The Jewish Partisan Educational Foundation (JPEF) is a nonprofit organization based in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for "Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, that produces short films and other educational materials on the history and life lessons of the

Jewish partisans Jewish partisans were fighters in irregular military groups participating in the Jewish resistance movement against Nazi Germany and its collaborators during World War II. A number of Jewish partisan groups operated across Nazi-occupied Euro ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, approximately 30,000 Jewish men and women fought back against the Germans and their collaborators as partisans (armed resistance fighters behind enemy lines). JPEF provides free educational resources for public, Jewish and other parochial and private schools, including short documentary films, lesson plans, study guides, and online teacher-training. The materials are primarily based on

oral history Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people w ...

interviews, conducted between 2001 and 2015, 54 Jewish partisans. The Jewish Partisan Educational Foundation partners with nearly every Holocaust organization in the world who relies on its resources and expertise about the Jewish partisan history throughout Europe. All of JPEF's curriculum materials are free to educators and students and can be downloaded from its website at www.jewishpartisans.org. A second website, Jewish Partisan Community page, launched in 2017, hosts an additional 70 Jewish partisans biographies, many of them of women at www.jewishpartisancommunity.org.

History

Filmmaker Mitch Braff founded JPEF in 2000 after meeting former Jewish partisan Murray Gordon - the first time Braff had heard about organized, armed Jewish resistance during the Holocaust. Discovering that this piece of history was largely unknown in the U.S., even among American Jews, Braff founded JPEF to interview many more partisans, archive their testimonies, and create films, curricula and a website dedicated to their history. Founding Board President, Paul Orbuch, the son of Jewish partisan

Sonia Orbuch Sonia Shainwald Orbuch (born Sarah Shainwald, May 24, 1925 – September 30, 2018) was an American Holocaust educator. During the Second World War she was a Jewish resistance fighter in eastern Poland. Orbuch hid in the forests of Poland with ...

, helped Braff launch the organization. In 2003 JPEF produced its first film, "Introduction to the Jewish Partisans", narrated by the late actor

Ed Asner Eddie Asner (; November 15, 1929 – August 29, 2021) was an American actor and former president of the Screen Actors Guild. He is best remembered for portraying Lou Grant during the 1970s and early 1980s, on both '' The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' ...

(cousin of Jewish partisan Abe Asner). In 2008 JPEF developed "Pictures of Resistance", a traveling exhibit of photographs taken by the only known Jewish partisan photographer, Faye Schulman. That same year, JPEF consulted for director

Edward Zwick Edward M. Zwick (born October 8, 1952) is an American filmmaker and producer of film and television. He has worked primarily in the comedy drama and epic historical film genres, including ''About Last Night, Glory, Legends of the Fall,'' and ' ...

on the production of the motion picture

Defiance Defiance may refer to: Film, television and theatre * ''Defiance'' (1952 film), a Swedish drama film directed by Gustaf Molander * ''Defiance'' (1980 film), an American crime drama starring Jan-Michael Vincent * ''Defiance'' (2002 film), a ...

, which portrays the story of the

Bielski partisans The Bielski partisans were a unit of Jewish partisans who rescued Jews from extermination and fought the German occupiers and their collaborators around Novogrudok and Lida in German-occupied Poland (now western Belarus). The partisan unit w ...

, starring

Daniel Craig Daniel Wroughton Craig (born 2 March 1968) is an English-American actor who gained international fame playing the secret agent James Bond in the film series, beginning with '' Casino Royale'' (2006) and in four further instalments, up to ' ...

and

Liev Schreiber Isaac Liev Schreiber (; born October 4, 1967) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and narrator. He became known during the late 1990s and early 2000s after appearing in several independent films, and later mainstream Hollywoo ...

star as Jewish partisan commanders Tuvia and Zus Bielski. According to JPEF, as of 2022 their educational materials, films and teacher training institutes and online professional development courses have reached over tens of thousands of educators and millions of students worldwide. The history and lessons of the Jewish partisans empower young people to speak out against antisemitism and hate in their own lives and become tomorrows upstanders .

Program Offerings

Website Online resources include maps, archival photographs, and online profiles with video testimonies for over 54 Jewish partisans including

Tuvia Bielski Tuvia Bielski (May 8, 1906 – June 12, 1987) was a Belarusian Jewish militant who was leader of the Bielski group, a group of Jewish partisans who set up refugee camps for Jews fleeing the Holocaust during World War II. Their camp was situat ...

, Frank Blaichman,

Vitka Kempner Vitka Kempner ( he, ויטקה קובנר; 14 March 1920, Kalisz – 2012) was a Polish Jewish partisan leader during World War II. She served in the United Partisan Organization (Fareynikte Partizaner Organizatsye) and, alongside Rozka Korczak ...

Abba Kovner Abba Kovner ( he, אבא קובנר; 14 March 1918 – 25 September 1987) was a Polish Israeli poet, writer and partisan leader. In the Vilna Ghetto, his manifesto was the first time that a target of the Holocaust identified the German plan to ...

Faye Schulman Faye Schulman (28 November 1919 – 24 April 2021) was a Jewish partisan photographer, and the only such photographer to photograph their struggle in Eastern Europe during World War II. Her full name was Faigel "Faye" Lazebnik Schulman. Early l ...

, and

Shalom Yoran Shalom Yoran ( he, שָׁלוֹם יוֹרָן; June 29, 1925 – September 9, 2013) was a survivor of the Holocaust and a former Jewish partisan. His World War II memoir, '' The Defiant. A True Story of Jewish Vengeance and Survival'', was firs ...

. Curricula Lesson plans and study guides use the experiences of the Jewish partisans to teach history, leadership, ethics, women's studies, and Jewish values. The curricula, for 6th-12th grade and college, are edited by Holocaust scholar Dr.

Michael Berenbaum Michael Berenbaum (born July 31, 1945, in Newark, New Jersey) is an American scholar, professor, rabbi, writer, and filmmaker, who specializes in the study of the Holocaust. He served as deputy director of the President's Commission on the Holo ...

. More than 60 Holocaust organizations incorporate JPEF’s materials into their programs, including the

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust. Adjacent to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the USHMM provides for the documentation, study, and interpretation of Holocaust hi ...

Facing History and Ourselves Facing History and Ourselves is a global non-profit organization founded in 1976. The organization's mission is to "use lessons of history to challenge teachers and their students to stand up to bigotry and hate." The organization is based in Br ...

, the

Association of Holocaust Organizations The Association of Holocaust Organizations (AHO), a 501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Ti ...

, and the

New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education The New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education is a government agency of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its core mission is to promote Holocaust education throughout the state by surveying, designing, encouraging and promoting Holocaust and genoc ...

. JPEF is also a contributor/publishing partner to the

Encyclopædia Britannica The ( Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various ...

's Holocaust history project. Teacher Training Online professional development courses on Jewish armed resistance during the Holocaust are offered on JPEF’s website, with continuing education units awarded through

Touro College Touro University is a private Jewish university system headquartered in New York City, with branches throughout the United States as well as one each in Germany, Israel and Russia. It was founded by Bernard Lander in 1971 and named for Isaac a ...

. JPEF also conducts in-service workshops in the U.S. and internationally. Photography Exhibit Pictures of Resistance: The Wartime Photography of Jewish Partisan Faye Schulman, is a traveling exhibit of historical photos by the only known Jewish partisan photographer. The exhibit, curated by

Jill Vexler Jill is an English feminine given name, a short form of the name Jillian (Gillian), which in turn originates as a Middle English variant of Juliana, the feminine form of the name Julian. People with the given name *Jill Astbury, Australian rese ...

, has been displayed in more than 30 cities in the United States, Canada, Israel, Poland, South Africa, Australia and Switzerland.

Films

JPEF has produced 12 short documentaries directed by Braff, and narrated by

Larry King Larry King (born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger; November 19, 1933 – January 23, 2021) was an American television and radio host, whose awards included 2 Peabodys, an Emmy and 10 Cable ACE Awards. Over his career, he hosted over 50,000 interviews. ...

, and

Tovah Feldshuh Terri Sue "Tovah" Feldshuh (born December 27, 1948) is an American actress, singer, and playwright. She has been a Broadway star for more than four decades, earning four Tony Award nominations. She has also received two Emmy Award nominations f ...

. In chronological order: *Introduction to the Jewish Partisans *Women in the Partisans Living & Surviving in the Partisans: Food *Living & Surviving in the Partisans: Winter and Night *Living & Surviving in the Partisans: Medicine *Living & Surviving in the Partisans: Shelter *Antisemitism in the Partisans *The Partisans Through the Eyes of the Soviet Newsreel *A Partisan Returns: The Legacy of Two Sisters *Introduction to the Bielski Brothers *The Reunion *Survival in the Forest: Isidore Karten & the Partisans

References

{{Reflist

External links

Jewish Partisan Educational Foundation

Jewish Partisan CommunityClassroom Lesson Plans and Study Guides for Teachers from the Jewish Partisan Educational FoundationDefiance motion picture

Ghetto Fighter's House
Jewish resistance during the Holocaust