Bielski Partisans Jewish Life Not Comprehended Today :: Defiance Movie

So today I went to see Defiance the Movie.  This was the story about the Bielski partisans a group of Polish Jews that came together for common protection and to oppose the German occupation of their homeland.  I won’t give the story line away here in this post but it reminds me that those in my generation can not even begin to comprehend sacrifice, pain, and suffering that took place in the world in the early 1940’s in WWII.

I had never heard of or read anything about or known anything about the Bielski partisans group before today.  A group that lived in the German forest for several years until the war ended.  Most of us who live in the free world will never have to understand or deal with loss like these people.  Never have to make decisions they had to make.  Here are a few pics from the movie (all images of course are copyright of Paramount / Vantage VIP).

Regardless of the movie’s historical accuracy compared to the theatrical take, it made me more aware of what happened around 1941-1943 and promted me to look up information about the Bielski family and how they survived.

Often, at least in the U.S., we take our freedom for granted.  We successfully transferred political power last week from President Bush to President Obama.  No one was executed, no one was exiled, and whatever the problems we face in this country, we are still free.

Free to learn
Free to make our own decisions
Free to speak
Free to travel where we choose
Free to disagree
Free to write our own opinion
Free to create
Free to marry who we choose
Free to vote
Free to worship how we choose
Freely created,
Equal in God’s sight.