The Bielski Brothers in Belarus: A Story of Survival, Racism and World War II

At the beginning of 19th century, the form of anti-Semitism becomes more serious. Germanys seems to isolate and eliminate Jews. When the Nazi Party, led by Adolf Hitler, comes to power in Germany in 1933, it wants to set up the Perfect Nazi state. The Nazi wants to stamp out any opposition to their rule, so they set up a system of camps, for instance, concentration camps, death camps for holding people that they see as “undesirable”. Lots of those “undesirable” people are Jews. From 1933 to 1945, about six million Jews are murdered and it is called the Holocaust. The Holocaust is the greatest single case of mass murder in history and is difficult to ignore. After World War II, survivors of the Holocaust tell their stories directly or write down what happens in the Holocaust. One of the plenty writings is Night by Elie Wiesel who is Holocaust survivor and awarded the Noble Peace Price in 1986. This work is based on his experience with his father, Chlomo, in the Nazi Concentration camps at Auschwitz and Buchenwald between 1944 and 1945. Another effective book is Fugitive Pieces by Canadian poet Anne Michaels which is awarded Orange Prize and the Books in Canada First Novel Award. As a young boy during the Holocaust in Poland, Jakob Beer is seven-year old and his parents are murdered by Nazi soldiers and his sister, Bella, is abducted. Jakob flees and is rescued by a Greek geologist Athos Roussos. Athos hides Jakob successfully in Greek, then at the end of war, to Toronto. Both characters Elie and Jakob’ experiences reflect a truth which is no matter how harsh the situation is, one tends to overcome all obstacles to obtain a life of fulfillment. The courage can be gained from love, faith and intension of survival...

There are numerous stories on the gruesome slaughters of Jewish people during the rage of the Second World War. However, there is one story in particular that is unlike the rest. The book The Bielski Brothers: The True Story of Three Men Who Defied the Nazis, Saved 1,200 Jews, and Built a Village in the Forest by Peter Duffy takes place in the year of 1971, focusing on three brothers, Tuvia, Asael, and Zus Bielski who witness their parents and two other siblings being carted away by Nazi Soldiers like lambs to the slaughter. The Bielski brothers were, of course, devastated to see their family be led to their premature death and even blamed themselves for not being there to help them, but the brothers did not give in to the despair nor in the slightest bit. Instead, the brothers retaliated—fought back with vigor and cunning wits to show that one does not mess with a Bielski, and even saved over a thousand Jews along the way. The brothers built a base in the forest that consisted of themselves and close relatives. Later, the Bielskis decided to welcome any and all Jews to their base. Rumors of the Bielski haven in the forest started spreading to the ghettos, convincing more and more Jews to escape and join. However, due to the expansion of the community, the

I really adore this type of writing because you’re put into someone else’s perspective who is completely different from you and it helps with creating an opinion about the story, especially when it has a topic as serious as the Holocaust. There has also been really high points of the story and really low points of the story. For example, when Ferenc rode in on his horse to Babi’s property, he was able to connect with Piri, Roszi, and Babi by delivering letters or updating them with what’s happening in other countries. Another high point is when Piri’s mother buys the goat to help their family survive in the condition they were in. A low point of the story is when Lilli, Lajos, and their daughter got taken away from her family. It was unexpected, especially at that point in the book. Another low point of the story is when they were all taken away to the Ghetto and where Babi was put into an infirmary since she was sick. However, this story was written very well and in a way, took me through a Jewish family’s story on surviving the

In summary, although I found many flaws, I am very happy I read this book. I enjoyed reading the book All Quiet In The Western Front, it honestly taught me everything I know about war. I gave me knew things to think about, it made me look at life differently. I did enjoy

"The Bielski Partisans." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. 6 Jan. 2011. 24 May. 2011. .

I have to begin by saying that this book is incredible, in its use of descriptive language to paint a picture to coerce one feel like they are there with him. The way he uses words to immerse the reader into believing that they are experiencing theses travesty. He brings the reader into his mind and forces them to share his thoughts. The reader’s first introduction to Frankl is one of surprise. It does not start like thought it would, but putting the reader in the car not large enough to hold the amount of people in it. Heading to Auschwitz, me knowing the history of this camp, I believed that he would for sure in the near future of the book. It did not dawn on me until the second chapter that this is the man that created Logotherapy, but I will discuss more about that latter. When he is describing how small the cab that

“I shot up an Afghan wedding, I got the happy couple, the bride and groom. I’m not sorry for them – I’ve lost my friend.” Gruesome stories fill the early pages of Zinky Boys – somehow giving a warning for the faint-hearted on the nature of the book. Svetlana Alexievich’s diary make up the first – and last – chapter of the book, recalling her interaction with the people involved in or linked to the Soviet war in Afghanistan. The book is laden with testimonies of soldiers, mothers, and civilian workers who were involved in the war. Zinky Boys does not have the regular structure of a book, each chapter goes on without a clear flow, tied together with phone calls between Alexievich and someone she called her “leading character”. There is no commentary written, only stories after stories, that more often jump back and forth between soldiers’, mothers’, doctors’ without a structure. The book stands out, through the unorthodox way of writing. The readers will be kept at the edge of their seats, trying to grasp what will come after.

...the time of the Holocaust, as described by Breitman, Feingold, and the other authors. The articles, essays, and chapters included in the book went into detail about how FDR could have and should have responded differently to the Holocaust. The book is a series of essays based on the original conference, and because they were written to inform and not entertain, it left the book dry and confusing. As a student who is studying this time period in history, I found it difficult to understand what the different sources were referring to. I believe that this book would be great as a reference, source for differing opinions, and provision of new information of FDR and the Holocaust for an academic scholar. For me, the scholarly reading level that the book was written in was at times overwhelming and I would not recommend it to the average reader interested in the topic.

I really enjoyed this book because it was not a story about the middle of the Second World War. Instead it was right before, when things were not as bad, but they were bad enough. It helped me understand how people lived before the hatred grew and how families were torn apart right from the beginning. Likewise, it gave me hope to see that not everything was destroyed and that some people were able to escape. I would recommend this book more for boys but for girls as well, between the ages of 13-15. Even though Karl’s age throughout the book is 14-17, the novel was written more for my age group. Once again this was an amazing book that I could not put down, and I am sure many others were not able to either.

After reading the chapter “An Insect’s Wing,” I would recommend People of the Book to college students that are interest in events that happen during the WWII. Also, students who are majoring in History or English and like to read about the religion of Jews