Sara Fortis - Shai'la & Mia by Amelia Avery

Sara in her Uniform

shailamontalvo — 2025-02-26 15:14:09 UTC

In this photo Sara is in her Partisans uniform. She fought many fights for the resistance. She had the only all women partisan unit. This picture shows what she would have worn while fighting. Also it shows what she looked like during the war. At this time of this photo, Sara was wanted for her actions as a partisan. She was arrested at the end of the war.

Nurse Sara

aveame28dew — 2025-02-27 15:00:56 UTC

This is Sara when the war first started, in a nurse uniform. While she was hiding from the Nazis in 1941-1943, she worked as a nurse and teacher. She helped with the resistance by saving the lives of injured people. After the Nazis invaded her hometown in Greece, she knew that she wanted to help fight the resistance. We added this photo to show that even before she became a partisan she was helping the resistance. Sara was just 14 when she started fighting!

Group of Partisans

aveame28dew — 2025-02-27 15:10:31 UTC

This is a group of female partisans. Sara Fortis had made the only all-female partisan unit. Most females that decided to become partisans, were not welcomed in to this male dominated field. As a partisan, they fought in the woods, with guns. Sara explains in an interview, "At the beginning, they would giggle ‘ooh, will we hold that?" Meaning the women that she recruited weren't used guns. Sara then explains that after a couple days of training, they were amazing.

Weapons

aveame28dew — 2025-03-04 21:38:02 UTC

Sara and other partisans would have used guns like this one when they were fighting. At first women weren't wanted to fight but, Sara changed that. She fought and fought for women's rights while fighting the Nazis. They relied on standard military weapons, captured arms, and improvised weapons to fight against enemy forces. The resistors also were provided with some weapons from the allies like, the Americans and the British. Partisans often had to rely on captured supplies or support from Allied force to get their weapons.

Nurse Uniform

aveame28dew — 2025-03-04 21:40:01 UTC

When the war first started, Sara served as a nurse and a teacher. She would have worn a uniform like this one. The nurse uniform would be both practical and symbolic. Nurses would typically wear a dress with an apron and a nurse's cap. These uniforms made sure the women were recognized as caregivers, non-combats. The uniforms also served as symbols of their dedication to saving lives.

Partisans Hat

aveame28dew — 2025-03-04 21:49:56 UTC

This is a Greek partisan hat. It's part of the partisans uniform. When Sara was fighting in WWII, she would have worn this with her partisan uniform. These hats symbolized unity and brought everyone together. Partisans treated their hats with great respect. If they lost their hat, it was a serious disgrace. Losing it was like losing a weapon.

Song

aveame28dew — 2025-03-05 15:20:36 UTC

In the song We Are the World some lyrics that I think connect with Sara Fortis and any other Jewish people during the Holocaust are:

When you're down and out, and there seems no hope at all
But if you just believe, there's no way we can fall
Well, well, well, well let us realize
Oh, that a change can only come
When we stand together as one

These lyrics tell you that there's hope. Also, you should lean on others in tough times. This connects to the Jewish people in WWII because they had to keep fighting even if they thought they weren't going to win.

Decree

aveame28dew — 2025-03-07 13:29:11 UTC

The Jew Badge (September 1, 1941)

The Jew Badge was the decree that made all Jewish people wear the yellow star. This was to isolate and dehumanize all of the Jewish people. This reinforced the Nazi propaganda that the Jewish citizens were less than the rest of the population. This star restricted Jews' ability to blend in or escape persecution. If you didn't wear your badge it could result in punishment, including death. Though Sara didn't have to wear a yellow star because she hid from the Nazis. This was one of the reasons that she ran away.

Sara on the Move

shailamontalvo — 2025-03-07 14:42:26 UTC

This is Sara Fortis on a mission when she was a partisan. She fought for the Greek resistance. Most partisans acted as guerrilla fighters, going behind enemy lines. They would sabotage different aspects of Nazis life. They would destroy Nazi communication lines and supply trains. They would also assassinate Nazis. The partisans were in constant danger though. Always getting threats from their enemies.

Work Cited Link

aveame28dew — 2025-03-10 13:14:45 UTC

Personal Testimony

aveame28dew — 2025-03-10 13:18:44 UTC

Sara explains how partisans were very important during WWII. She said that many more Jewish people would have died if it weren't for partisans. Some important things that partisans would do was, guerrilla warfare, sabotage, saving Jews from camps and ghettos, and so much more! One challenge that they faced was a lack of resources like, food, clothing and medical supplies.

Multimedia

aveame28dew — 2025-03-10 13:19:44 UTC

In this video, Sara is explaining how she trained the women in her Partisan unit. She explains that everything that she was taught in a day, she would then go explain it to the girls. She then explains that at the beginning they would giggle and joke about the guns. But after a month, they were totally different. They took it more seriously than Sara did!

Question #1.

shailamontalvo — 2025-03-10 13:23:41 UTC

What were some of the causes that Sara Fortis was fighting for?

Question #2.

shailamontalvo — 2025-03-10 13:26:36 UTC

What motivated Sara Fortis to join the Greek resistance movement during World War II?

Relationship to Resistance.

shailamontalvo — 2025-03-10 13:35:22 UTC

Sara Fortis's leadership and bravery were crucial in the success of these operations of being a female resistor. Her fighting and actions significantly contributed to the resistance of Jewish people during the war

Question #3.

aveame28dew — 2025-03-10 14:39:48 UTC

How did Sara Fortis's experiences as a Jewish woman influence her role in the resistance?

Background Information

aveame28dew — 2025-03-10 14:47:19 UTC

Sara Fortis was born in Chalkis, Greece. She identified a Greek but also Jewish. The Germans invaded her town in 1941. Her mother and her traveled to a small village called Kuturla. She helped the resistance by being a teacher and nurse, when the war first started. She then decided to become a partisan.

Acts of Resistance

aveame28dew — 2025-03-10 14:50:16 UTC

The first act of resistance that she committed was hiding. She hid from the Nazis for about two years (1941-1943). When fleeing the Nazis, she was offered a spot to join the resistance. When she agreed she said that she had a condition, she was allowed to recruit others women. Sara’s all-women partisan unit did many things to help the resistance and hurt the Nazis like, burning down Nazi houses, executing some Nazis, and helping the men partisans like no other women group had before.

The Impact of Sara Fortis

aveame28dew — 2025-03-10 23:10:06 UTC

One big impact was her challenging the gender norms. The article says, “Of the estimated 30,000 Jewish partisans, only around ten percent were women, and very few of those women fought.” (History Guild) Sara wanted this changed. She trained a group of 13 young women that she recruited. Every time that she was taught something new, she would teach it to the girls that night. Another impact was, she became so well known that the Nazis sent someone to execute her. The Nazis ended up mistaking someone else for Sara. But Sara got her revenge by killing that Nazi. Lastly after the war had ended, the Greek government didn’t agree with the partisans. Sara was arrested. But because of her reputation, she was released early.

Quote

aveame28dew — 2025-03-10 23:10:57 UTC

“Fear was not in my dictionary.” - Sara Fortis

This shows that Sara wasn't afraid of anything, not even the Nazis. Sara faced many acts of oppression. One act of oppression was, having to run away from her home because of the Nazis. Another act of oppression was, having to prove herself more than everyone else, just because she was a woman. But none of this changed Sara, she was never afraid.

Definition of Partisan

aveame28dew — 2025-03-10 23:14:48 UTC

A supporter of the resistance.