Holocaust Resistance: Bielski Brothers by Wyatt Irizarry

Tuvia Bielski

wyattirizarry — 2023-11-15 15:34:35 UTC

Birth: 1906

Death: 1987

When Germany invaded the Soviet Union Tuvia and his brothers swore to never be caught by the Germans. Using his knowledge of the area he evaded capture and organized a small group of Jews, which would grow over time.

Aseal Bielski

wyattirizarry — 2023-11-15 15:49:47 UTC

Birth: 1908

Death: 1945

Helped his brother find their family. Initially wanted to go after Nazi soldiers instead of saving Jewish people. Eventually decided to help the Jewish people and helped Tuvia, becoming hs deputy. After the war he was drafted into the Red Army and was killed in East Prussia

"Zus" Bielski

wyattirizarry — 2023-11-15 20:06:55 UTC

Birth: 1912

Death: 1995

After his army unit disbanded, due to the German invasion of the Soviet Union, Zus decided to go back to his home. After learning that his home was under German control and that Nazis had killed his wife and infant daughter he decided to join his brothers. Tuvia put Zus in charge of intelligence. He used the intelligence he gathered in order to steal German weapons and interfere with German operations. He later was transferred to the Ordzonikidze unit and became the leader of reconnaissance.

wyattirizarry — 2023-11-15 20:15:14 UTC

wyattirizarry — 2023-11-15 20:18:34 UTC

wyattirizarry — 2023-11-15 20:22:40 UTC

Stankiwicze

wyattirizarry — 2023-11-15 20:31:56 UTC

The Bielski Brothers were all born in the town of Stankiwicze. It is in Poland but was occupied by the Soviet Union in 1939.

Naliboki forest

wyattirizarry — 2023-11-15 20:40:29 UTC

The Naliboki forest was the forest that the Bielski Partisans operated in.

Saving of the Iwie Ghetto

wyattirizarry — 2023-11-16 14:16:35 UTC

During 1942 the Bielski Otriad led special mission into the Iwie ghetto, which ended up saving the lives of over a hundred Jewish people living there. The Bielski Otriad had received information that the Nazis had been planning on liquidating everyone in the ghetto. After hearing this many scouts led people out of the ghetto and into the safety of the forest.

Creation of a community

wyattirizarry — 2023-11-16 14:22:30 UTC

During 1943 Germany sent out a 100,000 Reichmark bounty on the Bielski Otriad. Hearing about this Tuvia moved everyone into the hard to reach Naliboki forest. In this forest they began using the skill of the 700+ members to build a community including a school, an infirmary, a bakery, a courthouse, and a lot more.

Messing with Nazis

wyattirizarry — 2023-11-16 19:58:26 UTC

Many of the missions carried out by the Bielski Otriad were small things that could effect the Nazis in a big way. They would constantly steal guns from Nazis and would burn crop fields so they could not gather any food from it.

Taking as many as possible

wyattirizarry — 2023-11-16 20:09:58 UTC

The main purpose of the group was to save, protect, and help as many Jews as they could. When deciding what to do with the group Tuvia said "I would rather save one old Jewish woman than kill 10 Nazi soldiers." They did this by finding Jewish people willing to risk an escape of the ghettos. Once they found these people they would send out scouts to help guide them.

Partnering with other partisans

wyattirizarry — 2023-11-16 20:15:22 UTC

Soviet partisans had control over parts of the Naliboki forest that were not occupied by Germany. Tuvia himself became friends with a leader of a Soviet partisan group. This helped Tuvia overcome the antisemitism in the Soviet partisan detachments and become recognized as a vital role for a maintenance base. This helped the group protect its members.

What happened to Tuvia

wyattirizarry — 2023-11-16 20:22:14 UTC

When the war ended in 1945 Tuvia decided to move to Palestine. He ended up fighting with the Israeli armed forces in 1948 in order to establish the state if Israel. In 1956 Tuvia moved to America where he died at 81.

What happened to Aseal

wyattirizarry — 2023-11-17 03:17:16 UTC

Aseal was drafted into the Red Army and six months later was killed in the battle of Königsberg. Before he died he had a daughter named Assaela who is now a journalist.

What happened to Zus

wyattirizarry — 2023-11-17 03:27:31 UTC

Zus moved to Palestine with Tuvia in 1945. He also joined the Israeli armed forces. He moved to America in 1956 where he eventually married and had kids. He died at age 82