Frank Blaichman’s padlet by Timothy Bailey

Who is Frank Blaichman?

timothybailey3 — 2025-05-12 15:29:17 UTC

Frank was one of seven children born to one of the many religious Jewish family. Frank Blaichman was born in Kamionka, Poland on December 11, 1922. Frank's grandmother owned a grocery store and his father made a living by buying grain from farmers, then selling it to people further from the area.

Frank Blaichman

timothybailey3 — 2025-05-12 15:36:06 UTC

Frank Blaichman, one of the leader of partisans group during WW2.

Frank Blaichman's interview

timothybailey3 — 2025-05-12 15:38:01 UTC

An interview with Frank Blaichman discussing how hard it was in the forest on the run.

Frank and other partisans

timothybailey3 — 2025-05-13 15:10:52 UTC

Armed group of Jewish partisans.

Zog Nite Keynmol

timothybailey3 — 2025-05-13 15:17:25 UTC

The song "Zog Nite Keynmol" is a powerful anthem of Jewish resistance. The words Zog Nite Keynmol translates to "never say" conveyed that the Jewish people shouldn't give up and keep fighting for their lives.

Frank Blaichman's quotes

timothybailey3 — 2025-05-13 15:29:48 UTC

"I rather die fighting"- Frank wrote this in his memoir and conveyed he didn't want to sit there and watch everything terrible just happen.

"I’m very proud of what I did all those years… The reality was we had nothing to lose, and our way to survive was to fight."- In an article about Franks life he is quoted on this phrase and states he's happy the way he dealt with this problem.

"But none of us, including me, was complaining"- Frank stated this quote talking about himself and others in the woods and how they were grateful to be there then the camps.

Franks story

timothybailey3 — 2025-05-13 15:30:50 UTC

When frank was 16 years old when Nazi Germany invaded Poland. Frank would still gather resources and make money for his farm, so he would refuse to wear the armband and Star of David. Frank would constantly ride through German occupied areas to get place to place, but since Frank's fluent Polish and no accents aided him in staying safe while traveling. In 1942, German forces began rounding up the Jews in Poland. Frank escaped and fled to the forest where he found other Jewish family's camped there. Eventually, Blaichman helped organize and lead a group of Jewish partisans that wanted to fight the Nazis. Blaichman’s group grew to more than 100 armed Jewish partisans and at 21, he was the youngest platoon commander in the unit. After multiple missions which they killed German collaborators, ambushed German patrols, protecting 200 Jews that lived in a forest encampment and escorting the future Polish prime minister to a secret meeting with Soviet high command.

The difference Blaichman made

timothybailey3 — 2025-05-13 15:35:27 UTC

Frank Blaichman and other Jewish partisans did not alter the overall outcome of World War II in the way that major battles or large-scale armies did, but their actions had meaningful localized and moral impacts that contributed to the broader Allied war effort and to historical memory. Frank was able to save over 200 Jewish people.

After the War

timothybailey3 — 2025-05-14 13:54:51 UTC

After World War 2, Blaichman worked in the Polish Security Police with the task of tracking down Nazi collaborators. In 1951, Frank and his wife moved to America where he worked as a builder and developer. Blaichman wanted to maintain the legacy of the partisans who fought against the Nazi's to show that the Jews were not passive victims. So, frank organized and create a memorial for Jewish partisans and soldiers which was dedicated in Jerusalem in 1985. Blaichman also shared Die Fighting: A Memoir of World War 2.

Frank and his wife Cesia Pomeranc

timothybailey3 — 2025-05-14 14:05:35 UTC

interesting facts

timothybailey3 — 2025-05-14 14:23:22 UTC

Frank's wife was also a Holocaust survivor but they did not meet until after the war in Poland.

Frank abstained his first gun by looting a dead German soldiers body before he ever joined the resistance group.

The partisan group would trade cow hides for bullets and other resources.