https://padlet.com/tsherwin1/l4fxdjuqro0rblg By Trey Sherwin en-us 2022-04-08 14:14:44 UTC 2025-05-14 14:06:07 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/1f1f5-1f1f1.png tsherwin1 https://padlet.com/tsherwin1/l4fxdjuqro0rblg/wish/2136423417 Frank, just at 21, was the youngest platoon commander in the expanded unit and was even selected to escort the future prime minister of Poland to a secret meeting with Soviet High Command.]]> 2022-04-08 14:22:07 UTC https://padlet.com/tsherwin1/l4fxdjuqro0rblg/wish/2136423417 tsherwin1 https://padlet.com/tsherwin1/l4fxdjuqro0rblg/wish/2136424035 Memoir from Frank Blaichman called "Rather Die Fighting" that talks about how he was able to get food for his family, live through the forest massacre, and endure through German attacks.

Movie called "Destination Unknown" that explains how he endured the life of a Jew/ helping a Jew (along with 11 other survivors).]]> 2022-04-08 14:22:30 UTC https://padlet.com/tsherwin1/l4fxdjuqro0rblg/wish/2136424035 tsherwin1 https://padlet.com/tsherwin1/l4fxdjuqro0rblg/wish/2136424288 "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."
-Frank Blaichman]]> 2022-04-08 14:22:39 UTC https://padlet.com/tsherwin1/l4fxdjuqro0rblg/wish/2136424288 tsherwin1 https://padlet.com/tsherwin1/l4fxdjuqro0rblg/wish/2136425032 Frank's act of Resistance encouraged others to join is group and other groups to fight back against the Nazi Party. Though he lost his family, he strived to stay alive and defend other Jews while he could. It proves that even if you have no background, you still can do great things.]]> 2022-04-08 14:23:05 UTC https://padlet.com/tsherwin1/l4fxdjuqro0rblg/wish/2136425032 tsherwin1 https://padlet.com/tsherwin1/l4fxdjuqro0rblg/wish/2136425478 He led Raids on German Patrols, destroyed telephone lines, and hunted down spies and German collaborators. They also damaged dairy factories that provided for Nazi Forces. He even escorted the future prime minister of Poland to a secret meeting with high soviet command. Frank was the youngest platoon commander in the expanded unit at 21 years old.]]> 2022-04-08 14:23:23 UTC https://padlet.com/tsherwin1/l4fxdjuqro0rblg/wish/2136425478 tsherwin1 https://padlet.com/tsherwin1/l4fxdjuqro0rblg/wish/2136425949 Frank Blaichman, born in Kamionka, Poland, was 16 years old when Germany invaded the Western and Central parts of Poland in September, 1939. The Blaichman family were among several hundred Jews living in the town. They were merchants; his grandmother owned a grocery store, and his father made a living buying grain from farmers in the area, selling it in nearby towns and in the city of Lublin. The Nazis passed a law that deprived the Jews from pretty much, everything. Jews were now required to wear armbands bearing the Star of David. They were ordered to turn over any valuables, lose their jobs, and ordered to force labor and work. Young Frank immediately began taking daring risks in an effort to help his parents and his six brothers and sisters survive.  The risks of traveling without papers or the required Star of David armband were enormous, but life for Jews in Nazi-occupied Poland was already precarious. In October 1942, when the Judenrat (Jewish councils forced to carry out Nazi orders) informed the Jews of Kamionka that they were going to be “resettled” in a ghetto in Lubartow, Frank escaped and hid in a bushy area outside of town. He was determined not to be imprisoned in the ghetto, even if it meant never seeing his family again. Frank knew many friendly non-Jewish farmers in the area. One of them invited him into his home, where the family greeted Frank warmly and fed him despite the German policy to shoot any Poles who gave assistance to Jews in any way. The farmer told him that the Germans had put Jews on trains to some other, unknown destination. Frank realized that his family and many relatives, together with the rest of Kamionka’s Jewish community, were on their way to die. Like thousands of other Jews throughout Eastern Europe, Frank fled to the forest. In the woods, he discovered an encampment of more than 100 Jews sheltered in small bunkers dug into the sandy ground and padded with straw. Early one morning, German soldiers, acting on information given to them by Polish spies, attacked the encampment in the forest. Over 80 Jews were murdered. Frank was one of a lucky 22 who survived. Realizing that the small forest didn’t offer enough protection, Frank’s group began to seek shelter in the more secluded villages, splitting up into smaller groups, keeping on the move, and hiding in local farmers’ homes and on their property. This turned out to be more effective than staying in the forest, especially during the harsh winter, as local farmers provided them with assistance, shelter, and cooked meals. Early in 1943, Frank’s unit grew to 60 members when they joined forces with refugees from the town of Markuszow. That spring the unit grew again when Frank met Samuel “Mietek” Gruber, who had escaped with 28 other men from a prisoner-of-war camp in Lublin. Gruber’s group had fought in the Polish army before being captured by the Germans; they had experience fighting and knew how to handle explosives. Known as the Markuszow group under the leadership of Iser Eisenberg, they were becoming a disciplined fighting force. The expanded unit hunted spies and collaborators in the area, disrupted communication by destroying telephone lines, damaged dairy factories that produced food for the Germans, and ambushed German patrols. By September 1943, the expanded unit began working with Armia Ludowa, a communist-led Polish partisan group. Ludowa provided Frank with food and ammunition, which was much needed. With these supplies, they led attacks and defensive raids on German forces. Frank's actions and passion for Jews were awarded and still congratulated today.]]> 2022-04-08 14:23:40 UTC https://padlet.com/tsherwin1/l4fxdjuqro0rblg/wish/2136425949 tsherwin1 https://padlet.com/tsherwin1/l4fxdjuqro0rblg/wish/2150571393 He (Frank himself) describes life in the forest where he fled to escape Nazi control]]> 2022-04-20 15:43:07 UTC https://padlet.com/tsherwin1/l4fxdjuqro0rblg/wish/2150571393 tsherwin1 https://padlet.com/tsherwin1/l4fxdjuqro0rblg/wish/2150584311 He died at the age of 96 years old in Manhattan, New York City.]]> 2022-04-20 15:50:55 UTC https://padlet.com/tsherwin1/l4fxdjuqro0rblg/wish/2150584311