{"id":47,"date":"2019-01-07T22:05:22","date_gmt":"2019-01-07T22:05:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/peterduffy.net\/?page_id=47"},"modified":"2019-01-08T17:17:18","modified_gmt":"2019-01-08T17:17:18","slug":"the-bielski-brothers","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/peterduffy.net\/index.php\/books\/the-bielski-brothers\/","title":{"rendered":"THE BIELSKI BROTHERS"},"content":{"rendered":"

The True Story Of Three Men Who Defied The Nazis, Built A Village In The Forest, And Saved 1,200 Jews<\/h2>\n
\n

\"\"<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

\n

SUMMARY<\/h2>\n

In 1941, three brothers witnessed their parents and two other siblingsbeing led away to their eventual murders. It was a grim scene that would,of course, be repeated endlessly throughout the war. Instead of running orgiving in to despair, these brothers \u2014 Tuvia, Zus, and Asael Bielski \u2014 foughtback, waging a guerrilla war of wits against the Nazis.<\/p>\n

By using their intimate knowledge of the dense forests surrounding theBelarusan towns of Novogrudek and Lida, the Bielskis evaded the Nazis andestablished a hidden base camp, then set about convincing other Jews to jointheir ranks. As more and more Jews arrived each day, a robust communitybegan to emerge, a \u201cJerusalem in the woods.\u201d<\/p>\n

After two and a half years in the woods, in July 1944, the Bielskis learnedthat the Germans, overrun by the Red Army, were retreating back towardBerlin. More than one thousand Bielski Jews emerged \u2014 alive \u2014 on that final,triumphant exit from the woods.<\/p>\n

Buy it on Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

REVIEWS<\/h2>\n
\n
Everyone knows about Oskar Schindler and his list, but the heroism of the Jewish brothers Tuvia, Asael and ZusBielski has largely been unsung. In World War II, the Russian trio saved 1,200 Jews from death camps by hiding them in a village they created in a forest in Belarus. The village, one Polish survivor recalled, \u201cwas like Minsk,\u201d a thriving cultural center.<\/p>\n

This moving account reports how the Jews at the camp evaded both nearby traitors and Nazis, who at one point came after them with a 900-man commando unit.<\/p>\n

The Bielskis, whose parents died in the Holocaust, were forgotten. Asael died in combat, but the other two made it to Brooklyn. Tuvia died in 1987 and Zus in 1995. Their little brother, Aron, once a 12-year-old scout in the forest, now lives in Florida. BOTTOM LINE:\u00a0 As amazing as Schindler\u2019s List.People magazine, starred review<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>

\n
The Bielski Brothers reads like an action novel. And it is some story. Three macho and street-savvy young men \u2014 Tuvia, Zus and Asael Bielski \u2014 rise brilliantly to the occasion of extreme crisis by creating not only a viable partisan fighting force in the forests of the Lida-Novogrudek region of Belarus but a \u2018forest shtetl, a Jewish village [of some 800 inhabitants] in the heart of Nazi-occupied Europe \u2026 a mini-civilization, a small-scale replica of what the Nazis had succeeded in destroying throughout the towns and cities of western Belarus, indeed much of Europe.\u2019 \u2026<\/p>\n

Fast-paced and deeply moving \u2026 inspiring in its representation of the heroism of ordinary people. Washington Post<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

\u201cThe precision of Duffy\u2019s reporting shows through vivid details that bring his characters and their experiences to life\u2014everything from the bacon the young\u00a0Bielski<\/strong>\u00a0brothers kept stashed in their barn because it wasn\u2019t kosher to their lives in the woods, where frigid air froze hot soup in their bowls and they had to kill typhus-ridden lice by burning them from their flesh. The result is a book with the grip of good fiction and the punch of hard truth.\u201dRebecca Skloot, Chicago Tribune<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n
\n
After writing a magazine article about the brothers, Mr. Duffy tracked down family members and survivors in the United States, Europe and Israel and uncovered documents including Tuvia Bielski\u2019s unpublished memoir. He weaves it all skillfully into an engrossing, inspiring narrative, one, however, that is not without blemishes: Obsessed with survival, Tuvia unabashedly wielded power, even killing one of his Jewish rivals.<\/p>\n

But the result was that more than a thousand Jews emerged from the Belorussian forest after the Nazi defeat, an incredible victory amid an immeasurable tragedy. Like Oskar Schindler, the Bielskis will be recognized far too late for their valor, but this book should ensure they\u2019ll never be forgotten.Dallas Morning News<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>

\n
Duffy tells their hair-raising adventures well, as they move from wood to wood to escape the Nazis, and finally build a city in the forest, complete with workshops for tailors, leatherworkers and watchmakers, a bakery and forge, a school and infirmary, even a cemetery and a jail. He details the terrible struggles against enemies inside the group as well as out, and does not hide the moral ambiguities of his heroes in war:<\/p>\n

Zus in particular shot first and asked questions after, and even Tuvia killed a fellow Jew in anger at the end. But that end in particular is especially moving. The villagers watch the long line of 1,000 Jews leaving the forest, and ask in disbelief, \u2018Are you ghosts?\u2019 And after the end there was a sad lack of recognition for the brothers, two of whom ended their lives as poor immigrants in America. But Zus, at least, didn\u2019t change. At 82, in an interview for the Washington Holocaust Museum, he was asked what he remembered about the Nazis. \u2018I remember they were bastards, \u2018 he said.Carole Angier, The Spectator (UK)<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

This is captivating material. Amid an almost entirely lachrymose historical memory, it is a welcome story of bold, determined and successful resistance.Wesley Yang, San Francisco Chronicle<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n
\n
\u201cDrawing on the memories of many of the survivors, Duffy\u2019s book is a gripping and overdue tribute to the brothers\u2019 resourcefulness and courage.\u201dThe Times (of London)<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>
\n
This is a story about heroes, and Duffy does a masterful job of telling it.Publishers Weekly<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n
Duffy\u00b4s book is an act of restoration, if not of resurrection, tipping the scale to the side of historical rectitude, shedding a steady light on the formidable story of forest Jews too long hidden in the shadows.<\/p>\n

Although Duffy conveys the thrill and travail of their extraordinary act of defiance, he is not loath to discuss the moral compromises and peccadilloes, even acts of moral outrage, the Bielskis occasionally committed. He gives us the full chiaroscuro effect, painting both the hues of light and shadow that constitute a picture of heroism in extremis.<\/p>\nMichael Skakun, The Jewish Press<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The True Story Of Three Men Who Defied The Nazis, Built A Village In The Forest, And Saved 1,200 Jews REVIEWS<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":18,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-47","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nTHE BIELSKI BROTHERS - Peter Duffy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/peterduffy.net\/index.php\/books\/the-bielski-brothers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"THE BIELSKI BROTHERS - Peter Duffy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The True Story Of Three Men Who Defied The Nazis, Built A Village In The Forest, And Saved 1,200 Jews REVIEWS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/peterduffy.net\/index.php\/books\/the-bielski-brothers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Peter Duffy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-01-08T17:17:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/peterduffy.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/beilski-brothers-lg.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/peterduffy.net\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/peterduffy.net\/\",\"name\":\"Peter Duffy\",\"description\":\"Author & Journalist\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"https:\/\/peterduffy.net\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/peterduffy.net\/index.php\/books\/the-bielski-brothers\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/peterduffy.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/beilski-brothers-lg.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/peterduffy.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/beilski-brothers-lg.png\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/peterduffy.net\/index.php\/books\/the-bielski-brothers\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/peterduffy.net\/index.php\/books\/the-bielski-brothers\/\",\"name\":\"THE BIELSKI BROTHERS - Peter Duffy\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/peterduffy.net\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/peterduffy.net\/index.php\/books\/the-bielski-brothers\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-01-07T22:05:22+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-01-08T17:17:18+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/peterduffy.net\/index.php\/books\/the-bielski-brothers\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/peterduffy.net\/index.php\/books\/the-bielski-brothers\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/peterduffy.net\/index.php\/books\/the-bielski-brothers\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/peterduffy.net\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Books\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/peterduffy.net\/index.php\/books\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"THE BIELSKI BROTHERS\"}]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/peterduffy.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/47","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/peterduffy.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/peterduffy.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peterduffy.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peterduffy.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/peterduffy.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/47\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52,"href":"https:\/\/peterduffy.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/47\/revisions\/52"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peterduffy.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/18"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/peterduffy.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}