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Sara was born in 1927 in Chalkis, which is a small town that was near Athens. She never had a father figure really because of how he passed away when she was only 2 years old which is very sad. She had a sister, and her mom was a single mother they had a good childhood though. She left her hometown when the Germans arrived in 1941.Sara and her mother was able to escape the village of Kuturla and hid there for a short amount of time.

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She became a  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. She was a very important because she encouraged young strong independent woman to go help with problems that happened in the war and the camps.They burned down houses and fought for their life's they were able to capture nazi leaders and hold them captive. Even if they were a important part of the success they had fighting they were still treated bad because of their sex and they had to sleep next to men and it was scary, and they had to worry abought her safety.

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Sara became a prominent and well-respected figure in the andante's 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 and brutally raped, and murdered her cousin, Medi. Vowing revenge, she tracked down and executed the informer. This shows how bad woman are treated and its very sad back then.

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Sara Fortis recollects how the partisans addressed one another and the significance of her title captain.

Sara Fortis was born in Chalkis, a small town near Athens, Greece. When the Nazis invaded in 1941, Sara fled. While on the run, she agreed to join the resistance. In her new position, Sara recruited other women and formed an all-female partisan unit.

In the following excerpt from an interview for the Jewish Partisan Educational Foundation, she remembers that the partisans addressed her by her rank.

I was "Captain Sarika." If anyone needed anything, they would say, "Tell Captain Sarika and she'll take care of it." Tell me and I'd do it. If they forgot my name they said, Here's the [female] comrades' captain....'Comrades' in Greek is [Greek], and they used a word in Greek meaning the girls' Capitan. The rest of the girls were called by their names. If they wanted to say, There's a girl from Eretria, they called her Maria of Eretria; they would say her name and the name of her village. But I was called Captain Sarika, [female] Captain Sarika.

Facing History & Ourselves, " Call Me Captain Sarika," last updated May 12, 2020.
This reading contains text not authored by Facing History & Ourselves. See footnotes for source information.

Using the strategies from Facing History is almost like an awakening.

- Claudia Bautista, Santa Monica, Calif

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Sara Fortis recollects how the partisans addressed one another and the significance of her title captain.

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Sara Fortis - Protecting the women from the men

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I was “Captain Sarika.” If anyone needed anything, they would say, “Tell Captain Sarika and she'll take care of it

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Sara Fortis - Sara trains her army of women

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Her life and the information I talked abought

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Her life and the information I talked abought

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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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She lived and was a role model for woman and how they can fight for their rights and can-do anything men can do. They showed everyone that woman don't must be nursery during wars and that they can fight just like men can.I enjoyed reading abought her because she is very inspirational.