Aron Bielski
Encyclopedia
Aron Bielski, later changed to Aron Bell, (born 1927) is a Polish-American Jew and former member of the Bielski partisans
group, the largest armed rescuers of Jews by Jews during World War II
. He was also known as Arczyk Bielski. The youngest of the four Bielski brothers, he is the only one still living (Asael
died in 1945, Tuvia in 1987, Alexander 'Zus'
in 1995).
, but in September 1939 was seized by the Soviet Union
(see: Polish September Campaign and Soviet invasion of Poland (1939)
), which was then allied with Nazi Germany. After German Operation Barbarossa
, Aron's brothers created a notable resistance organization, the Bielski partisans
group. Aron became a member of that group.
Nechama Tec
who wrote a book about them had the following to say about Aron: "Occasionally in the forest he acted as a guide. Those I spoke to agree that his participation and impact on the life of the Bielski otriad was minimal, almost nonexistent." While Nechama was not able to interview Aron, he was interviewed by Peter Duffy in his book.
That author, in the second authoritative book about the Bielski partisans, mentions Aron about 30 times, and lists him as one of the important sources for the book. Duffy interviewed Bell for the 2000 article Heroes Among Us published in The New York Times
.
, and soon after immigrated to British Mandate of Palestine. In 1954, he settled in the United States, along with his surviving brothers and their families, where he drove and then owned two trucks in New York City. Aron is the only member of the Bielski family to change his family name (to "Bell").
portrayed Aron in the 2008 film Defiance
, which has been criticised in Poland due to its omission of the alleged involvement of the Bielski group in a massacre of Polish civilians
conducted by Soviet-aligned partisans in Naliboki
. The Bielski partisan group was the subject of an official inquiry by the Polish Institute of National Remembrance
's Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation after witnesses testified that Bielski partisans were among the perpetrators of the Naliboki massacre; however, the investigation found no conclusive evidence linking the Bielski group to the crime.
Bielski partisans
The Bielski partisans were an organisation of Jewish partisans who rescued Jews from extermination and fought against the Nazi German occupiers and their collaborators in the vicinity of Nowogródek and Lida in German-occupied Poland...
group, the largest armed rescuers of Jews by Jews during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He was also known as Arczyk Bielski. The youngest of the four Bielski brothers, he is the only one still living (Asael
Asael Bielski
Asael Bielski was the second-in-command of the Bielski partisans during World War II.-Early life:Asael was the third son of David and Beila Bielski, being about two years younger than his brother Tuvia who later commanded the Bielski Otriad...
died in 1945, Tuvia in 1987, Alexander 'Zus'
Alexander Zeisal Bielski
Alexander Zeisal 'Zus' Bielski was a leader of the Bielski partisans that rescued approximately 1,200 Jews from Nazi execution in Belarus during World War II.-Biography:...
in 1995).
Life with Bielski partisans
The Bielski family were farmers in Stankiewicze (Stankievichy) near Navahrudak, an area that at the beginning of the Second World War belonged to the Second Polish RepublicSecond Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
, but in September 1939 was seized by the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
(see: Polish September Campaign and Soviet invasion of Poland (1939)
Soviet invasion of Poland (1939)
The 1939 Soviet invasion of Poland was a Soviet military operation that started without a formal declaration of war on 17 September 1939, during the early stages of World War II. Sixteen days after Nazi Germany invaded Poland from the west, the Soviet Union did so from the east...
), which was then allied with Nazi Germany. After German Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
, Aron's brothers created a notable resistance organization, the Bielski partisans
Bielski partisans
The Bielski partisans were an organisation of Jewish partisans who rescued Jews from extermination and fought against the Nazi German occupiers and their collaborators in the vicinity of Nowogródek and Lida in German-occupied Poland...
group. Aron became a member of that group.
Nechama Tec
Nechama Tec
Nechama Tec is a Professor Emerita of Sociology at the University of Connecticut. She received her Ph.D. in sociology at Columbia University, where she studied and worked with the highly-regarded sociologist Daniel Bell, and is a noted Holocaust scholar...
who wrote a book about them had the following to say about Aron: "Occasionally in the forest he acted as a guide. Those I spoke to agree that his participation and impact on the life of the Bielski otriad was minimal, almost nonexistent." While Nechama was not able to interview Aron, he was interviewed by Peter Duffy in his book.
That author, in the second authoritative book about the Bielski partisans, mentions Aron about 30 times, and lists him as one of the important sources for the book. Duffy interviewed Bell for the 2000 article Heroes Among Us published in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
.
Later life
After the war, Bielski returned to communist-dominated PolandPeople's Republic of Poland
The People's Republic of Poland was the official name of Poland from 1952 to 1990. Although the Soviet Union took control of the country immediately after the liberation from Nazi Germany in 1944, the name of the state was not changed until eight years later...
, and soon after immigrated to British Mandate of Palestine. In 1954, he settled in the United States, along with his surviving brothers and their families, where he drove and then owned two trucks in New York City. Aron is the only member of the Bielski family to change his family name (to "Bell").
Kidnapping charge
In 2007, Aron and his wife Henryka (then 58 years old) were arrested for kidnapping 93-year-old Janina Zaniewska. It was alleged that they flew her to Poland, under the guise of taking her to visit old friends, dropped her at a nursing home, and returned to Palm Beach, Florida. Next, they were alleged to have withdrawn $300,000 from Zaniewska's bank account (later determined to be around $250,000). Police were contacted in August by a bank manager who wondered why the Bells were withdrawing her money. Police eventually found Zaniewska at the nursing home and arrested the couple. The charges against them carried a sentence of up to 90 years in prison, but were dropped in February 2008 after the couple agreed to repay $260,000. No wrongdoing was admitted nor proven by the prosecution.Legacy
George MacKayGeorge MacKay (actor)
-Biography:MacKay was born in London, England. At the age of five, he produced, directed and created his very own production of the play Peter and the Wolf with his friends playing the characters...
portrayed Aron in the 2008 film Defiance
Defiance (2008 film)
Defiance is a 2008 World War II era film written, produced, and directed by Edward Zwick, set during the occupation of Belarus by Nazi Germany. The film is an account of the Bielski partisans, a group led by three Jewish brothers who saved and recruited Jews in Poland during the Second World War...
, which has been criticised in Poland due to its omission of the alleged involvement of the Bielski group in a massacre of Polish civilians
Naliboki massacre
The Naliboki massacre was the mass killing of about 128 Poles by Soviet partisans at the village of Naliboki in Nazi-occupied Poland on May 8, 1943....
conducted by Soviet-aligned partisans in Naliboki
Naliboki
Naliboki is a village in western Belarus, Minsk Voblast.From 1386 to 1795 and 1918-1939 the village was located in Poland. During the times of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth it belonged to the family of the Radziwiłł magnates...
. The Bielski partisan group was the subject of an official inquiry by the Polish Institute of National Remembrance
Institute of National Remembrance
Institute of National Remembrance — Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation is a Polish government-affiliated research institute with lustration prerogatives and prosecution powers founded by specific legislation. It specialises in the legal and historical sciences and...
's Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation after witnesses testified that Bielski partisans were among the perpetrators of the Naliboki massacre; however, the investigation found no conclusive evidence linking the Bielski group to the crime.
External links
- Gary Stern, For Pound Ridge man, the new movie "Defiance" is the story of his family, The Journal News, January 21, 2009 Piotr Głuchowski, Marcin Kowalski, Wymazany Aron Bell (Aron Bell Erased), Gazeta WyborczaGazeta WyborczaGazeta Wyborcza is a leading Polish newspaper. It covers the gamut of political, international and general news. Like all the Polish newspapers, it is printed on compact-sized paper, and is published by the multimedia corporation Agora SA...
, 008-06-16