We see that javascript is disabled or not supported by your browser - javascript is needed for important actions on the site. Read more

What's New - Home - Login

Member $avings: $81,749,860.75 | Books Available: 730,931 | Members Online: 144

Swap Used Books - Buy New Books at Great Prices!

How To Swap Books Sign Up Search submenu

PBS Market (New Books)

Gift Buying Guide

Book Browser Advanced Search Books Posted Today Member Book Reviews Award Winning Books NYT Best Sellers Amazon Best Sellers Most Traveled Copies Club Wish List

Discussion Forums Book Lists

Club Lists My Book Lists My Watched Lists Create a List

Blog Donations

School Donation Program In Memory of... Military Donation Program Friends of PBS

Box-O-Books Maps The Eclectic Pen Fun Stuff

20 Questions Sudoku Bookmark Creator

Top 100

Requests Posts Swappers Referrers Reviewers

Pulse of PBS Spread The Word

Invite Friends Bookmarks Facebook Page Facebook App More Ways...

Photo Gallery Recipes Club Tag Cloud Member Testimonials

Help Center submenu

How To Swap Books Browse Help Docs Ask the Librarian PBS Member Icons Live Help

Kiosk

PBS Market (New Books) Go Shopping Buy Credits Buy PBS Money Upgrade Membership Gift Certificates Transfer Credits

Need Help?

Search - The Bielski Brothers: The True Story of Three Men Who Defied the Nazis, Saved 1,200 Jews and Built a Village in the Forest

The Bielski Brothers The True Story of Three Men Who Defied the Nazis Saved 1200 Jews and Built a Village in the Forest
Author: Peter Duffy

It is one of the most remarkable dramas of World War II -- untold until now. In 1941, three young men -- brothers, sons of a miller -- 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. What makes this particular story of ... more »interest is how the survivors responded. Instead of running or capitulating or giving in to despair, these brothers -- Tuvia, Zus, and Asael Bielski -- did something else entirely. They fought back, waging a guerrilla war of wits and cunning against both the Nazis and the pro-Nazi sympathizers. Along the way they saved well over a thousand Jewish lives. Using their intimate knowledge of the dense forests surrounding the Belorussian 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. When the Nazis began systematically eliminating the local Jewish populations -- more than ten thousand were killed in the first year of the Nazi occupation alone -- the Bielskis intensified their efforts, often sending fighting men into the ghettos to escort Jews to safety. As more and more Jews arrived each day, a robust community began to emerge, a "Jerusalem in the woods." They slept in camouflaged dugouts built into the ground. Lovers met, were married, and conceived children. The community boasted a synagogue, a bathhouse, a theater, and cobblers so skilled that Russian officers would wait in line to have their boots reshod. But as its notoriety grew, so too did the Nazi efforts to capture the rugged brothers; and on several occasions they came so near to succeeding that the Bielskis had to abandon the camp and lead their massive entourage to newer, safer locations. And while some argued in favor of a smaller, more mobile unit, focused strictly on waging battle against the Germans, Tuvia Bielski was firm in his commitment to all Jews. "I'd rather save one old Jewish woman," he said, "than kill ten Nazis." In July 1944, after two and a half years in the woods, 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. The Bielski Brothers is a dramatic and heartfelt retelling of a story of the truest heroism, a historic testament to courage in the face of unspeakable adversity.

ISBN-13: 9780066210742
ISBN-10: 0066210747
Publication Date: 7/1/2003
Pages: 320
Rating:

Currently 4.5/5 Stars.

4.5 stars, based on 9 ratings

Publisher: HarperCollins
Book Type: Hardcover
Other Versions: Paperback
Members Wishing: 7
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

Sandra Z. (ztogar) reviewed The Bielski Brothers: The True Story of Three Men Who Defied the Nazis, Saved 1,200 Jews and Built a Village in the Forest on 8/12/2006 + 195 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 3

amazing story of survival during the holocaust..3 men saved 1000 jews

Share/Like this Review?

Holly L. (irunamuk) reviewed The Bielski Brothers: The True Story of Three Men Who Defied the Nazis, Saved 1,200 Jews and Built a Village in the Forest on 4/4/2008

Helpful Score: 1

Unbelieveable story, and yet another one you will not learn about in school textbooks.

Share/Like this Review?

Read All 7 Book Reviews of "The Bielski Brothers The True Story of Three Men Who Defied the Nazis Saved 1200 Jews and Built a Village in the Forest"

Please Log in to Rate these Book Reviews

Catherine L. reviewed The Bielski Brothers: The True Story of Three Men Who Defied the Nazis, Saved 1,200 Jews and Built a Village in the Forest on 1/13/2010 + 65 more book reviews

Better than the movie!

Share/Like this Review?

Momn4boys reviewed The Bielski Brothers: The True Story of Three Men Who Defied the Nazis, Saved 1,200 Jews and Built a Village in the Forest on 7/25/2009 + 4 more book reviews

Very good reading. It is amazing what these people did to survive... and it was not that long ago.

Share/Like this Review?

Donna E. (impossible) reviewed The Bielski Brothers: The True Story of Three Men Who Defied the Nazis, Saved 1,200 Jews and Built a Village in the Forest on 10/17/2006 + 3352 more book reviews

One of those important bits of history that often get bypassed.

Share/Like this Review?

Read All Book Reviews of "The Bielski Brothers The True Story of Three Men Who Defied the Nazis Saved 1200 Jews and Built a Village in the Forest"

Genres:

History >> Jewish >> General
History >> Military >> World War II >> General
History >> World >> 20th Century

Back to the Top ↑

Search - The Bielski Brothers: The True Story of Three Men Who Defied the Nazis, Saved 1,200 Jews and Built a Village in the Forest

Top Member Book Reviews

Please Log in to Rate these Book Reviews

Loading...