Alexander Zeisal "Zus" Bielski (19 October 1912 – 18 August 1995) was a leader of the

Bielski partisans The Bielski partisans were a unit of Polish Jewish partisans who rescued Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancie ...

who rescued approximately 1,200 Jews fleeing from the Nazi

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Biography

Alexander "Zus" Bielski was born in 1912 in the Russian Empire. He grew up in the only Jewish family in Stankiewicze. The small village in

Western Belarus Western Belorussia or Western Belarus (; ; ) is a historical region of modern-day Belarus which belonged to the Second Polish Republic during the interwar period. For twenty years before the 1939 invasion of Poland, it was the northern part of th ...

is located between towns of

Lida Lida is a city in Grodno Region, western Belarus, located west of Minsk. It serves as the administrative center of Lida District. As of 2025, it has a population of 103,262. Etymology The name ''Lida'' arises from its Lithuanian name ''Ly ...

and

Navahrudak Novogrudok or Navahrudak (; ; , ; ) is a town in Grodno Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Novogrudok District. As of 2025, it has a population of 27,624. In the Middle Ages, the city was ruled by King Mindaugas' son ...

, both of which housed Jewish ghettoes during World War II. He was the son of David and Beila Bielski, who had twelve children: ten boys and two girls.

World War II

When

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...

broke out, Tuvia, Zus, and Asael were called up by their army units to fight against the

Nazi German Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

occupiers. Owing to so much chaos the units disbanded. They fled to Stankiewicze, where their parents lived. In July 1941, a German army unit arrived in Stankiewicze, and Jewish residents were moved to the

Nowogródek Novogrudok or Navahrudak (; ; , ; ) is a town in Grodno Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Novogrudok District. As of 2025, it has a population of 27,624. In the Middle Ages, the city was ruled by King Mindaugas' son ...

ghetto. Zus, along with his brothers Tuvia, Asael, and Aron, managed to flee to the nearby forest after their parents and other family members were killed in the ghetto in December 1941. Other refugees joined them and eventually formed a large partisan group. They hid in the forests of Belarus throughout World War II, led by the Bielskis. Zus, along with his brothers Tuvia,

Aron Aron may refer to: *Aron (name), name origin, variants, people Fictional characters *Aron (comics), from the Marvel Universe comic ''Aron! HyperSpace Boy!'' *Aron (Pokémon), in the ''Pokémon'' franchise * Aron Trask, from John Steinbeck's nove ...

, and Asael, managed to save 1,236 Jews. Zus left the partisans for the Red Army for a few months. Today, the descendants of those who were saved number over 10,000. Zus' first wife, Cyrl Borowski, and infant daughter were murdered by the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

s. One of the refugees Zus rescued was 18-year-old Sonia Boldo, who he would later marry.

Later life

After the war, Zus initially moved to

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, but he left for New York City in 1956. There, he built his wealth by owning a large fleet of taxi cabs and a trucking company with his brother Tuvia. He died of cardiac arrest in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

at age 82. He and his wife Sonia had three sons: David, Jay, and Zvi. Jay served in the IDF as a volunteer during the 1973 war, and Zvi (June 1, 1952 – April 14, 2013) served in the Israeli paratroopers during the Lebanon incursion. Matthew and Elan, Jay's sons, served in a Special Forces unit within the elite Israeli paratroopers.''Children of the Otriad'' (c) 2008 Paramount Pictures Corporation, included in the special features on the 2008 DVD ''Defiance''

Legacy

Liev Schreiber Isaac Liev Schreiber ( ; born October 4, 1967) is an American actor. He has received numerous accolades including a Tony Award as well as nominations for nine Primetime Emmy Awards and five Golden Globe Awards. Schreiber's early film roles incl ...

portrayed Zus Bielski in the film '' Defiance'' (2008).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bielski, Alexander Zeisal 1912 births 1995 deaths People from Lida district 20th-century Polish Jews Belarusian partisans Jewish partisans Holocaust survivors Soviet partisans Polish military personnel of World War II Polish emigrants to Israel Israeli emigrants to the United States