Defiance
Defiance is the story about the Bielski brothers; Tuvia, Zus, Asael, and Aron. The story takes place mainly in the Naliboki Forest. The Nazis were gathering up Jews. Some they killed on site the rest they took to concentration camps. Two of the four brothers were in the woods when this happened. They returned home and found their parents dead and the youngest brother hiding in the floor. The oldest brother however found the three brothers in the woods and said “If I was a German you would already be dead” after he threw a rock at the sleeping brothers. The next morning Aron goes off in search of food and finds more Jews hiding in the forest. He brings them back to the camp where the other brothers are. This does not make anyone happy. Zus wants to send them away but Tuvia won’t let him. So is born the beginning of the story. To find food the brothers must beg for food from neighboring farms. The Nazis were emptying neighboring ghettos; this brought more people into the camp. The camp was discovered the first time because they did not kill the man they got the milk from. The milk man was a Jew. He needed to take care of his family and everyone was afraid of the Nazis. The Nazis offered him a deal he couldn’t refuse. There was a reward of 500 Reichsmarks for each Jew that was turned in. This made it hard to refuse.
Aron and another member of the camp managed to warn the others the soldiers were in the forest. The milk man had lead soldiers to the camp. A second camp was built, this one was harder to find. The camp had gotten better at hiding from the ground soldiers; however they had not thought about airplanes. Zus had joined the Soviet troops in the area and had several men with him. The third was the largest it consisted of a kitchen, mill, school, hospital and nursery. The camp was made up of underground bunkers also known as Zemlyanka. Every person at the camp was required to work a job. The camp even supplied the Soviet partisan with logistical support. Bielski’s camp had over 1200 people at its peak. They even had a herd of cows.
The Nazis were not fond of Tuvia Bielski or any of the other brothers. Tuvia was the leader of the camp. At one time the Nazis offered a reward of 100,000 Reichsmarks for the capture of Tuvia Bielski. Many raids of “cleansing” campaigns were run. Bielski’s followers just moved deeper in the forest. The Bielski brothers survived the war. However Asael was killed while fighting with the Soviet Red Army. Zus and Tuvia eventually ended up in New York where they went into business together. Aron, the youngest, changed his name to Aron Bell and lives in Florida. None of the Bielski’s never sought recognition for what they did.
Comments
Good summary but you didn't do a review.