# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Αντάρτες_του_ΕΑΜ-ΕΛΑΣ

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Sara Fortis - Sara trains her army of women

# data[].attributes.headline
“So we have a squad of thirteen girls, it is up to me to teach them how to behave.” -Sara Fortis

# data[].attributes.subject
“So we have a squad of thirteen girls, it is up to me to teach them how to behave.” -Sara Fortis

# data[].attributes.body
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/sara-fortis

# data[].attributes.headline
She encouraged women to fight and also gave women a symbol to admire.  She was also a symbol of hope to women.

# data[].attributes.subject
She encouraged women to fight and also gave women a symbol to admire.  She was also a symbol of hope to women.

# data[].attributes.headline
She gave women a reason to stay strong and not submit to the germans because they wanted to help resist the Nazis like her.

# data[].attributes.subject
She gave women a reason to stay strong and not submit to the germans because they wanted to help resist the Nazis like her.

# data[].attributes.headline
Sara Fortis fled her hometown when the Germans arrived.

# data[].attributes.subject
Sara Fortis fled her hometown when the Germans arrived.

# data[].attributes.headline
She sheltered in the town of Kuturla. When it wasn’t safe for Jews the villagers agreed to hide her mother if she left.

# data[].attributes.subject
She sheltered in the town of Kuturla. When it wasn’t safe for Jews the villagers agreed to hide her mother if she left.

# data[].attributes.headline
She became an andarte(resistance fighter).

# data[].attributes.subject
She became an andarte(resistance fighter).

# data[].attributes.headline
She went to villages to recruit females who wanted to fight, then made a band of female partisans.

# data[].attributes.subject
She went to villages to recruit females who wanted to fight, then made a band of female partisans.

# data[].attributes.headline
On their first mission, they threw cocktails to allow the men to attack.

# data[].attributes.subject
On their first mission, they threw cocktails to allow the men to attack.

# data[].attributes.headline
The men were impressed by the females, so they invited the females to join in missions.

# data[].attributes.subject
The men were impressed by the females, so they invited the females to join in missions.

# data[].attributes.headline
They executed Nazi collaborators and burned down houses.

# data[].attributes.subject
They executed Nazi collaborators and burned down houses.

# data[].attributes.headline
By age 18 she was known as “Kapetenissa(captain)  Sarika”.

# data[].attributes.subject
By age 18 she was known as “Kapetenissa(captain)  Sarika”.

# data[].attributes.headline
The Nazis tried to capture her but accidentally captured her cousin Medi.  The informer brutally raped then murdered her cousin.  

# data[].attributes.subject
The Nazis tried to capture her but accidentally captured her cousin Medi.  The informer brutally raped then murdered her cousin.  

# data[].attributes.headline
She tracked down and executed the informer who murdered her cousin.

# data[].attributes.subject
She tracked down and executed the informer who murdered her cousin.

# data[].attributes.headline
After the war, the andartes were not regarded well by the Greek government.  She was put in jail for a short time but then was released because she had a good reputation.

# data[].attributes.subject
After the war, the andartes were not regarded well by the Greek government.  She was put in jail for a short time but then was released because she had a good reputation.

# data[].attributes.headline
She immigrated to Israel and met her husband and settled down.

# data[].attributes.subject
She immigrated to Israel and met her husband and settled down.

# data[].attributes.headline
She was born in Chalkis a small town near Athens, Greece.

# data[].attributes.subject
She was born in Chalkis a small town near Athens, Greece.

# data[].attributes.headline
Sara Fortis never knew her father, who passed away when she was only two months old, so she was raised by her mother.

# data[].attributes.subject
Sara Fortis never knew her father, who passed away when she was only two months old, so she was raised by her mother.

# data[].attributes.headline
Sara and her sister enjoyed a good childhood and identified as 100% Greek.

# data[].attributes.subject
Sara and her sister enjoyed a good childhood and identified as 100% Greek.

# data[].attributes.headline
They acknowledged being Jewish by lighting candles every Friday and attending temple services on holidays.

# data[].attributes.subject
They acknowledged being Jewish by lighting candles every Friday and attending temple services on holidays.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
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.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
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.

# data[].attributes.body
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/sara-fortis

Sara Fortis

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Read the Jewish Partisan Educational Foundation’s short biography of Sara Fortis.