From the past to the present: Defiance

After a long while of trying to find something current to post on here I finally came across a movie trailer that I had seen a few months ago. It is for the film Defiance that will hit movie theaters in the fall.

Our class was based on two terms; Resistance(the act or power of resisting, opposing or withstanding) and Defiance (a daring or bold resistance to authority or any opposing force. In my eyes the most powerful, most effective and powerfuk
form of resistance in the holocaust was that of a physical nature. It was saving oneself or risking your life to save others. Strangers saving strangers, Gentiles saving Jews, passing and hiding. We know the stories of Le Chambon, Sophie Scholl and The White Rose and Oskar Schindler. I just wanted to bring the attention of another remarkable story of strength, hope, and as the title states: defiance.

It is the story of the Bielski brothers.
"In 1941, three brothers witnessed their parents and two other siblings being led away to their eventual murders. It was a grim scene that would, of course, be repeated endlessly throughout the war. Instead of running or giving in to despair, these brothers -- Tuvia, Zus, and Asael Bielski -- fought back, waging a guerrilla war of wits against the Nazis. By using their intimate knowledge of the dense forests surrounding the Belarusan towns of Novogrudek and Lida, the Bielskis evaded the Nazis and established a hidden base camp, then set about convincing other Jews to join their ranks. As more and more Jews arrived each day, a robust community began to emerge, a "Jerusalem in the woods." After two and a half years in the woods, in July 1944, the Bielskis learned that the Germans, overrun by the Red Army, were retreating back toward Berlin. More than one thousand Bielski Jews emerged -- alive -- on that final, triumphant exit from the woods."

Films like this not only depict the horrors and triumphs of the past, but also give us motivation to prevent that for the future. It's just a matter of reading in between the lines. We spoke at the end of the semester about passing our knowledge on from this class - I think a trip to the movies this fall and a discussion with your fellow viewers is a great way to do that!