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Sara was born in 1927 in Chalkis, a small town near Athens, Greece. She was born a Jew even though her family identified 100% Greek. They celebrated being Jewish by lighting candles every Friday and attending temple on holidays. Also, Sara never knew her father, her had passed away when she was only two months old. Sara and her sister were both raised by their mother and both girls enjoyed a very happy childhood.

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Once the Nazis had invaded Sara's village, she knew it was time to escape to another village. They found a small village called Kuturla. The Nazis had arrived in that village as well. So, Sara was told to leave the village and the villager promised to keep her mother hidden from the world.Soon after Sara left the village, Sara decided to become a andarte or a resistance.

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An interview with the one and only Sara Fortis 

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An interview with the one and only Sara Fortis 

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Sara Fortis - The women partisans burn down a house

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Never Again - Holocaust Remembrance Song

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https://www.jewishpartisans.org/partisans/sara-fortis#:~:text=She%20never%20knew%20her%20father,and%20attending%20temple%20on%20holidays.

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Sara Fortis in partisan uniform. Date unknown.

Video still from interview, August 2004

Sara Fortis (born Sarika Yehoshua) was born in 1927 in Chalkis, a small town near Athens, Greece. She never knew her father, who passed away when she was only two months old. Sara and her sister were raised by their mother and they enjoyed a happy childhood. Although they identified as 100% Greek, they also celebrated being Jewish by lighting candles every Friday and attending temple on holidays.

Sara knew it was time to leave her hometown when the Germans arrived in 1941. She had heard about Jews in other small Greek towns being deported by the Nazis and never returning. Sara and her mother escaped to the small village of Kuturla and hid there for a short while. When it was no longer safe for Jews, Sara was told to escape while the villagers agreed to hide her mother. Leaving her mother, Sara decided to become an andarte ( resistance fighter). Wanting to play a significant role in the group, she traveled from village to village to recruit other females who wanted to fight.

Sara formed a band of female partisans that became indispensable to the male fighters, transforming young village girls into women. On their first mission, they were ordered to throw Molotov cocktails to distract the enemy and allow the partisans to attack. Impressed by their skills, the male partisans invited the all-female group to join in many missions. They burned down houses, executed Nazi collaborators, and aided the men in a way no group of females had before. The male andartes were given credit for many missions the women completed, as it was unfathomable that women could accomplish such acts. Often, the women were forced to sleep next to the men, and Sara constantly worried about the women's safety.

Sara became a prominent and well-respected figure in the andartes movement in Greece. By age 18, she was known as 'Kapetenissa [Captain] Sarika.' The Nazis sent an informer to try and capture her, but mistakenly arrested, brutally raped, and murdered her cousin, Medi. Vowing revenge, she tracked down and executed the informer.

After the war, the andartes fell out of favor with the new Greek government. Sara was arrested but owing to her great reputation, she was released shortly after. She then immigrated to Israel, where she met her husband and settled down.

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Born Sarika Yehoshua in 1927 in Chalkis, Greece, Sara Fortis went from village to village recruiting women who wanted to fight. She organized a band of all-female partisans, training young women to become bold fighters. They burned down houses, executed Nazi collaborators, and aided the Greek partisan movement in a way no group of females had before.

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https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/holocaust-resistance-female-jewish-partisans

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Holocaust Resistance: Female Jewish Partisans

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Encyclopedia of Jewish and Israeli history, politics and culture, with biographies, statistics, articles and documents on topics from anti-Semitism to Zionism.

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Sara Fortis formed a band of female partisans who would transform young village girls into women who would fight for a resistance group. This band went on many mission from throwing Molotov cocktails to distract the enemy to be able to attack, burning houses down, and executing Nazi collaborators. Many of these missions were successful for the partisans.

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The Impact and Actions the Nazis took on the Partisans. 

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The Impact and Actions the Nazis took on the Partisans. 

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The Nazis sent a informer after Sara to capture her, but the informer arrested Sara's cousin and did many horrible things to her until she was killed. Her name was Medi. In response, Sara tracked the informer down and killed him/she in revenge for what had happened to her cousin. This showed the Nazis how strong Sara and the partisans were and how they are a force they will not be stopped.

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The andarte fell out of favor with the New Greek Government. She once was arrested, but with her great reputation she was released shortly after. Sara Fortis immigrated to Israel, where she met her husband and settled down. Now at the age of 97 years old she is living her life to the fullest.