowing images  of emaciated Jews peering through wide fencing   and the layering smoke stacks of death camps like  Auschwitz where millions of Jews were murdered   these images are deeply disturbing and give  us a glimpse into what the human heart is   capable of at its worst but one aspect of Jewish  history during World War II that is overlooked   or more often unknown is the story of Jewish  partisans who defied the Nazi war machine [Music]   many of these partisans occupied the forests  of Western Belarus within the Soviet Union   and the most successful of these groups that  saved the most Jewish lives during World War   II was the bielsky otriad or the bielski partisans  the bielskis were a poor peasant family based in   the village of stankovich in Western Belarus the  Father David bielski owned a small Mill farmed the   land and kept some livestock his wife biela gave  birth to 12 children 10 sons and two daughters   the bielskis lived in a small two-roomed Hut and  were the only Jewish Family living in stankovich on the 1st of September 1939  Germany invaded Poland from the West   16 days later on the 17th of September the  Soviet Union invaded Poland from the East   the military Invasion lasted three weeks until  on the 6th of October 1939 the entire territory   of the second polish Republic was divided  between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union   for many Jews in the eastern part of the Polish  Republic the arrival of the Red Army was a welcome   sight they were glad to see Soviets because they  would Shield them from the far greater Terror of   Nazi hatred towards Jews but their sense of  relief was short-lived nine months later in   June 1941 Germany declared war on the Soviet  Union the German Onslaught against the Soviet   Union was as unexpected as it was sudden taking  Soviet authorities and civilians by surprise   to escape the luftwaffe parades tuvia and zos  bielski David and biela bielski's Sons fled   to the family home in stankovic with their  families as the situation unfolded and the   Germans gained the upper hand most Jews  began to realize the time was running out the first German army unit rolled into stankevich  on the 1st of July 1941. they chose the bielski's   Farmland to set up camp and set up their  headquarters in the backyard of the family's small   home at first the Germans appeared friendly but  soon they issued orders demanding that all Jews   who were not permanent residents of stankevich  immediately Evacuate The Village on pain of death   and his brother Zeus were forced to leave  and return to their respective homes   during this time tuvia went to the nearby town  of novogradeck to visit his brother assail   while he was there both brothers were arrested  by the Germans and forced into a labor camp   they managed to escape in the dead of night and  vowed that they would never allow themselves to   be captured by the Germans again as the Nazi  reign of terror began to sweep over Russia   Jews began to get a taste of what their  Western European counterparts had experienced   by the time the Nazis invaded the  Soviet Union they had perfected their   methods of Jewish extermination determined to  accelerate the process of Jewish annihilation   they introduced specialized killing  units specially trained to murder Jews   this group known as the einsatz group would follow  close on the heels of the advancing army they   would encircle and trap large Jewish population  Centers before their unsuspecting victims had a   chance to figure out what was happening and it was  too late to escape in the massacres that followed   this Elite Nazi killing machine was assisted  by the German Army and local collaborators by October 1941 Truvia assailen Zeus bielsky  began to covertly move in and out of society they   spend time with their families picked up workers  casual day laborers on farms and would hide in   the surrounding forests when circumstances posed  a threat but they refused to settle into ghettos ghettos were lodged in closed districts where  Jews were isolated from the rest of society   in order to place Jews in a ghetto Nazi  authorities would follow a familiar pattern   first Jews were identified and separated  from their non-jewish counterparts   often their property was confiscated  and they were refused employment   once this phase was completed they were rounded  up and forced into ghettos where living conditions   were appalling extreme overcrowding in the  confined area led to the outbreak of epidemics   and the abject Poverty of the inhabitants  led to starvation and often death [Music]   towards the end of 1941 the bielsky farm  in stankevich was raided by the Germans   the vielski brothers learned that  their parents had been arrested   and taken to the novograda ghetto along  with Zeus bilzi's wife and baby daughter   then on the 7th of December 1941 there  was a massive raid at the novograde ghetto   four thousand Jews were massacred and among them  were the bielski's parents and the wives of two   of the brothers Truvia and Zeus this tragedy  was a turning point for the bielsky brothers   now more than ever they were determined to  concentrate on defying the German Army and   freeing themselves and those who are dear to them  from their clutches by March 1942 a sale bielski   had gathered nine fugitive Jews around him in the  forest near navagrotic by then it was impossible   to work in exchange for food this was because the  local non-jewish population was terrified of the   severe punishments that would inevitably follow  if they were called assisting or harboring Jews   so in order to gather food assault bielsky's  little group began to venture out of the forest   at dusk with their guns in their hands visiting  local farmers and asking for food bit by bit   they realized that a large group of well-organized  well-armed Jews was the best solution to surviving   the Nazi Reign of Terror as time progressed  and German raids became more aggressive   many Jewish fugitives began to realize that  the forest offered them more safety than hiding   in sympathetic neighbors homes then in May 1942  there was another mass murder at the leader ghetto   bielski urged his friend alter ticton who had  survived the murder to prepare to leave the ghetto   with his family the heavy security surrounding the  ghetto made it impossible for tuvia to infiltrate   it however he managed to orchestrate ticton's  escape from outside the ghetto suntuvia and his   small group of fugitive Jews joined his brother  a sales group and they fused into a single unit   the group began to increase in size as more and  more Jews escaped the surrounding ghettos and   joined them finally around May 1942 they decided  that they needed to formally organize themselves   into a partisan group though they went under  several different names they were always known   as the belski autreyard under the command of  tuvia bielski the oldest of her three brothers   what made the bielski or Triad so unique was their  willingness to accept and integrate all Jews who   came to them as fugitives whether they were armed  and able-bodied or not this meant that their group   had a high percentage of unarmed women children  and elderly people who were protected and provided   for by those who are able to fight most Russian  partisans who operated in the forests focused on   armed conflict or sabotage against the Germans  but the bielskis focused more on saving lives   tuvia bielski insisted that self-preservation was  intricately linked to the preservation of others   he believed that in working to save others we  inevitably save ourselves often said it was   simple the Germans caught my father mother and two  brothers they were taken to their death so would I   imitate them by killing some Germans it didn't pay  to me it made no sense I wanted to save not kill   however regardless of their desire to stay  away from Waging War against the Germans the   billskiotriad was asked to cooperate in anti-nazi  raids alongside Russian partisans in the area   these joint military Ventures began in the last  quarter of 1942 and continued well into 1943.   much of this involved sabotaging Railway stations  Bridges telephone lines and hacking Supply trucks   then in July 1943 the Germans planned an  attack to eliminate the partisans hiding in   the naliboki forest the bielski otriot had set up  a semi-permanent Camp there and were in danger of   being captured and killed when they heard that  the Germans were coming they hastily abandoned   their camp and evacuated onto an island in the  middle of a swamp the evacuation took the group of   nearly 700 Jews through dangerous terrain but all  of them managed to make it safely to the island   after weeks of camping out in the swampland the  partisans managed to make it through German lines   and Evacuate the forest finding shelter in  nearby Villages before eventually making it   back to the nalabaki forest after the danger  had passed eventually the bielski arteryard   grew to 1200 people and by the Autumn of 1943  they organized themselves into a small stettle   or town with workshops and a large communal  kitchen by the end of 1943 close to three   million polish Jews had been slaughtered this was  about 90 percent of the pre-war Jewish population   then on the 6th of June 1944 the Allied Forces  landed in Normandy France and on the 23rd of June   the Red Army opened its great offensive operation  targeting the belarussian and Baltic fronts   as Soviet troops surged forward Jewish partisans  played their part in disrupting the arrival of   German reinforcements by destroying vital  roads and bridges then in July 1944 the Red   Army swept victoriously through Belarus pursuing  the retreating German Army and liberating towns on   the way but the war still continued to rage and  the order came down from Soviet authorities for   the bielski Atria to evacuate their camp and go to  novogradding where they would be issued with new   identification papers and relocated there most  of them were enlisted in the Red Army and sent   to the front where they died bielski was among  these recruits and he died in marianburg Germany   leaving behind his pregnant wife chaja after the  war truvier and Zeus with their families first   settled in Israel and then later relocated to the  United States where they ran a trucking business   was a unique man in fact there was no one else  quite like him a Jewish resistance fighter who   during the height of Nazi power not only defied  capture but saved 1200 Jews from being murdered   as well he died at the age of 81 in New York  leaving behind his wife lilka and three children the story of the bielsky partisans is inspiring  because of its uniqueness it's a singularity and   anomaly in an otherwise predictable pattern of  Massacre and victimization at a time when Jews   were forced to go quietly Into The Dark Night  of annihilation the vielskis defied the norm   and raged against the Nazi killing machine we live  in a world besieged by another Master Of Terror an   invisible being that the Bible in Revelation  12 and verse 7 calls the devil and Satan   he's a master of Cruelty and suffering destroying  anyone who places themselves in his power   but we can choose to be part of a small group that  actively defies this Reign by placing ourselves   under the banner of another Commander listen to  what Jesus says in John chapter 16 and verse 33.   these things I have spoken unto you that  in me you might have peace in the world   you shall have tribulation but be of  good cheer I have overcome the world   Jesus offers us hope in a world  besieged by uncertainty and fear   instead of going quietly Into The Dark Night of  sin and hopelessness Jesus lifts up the light of   Truth and invites us to join his band of partisans  resistance Fighters determined to defy Satan's   reign of terror and stand in aligns with God's  reign of Love and Hope and just as the partisans   experienced the joy of freedom Jesus has promised  us freedom too in Revelation chapter 21 and verse   4 the Bible tells us he will wipe away every tear  from their eyes and Death Shall be no more neither   shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain  anymore for the former things have passed away   we may live in a world besieged by hatred violence  and hopelessness but Jesus offers us hope not just   for this world but for eternity if you'd like to  partner with Jesus today and find that real hope   if you'd like to experience how God is with us  even during our darkest and most difficult trials   then I'd like to recommend the free gift we have  for all our Incredible Journey viewers today   it's the booklet finding courage to meet life's  challenges I'm sure you'll want to read this   small booklet that explores the big theme of good  versus evil in our world today this booklet is our   gift to you and is absolutely free I guarantee  there are no costs or obligations whatsoever   so make the most of this wonderful opportunity  to receive the gift we have for you today   phone or text 0436 Triple Three triple five in  Australia or 020 422-2042 in New Zealand or visit   our website tij.tv or simply scan the QR code on  your screen and we'll send you today's free offer   totally free of charge and with no obligation  write to us at GPO box 274 Sydney New South Wales   2001 Australia or P.O box 76673 Manukau Auckland  2241 New Zealand don't delay call or text us now   be sure to join us again next week when  we will share another of life's Journeys   together until then I invite you to join  me as we pray dear heavenly father thank   you for the hope and assurance that you give  us thank you for being right there with us as   we Face our struggles and challenges every day  we reach out to you today and ask you to guide   us on life's pathway give us the strength to  follow your leading we ask in Jesus name amen [Music]   foreign [Music]

Channel: The Incredible Journey

Views: 22,232

Keywords: Tuvia Bielski, The Bielski Partisans, Bielski, world war 2, jewish resistance, jews world war 2, belarus, belarus world war 2, germany vs russia, germany vs belarus, germany world war 2, world war 2 documentary, nazi army, nazis, holocaust, prisoners of war, jews holocaust, auschwitz survivors, auschwitz escape, survivors world war 2, history of world war 2, gary kent, the incredible journey, Finding Courage to Meet Life’s Challenges, life lessons, jesus christ, heaven, God

Id: PUMbFtdDeDA

Length: 28min 30sec (1710 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 17 2023