Jewish Partisan Educational Foundation

Sheri Rosenblum, JPEF's Director of Development and Outreach, will speak to the Jewish War Veterans of Skokie, Illinois - North Shore Post 29 and Buffalo Grove Post 88, on Tuesday, February 16th at 7PM Central Time. Everyone is invited to join the presentation "Jewish Partisans Who Helped Defeat Germany" via Zoom. Email [email protected] to request the link and meeting ID. #jewishwarveterans

In 1939, as a member of the Polish army, Chaim Wolfe's (z"l) unit was captured and interned in Stalag IA, a POW camp in the German District of Stablack. There, Chaim worked in a German plywood factory, and found sustenance in frozen potatoes dug from nearby fields, and scraps of food scavenged from his captors’ garbage. After escaping a cattle car headed to Auschwitz, he survived for two months in the woods when he encountered a group of Soviet partisans. Though initially s...uspected of being a spy, Chaim convinced them he was Jewish and a former Polish soldier. He led his partisan unit for the next two months in raids demolishing German trains and communication posts. By the end of 1944, the Soviets had liberated eastern Poland, but it was too late for his family. They had been lined up and shot buried in an anonymous mass grave. Chaim and his wife Rochel eventually immigrated to Halifax, Nova Scotia. He had two sons, Martin and Ralph, five grandchildren, and ten great-grandchildren. Chaim passed away on September 28, 2005 at the age of 91. Read Chaim's full story here: http://jewishpartisans.org/chaimwolfebio

The Jewish Partisan Educational Foundation mourns the loss of Jewish partisan Leon Bakst (z''l), who passed away yesterday at the age of 97. As a teenager Leon was shipped off to Lida, where the Nazis forced him to work in a railroad labor camp. He was fortunate, however, as his crew was responsible for loading up the weapons and ammunition left behind by the retreating Soviet army so it could be sent back to Germany and melted down for raw materials. Leon and other youth spe...nt weeks stashing away rifles and ammunition before escaping into the woods where they heard rumors of partisan activity. In 2011, Leon was reunited with his childhood friend Allen Small at JPEF's Tribute Dinner. They had not seen one another for 65 years and their reunion is the subject of JPEF's film The Reunion. Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rslM9Pz07c May Leon's memory be a blessing. Read more about Leon here: http://jewishpartisans.org/leonbakstblog

In 1941, the Einsatzgruppen marched into Manyevitch, a shtetl where Faige Porter (pictured left, z"l), her husband Srulik (z"l), and their daughters had relocated to when the Germans invaded Poland in 1939. There, the army rounded up the non-disabled Jewish men, heads of households, and Jewish leaders of the community and took them to be cruelly beaten, stripped naked, and shot into a pit outside of town. Taking drastic measures, Srulik used a disguise to escape and join the ...partisans, leaving Faige to care for her daughters and extended family in the ghetto. After miraculously escaping death at the hands of a Ukranian guard, Faige hid in a barn overnight and was the only member of her family to survive. Faige eventually became a nurse and a cook for the partisans, living for two years in the forests before being liberated by the Russian army in 1944. She gave birth to a son later that year, and the family later relocated to Milwaukee, WI, where they had two more children. Read more about Faige's incredible life here: http://jewishpartisans.org/faigeporterbio

The Germans liquidated the entire Ivie Ghetto in January 1943, causing David Bakst (z"l) and his family to split up. When the Nazis surrounded the leather making factory where David was located, he managed to escape, avoiding pursuing gunfire. David later ran into his father, Beryl, and convinced him that their best chance of survival was to go to the partisans. Beryl and David joined a Russian unit called the Iskra partisans. Though they were reluctant to accept Jews, David...’s physical fitness and Beryl’s leather making abilities proved valuable. David became a fighter, responsible for sabotage missions against the German. He and his comrades ambushed German trucks with gunfire and blew up trains and bridges. David was granted a visa in late 1948, and made it to New York where he worked long days at his Uncle Willie’s pickle factory while taking English classes at night. David eventually saved enough money to visit Cuba to marry his wife, Paula. They raised four children and had several grandchildren. David passed away in his Florida home on December 22, 2020. Read his remarkable full story here: http://jewishpartisans.org/davidbakstbio

After playing a key role in the Marcinkanze uprising that allowed him and others to escape the ghetto, Bernard (Berel, Boris) Novick (z"l) used the gold coin his father gave him to buy a machine gun with a missing part. He re-built the part, repaired the machine gun, and became a machine gun operator. He later joined a group of Red Partisans, serving as a scout, a fighter, an explosives expert, and a medic when needed. During a mission in 1943, Boris showed incredible braver...y when he opened fire on approaching German soldiers through the windows of an unoccupied farmhouse, going from window to window to make it appear as if the house was full of fighters, allowing those inside to escape. Bernard married Betty (Bryna Mekel) on July 6, 1948 and immigrated to Wichita, Kansas the following year. They had two children, four grandsons, and three great-grandchildren. Read Berel's full story here: http://jewishpartisans.org/bernardnovickbio

For the past few years, the Jewish Partisan Educational Foundation has been working with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and other members of the Association of Holocaust Organizations to urge Facebook to ban Holocaust denial and distortion on its platform. This week, that work paid off and we applaud Facebook's decision. JPEF Director of Development and Outreach Sheri Pearl Rosenblum even went as far as to contact Christian Picciolini, former neo-Nazi and founder of the Free Radicals Project, to enlist his assistance in convincing Facebook that Holocaust denial is a hate crime. Read more on this development in this article press release from USHMM.

Eva Etkin was living with her twin sons when, in June 1941, the Germans broke the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact with the Soviet Union and invaded her hometown of Krulevshchizna, Russia. A few months later, in October, the Etkin family was sent to the Glubokie Ghetto along with 80 Jewish families from their town. Unable to enter or leave the ghetto without a permit under threat of imprisonment or death, Eva decided to resist the Nazis, earning the nickname Briya, which means Brav...e in Yiddish. She volunteered her medical experience to partisans in a nearby forest before managing to escape the ghetto. Eva joined the October Partisan Brigade where she served as a nurse in the medical unit, caring for the injured in the regions of Dokshitsy & Glubokie. She also helped smuggle pistols, grenades, and ammunition to the partisans. Sadly, on June 3, 1944, just weeks before the liberation, the Nazis caught and tortured the medical unit of the October Partisan Brigade. Eva was among them. She was 31 years old. Read more about Eva's incredible bravery here: https://www.jewishpartisancommunity.org/partisans/evaetkin/

One of the most common questions that students, and those who are not familiar with the Jewish partisans, ask is "Why didn't the Jews fight back during the Holocaust?" The reality, of course, is that they did! Thank you to the Chicago Tribune and the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center for sharing the inspiring stories of those who resisted the Nazis and their collaborators during the Holocaust. The Jewish Partisan Educational Foundation was proud to assist the museum with this exhibit and provide JPEF content. JPEF Founder Mitch Braff also was the featured speaker at the exhibit's opening on this day last year.

Two years after the tragedy at Tree of Life Synagogue, the Jewish Partisan Educational Foundation remembers those who were murdered. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the Jewish community, and the entire City of Pittsburgh. May their memories be for a blessing. JPEF is proud to continue to educate young people to speak out and stand up against hate. Together, we will Never Forget and we say Never Again! View JPEF's curriculum here: http://www.jewishpartisans.org/co...ntent/resist-curriculum #neverforget #neveragain

When Abe Asner (z''l) escaped from the ghetto into the nearby forest, with his brothers the Germans placed a bounty on their heads. So much money to catch us, dead or alive, Abe recalled. Asner, born 104 years ago on this day, and his brothers, became armed resistance fighters successfully conducting many missions. They sabotaged enemy supply lines, halted German food convoys, and rescued Jews from ghettos. Abe’s passion burned brightly when he recalled his partisan days: ...We don’t go like sheep. We did as much as we could. We did a lot, he said. People should know somebody did (fight back). People should know. Learn more about Abe Asner, cousin of actor Ed Asner, who passed away in May 2015, here: www.jewishpartisans.org/abeasnerblog #JewishPartisans

#TBT This 2019 OZY article explores how Vitka Kempner a young woman from provincial Poland transformed into one of the war’s most notable resistance fighters. "In early 1942, the 20-year-old Kempner joined a Zionist youth group under the United Partisan Organization (FPO) resistance movement, led by [Abba] Kovner; as the city’s Jews were herded into a ghetto, they began taking action. Sneaking in and out of the neighborhood, they smuggled weapons, trained partisans and bu...ilt bombs. That led to Kempner’s first real act of resistance: Ferrying out homemade explosives from the ghetto, and eventually affixing them to a Nazi train line in what’s believed to be one of the earliest acts of anti-Nazi sabotage on the eastern front." Read more about the incredible life of Jewish partisan Vitka Kempner here: http://www.jewishpartisans.org/partisans/vitka-kempner Vitka and Abba's story is also chronicled in Rich Cohn's book The Avengers, which was also made into an audio book, narrated by Larry King: https://www.amazon.com/Avengers-Rich-Cohen/dp/0375705295 #JewishPartisans

When the Germans invaded Vilna, Noah Lewin joined Abba Kovner's Jewish underground, the Fareynikte Partizaner Organizatsye (FPO). After the unsuccessful Vilna uprising and the FPO’s defeat, Noah took to the sewers with the rest of Kovner’s guerrilla force, escaping into the woods and setting up a base in Radnicka Puscja. As a Jewish partisan, Noah became well versed in the arts of sabotage, cutting down telegraph wires, taking apart railroad tracks, mining roads, and conducti...ng sniper attacks against German forces. Learn more about Noah Lewin, born on October 11, 1916, and watch his video testimony here: http://www.jewishpartisans.org/partisans/noah-lewin #JewishPartisans

Don Felson (z’’l) was just 16 years old when the Germans invaded Glubokie, Poland. Don narrowly escaped the June 1942 town massacre of 2,500 Jews, and he and his older brother Stan joined the Panamarenko partisan brigade. After learning that their mother and younger brother were murdered by the SS, the two brothers intensified their armed campaign, dynamiting railroads and ambushing German convoys. They saved many lives by disrupting the Nazi war machine and evacuating the wo...unded from behind enemy lines. Read more about Jewish partisan Don Felson, born October 12, 1925, here: www.jewishpartisans.org/donfelsonblog Watch his video testimony here: http://www.jewishpartisans.org/partisans/don-felson #JewishPartisans

There are still a few available spots for tomorrow's virtual teaching training. Registration closes today at 6:00 p.m. PDT. Register here: www.jewishpartisans.org/twddelaware

Join us TOMORROW at 10:30 am PDT / 1:30 pm EDT for a free educator training session on teaching with the film 'Defiance' which starred Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber. Learn how you can bring the stories of the Jews who resisted the Nazis to life in your classroom. Register: www.jewishpartisans.org/twddelaware

**Virtual Teacher Training Opportunity** On Friday, October 9 at 10:30 a.m. PDT / 1:30 p.m. EDT, join JPEF's Sheri Rosenblum and Jonathan Furst for a free teacher training workshop, co-presented by the Social Studies Coalition of Delaware. Learn to engage and inspire students by teaching about the 30,000 Jews who fought back against the Nazis and their collaborators as Jewish partisans. Register here: www.jewishpartisans.org/twddelaware

Last year, Teen Vogue introduced millions of its online readers to the history and legacies of the Jewish partisans, and to JPEF's work. In the article below, The Jewish Teens Who Fought Against Hitler, Sheri Rosenblum, JPEF's Director of Development and Outreach, highlights the importance of teaching the lessons of the Jewish partisans to young people everywhere. The article also spotlights the unique contributions made by female Jewish partisans, like Eta Wrobel (z''l), who defied gender roles.

As Sukkot 1941 approached, food was very scarce in the Lodz Ghetto. But for a few days of that fateful year, the crowds did not seek food, form lines to exchange heirloom jewelry for food, or wait for hours for a chance to secure sustenance for their families. Instead, they waited to bless the miraculous appearance of the four species of Sukkot: etrog, lulav, hadas, and aravah. In the spirit of true non-violent resistance, the Jews of the Lodz Ghetto chose to celebrate the im...portant rituals of Sukkot even while facing starvation, death, and violence on a daily basis. They chose to defy Nazi policy by celebrating Jewish holidays, knowing that they were risking their lives to perform even a single act of spiritual resistance. This year, as you sit in the sukkah, enjoy the bounty of New Year 5781 and honor the Jews of the Lodz Ghetto who stood brave and defiant, proudly asserting their Judaism. Read more here: www.jewishpartisans.org/sukkotinlodz Download JPEF's Tactics of Resistance lesson plan to learn about the many other acts of Jewish resistance during the Holocaust: http://www.jewishpartisans.org/content/resist-curriculum Chag Sameach!

On September 29, we celebrated Marisa Diena (z''l), born in Turin, Italy in 1916. When Nazis occupied her hometown, Marisa fled into the mountains around Torre Pellice, Italy to join the partisans. In the Italian Partisans, women served a unique role. Because most of the male partisans were army deserters, women were able to move around during the day without arousing suspicion. As a result, Marisa became the vice-commander of information for her unit. During the day, she rod...e her bicycle around the countryside, collecting valuable intelligence from local informants. Nightly, she would return and report back to her commander, performing a crucial task that the men in her group could not. On April 25, 1945, Marisa’s partisan unit worked to liberate Turin, while their comrades in other major cities did the same. Marisa stayed in Italy after the war, sharing her experience as a partisan with elementary school children. Marisa passed away on May 8, 2013. Read more about her story here: http://www.jewishpartisans.org/partisans/marisa-diena

TOMORROW, September 30 at 1:30 p.m. PDT / 4:30 p.m. EDT, join JPEF's Sheri Rosenblum for a free teacher training workshop, co-presented by the Holocaust Resource Center and Diversity Council of Kean University. Learn about the stories of the many women who defied gender roles to fight back against the Nazis and their collaborators during the Holocaust. Register here: jewishpartisans.org/keanuniversitytraining2