Eventually simply taking in Jewish families was not enough, so they turned to offensive measures. This started by sending fighter groups into ghettos in order to break people out and bring them to camp. For the most part they were unsuccessful, as the people of the ghettos feared for their lives if they left, and judenrat highly discouraged leaving: group punishment was a regular occurrences, and escapees may trigger a response from the Nazis.

The Bielski partisans collaborated with many Russian partisan groups but they refused total absorption into these groups. By March of 1942 the group was ready to launch its first attacks against the Nazis. In December of the same year the Germans launched offensive attacks in the forest where the Bielskis were hiding in. In February of 1943 the camp had to evacuate for the first time. They evacuated several times until 1944, when they were liberated by Russian forces.

“… would rather save one old Jewish woman, than kill ten German soldiers.”  - Tuvia Bielski when talking about their non-offensive approach to the Germans in the beginning of the war.

Tuvia, Asael, Zusya and Aharon Bielski were a group of brothers who lived in west Belarus, and were the only Jewish family in their village of six families. In 1941 a Soviet attack was launched on their village, killing over 5,000 people, including much of the Bielski's immediate family. During the attack they fled to the forest, where they started the camp.