Tuvie Bielski
Encyclopedia
Tuvia Bielski was the leader of the partisan group the Bielski partisans
who were situated in the Naliboki forest
in pre-war Poland (now western Belarus
) during World War II
.
(now Western Belarus
) located between towns of Lida
and Navahrudak (both housed Jewish ghettoes during World War II
.) He was the son of David and Beila Bielski, who had twelve children: ten boys and two girls. Tuvia was the second eldest, after Velvel. His brothers Asael
, Alexander ('Zus')
and Aron
were later to become members of his partisan group.
During World War I
, Bielski spent a lot of time with German soldiers occupying the territories of the future Poland and Belarus. Already a speaker of Yiddish, he learned to speak German from these men and remembered it all his life. In 1927, he was recruited into the Polish Army. After his military service was over, Tuvia returned home. In an effort to add to his family's income, Tuvia rented another mill. This was still inadequate, so in 1929, at the age of twenty-three, he married an older woman named Rifka who owned a general store and a large house.
During World War II, Tuvia Bielski led a group of Jewish refugees. He saved more than 1,200 Jews by hiding them in forests. Although always hunted by Nazis, the numbers of the refugees continued to grow. In their camp, they built a school, a hospital, and a nursery. The refugees lived in the forests for more than two years. As leader of the Bielski partisans
, his aim was not to attack railroads and roads that the German Nazis were using as supply routes, although there were some such attacks, but to save Jews, who were under persecution from the Nazis during the Holocaust.
After the war, Tuvia Bielski was offered a high position in the Israel Defense Forces
for his great acts of leadership; but he declined the offer, instead running a small trucking firm with his brother Zus in New York City
for 30 years until his death in 1987. He married Lilka, another Jewish escapee; they remained married for the remainder of their lives. They had at least three children—sons Michael and Robert and a daughter, Ruth—and at least one granddaughter, Sharon Rennert, who herself has made a documentary about her family called In Our Hands: The Legacy of the Bielski Partisans.
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...
who were situated in the Naliboki forest
Naliboki forest
Naliboki Forest, the Naliboki Pushcha , is a large forest complex in the northwestern Belarus, on the right bank of the Neman River, on the Belarusian Ridge.Naliboki Pushcha is famous for its nature and rich, although tragic, history...
in pre-war Poland (now western Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
) 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...
.
Life
Tuvia grew up in the only Polish Jewish family in Stankiewicze, a small village in Eastern PolandKresy
The Polish term Kresy refers to a land considered by Poles as historical eastern provinces of their country. Today, it makes western Ukraine, western Belarus, as well as eastern Lithuania, with such major cities, as Lviv, Vilnius, and Hrodna. This territory belonged to the Polish-Lithuanian...
(now Western Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
) located between towns of Lida
Lida
Lida is a city in western Belarus in Hrodna Voblast, situated 160 km west of Minsk. It is the fourteenth largest city in Belarus.- Etymology :...
and Navahrudak (both housed Jewish ghettoes 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 the son of David and Beila Bielski, who had twelve children: ten boys and two girls. Tuvia was the second eldest, after Velvel. His brothers 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...
, 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:...
and Aron
Aron Bielski
Aron Bielski, later changed to Aron Bell, 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...
were later to become members of his partisan group.
During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Bielski spent a lot of time with German soldiers occupying the territories of the future Poland and Belarus. Already a speaker of Yiddish, he learned to speak German from these men and remembered it all his life. In 1927, he was recruited into the Polish Army. After his military service was over, Tuvia returned home. In an effort to add to his family's income, Tuvia rented another mill. This was still inadequate, so in 1929, at the age of twenty-three, he married an older woman named Rifka who owned a general store and a large house.
During World War II, Tuvia Bielski led a group of Jewish refugees. He saved more than 1,200 Jews by hiding them in forests. Although always hunted by Nazis, the numbers of the refugees continued to grow. In their camp, they built a school, a hospital, and a nursery. The refugees lived in the forests for more than two years. As leader of 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...
, his aim was not to attack railroads and roads that the German Nazis were using as supply routes, although there were some such attacks, but to save Jews, who were under persecution from the Nazis during the Holocaust.
After the war, Tuvia Bielski was offered a high position in the Israel Defense Forces
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
for his great acts of leadership; but he declined the offer, instead running a small trucking firm with his brother Zus in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
for 30 years until his death in 1987. He married Lilka, another Jewish escapee; they remained married for the remainder of their lives. They had at least three children—sons Michael and Robert and a daughter, Ruth—and at least one granddaughter, Sharon Rennert, who herself has made a documentary about her family called In Our Hands: The Legacy of the Bielski Partisans.
Legacy
He is portrayed by Daniel CraigDaniel Craig
Daniel Wroughton Craig is an English actor. His early film roles include Elizabeth, The Power of One, A Kid in King Arthur's Court and the television episodes Sharpe's Eagle, Zorro and The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: Daredevils of the Desert...
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.