Defiance: The Bielski Partisans Book

'Defiance' just made it to the NY Times paperback best seller list even tho it came out more than 15 years ago. The reason for its popularity now, of course, is that the film has been released and has created interest in the story and in Nechama Tec's book.

That's why I read it. After seeing the film, I wanted to know more about the Bielski brothers/partisans and what really happened in the forest. As I suspected, the film does not do justice to the book, or, even more important, to what actually happened. But give the movie credit for stirring interest in these events.

Tec's portrayal is of a group of Jews (The Bielksi Partisans) in Belorussiain WWII who lived in the forest, seeking to escape the German slaughters. The story is truly inspiring and shows a different view than the one most often portrayed of helpless Jewish victims, unable, unwilling to fight the terrors of the Third Reich.

Tec, a scholar and a Holocaust survivor herself, focuses on Tuvia Bielski, an unlikely leader who eventually leads 1200 Jews to safety. The book tells the story of this truly amazing individual and describes how these Jews survived in the forest, how this group of refugees formed a community, how they lived, and how and why they were the most successful and largest group of partisans to make it to safety.

It's an inspiring story, unevenly written and told and one that stillleft me wanting to know more than Tec was able to portray.

But this story deserves to be heard. Tuvia Bielski and his brothers deserve a more prominent place in Jewish history than they have received. Tuvia was never truly recognized for his heroic efforts (other than by those he saved) and the remainder of his life, in Israel and the US, was apparently sad and without the honors that should have been bestowed upon him.

Hopefully this story and Tuvia and his brothers will now receive the recognition they deserve.