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Tuvia Bielski (May 8, 1906 – June 12, 1987) was a Polish Jewish militant who was leader of the Bielski group, a group of
Jewish partisans Jewish partisans were fighters in irregular military groups participating in the Jewish resistance under Nazi rule, Jewish resistance movement against Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, its collaborators during W ...
who set up refugee camps for Jews fleeing the
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 ...
. Their camp was situated in the
Naliboki forest Naliboki Forest (; ) (''pushcha'': wild forest, primeval forest)) is a large forest complex in northwestern Belarus, on the right bank of the Neman River, on the Belarusian Ridge.Dagnoslaw Demski, NALIBOKI I PUSZCZA NALIBOCKA — ZARYS DZIEJÓW I ...
, which was part of Poland between World War I and World War II, and which is now in western
Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
.


Biography

Bielski grew up in the only Jewish family in Stankiewicze. The small village in
Eastern Poland Eastern Poland () is a macroregion in Poland comprising the Lublin Voivodeship, Lublin, Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Subcarpathian, Podlaskie Voivodeship, Podlaskie, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, Świętokrzyskie, and Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Wa ...
(now Western
Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
) is located between the 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 ghettos 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 ...
. Tuvia was the son of David and Beila Bielski, who had 12 children: 10 boys and two girls. Tuvia was the third eldest. His brothers Asael, Alexander ("Zus") and
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 ...
were later to become members of his partisan group. In 1927, Bielski was recruited into the
Polish Army The Land Forces () are the Army, land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 110,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military histor ...
, where he eventually became a
corporal Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corr ...
in the 30th Infantry Battalion. After completing his military service, Bielski returned home. In an effort to add to his family's income, he rented another mill. This income was still inadequate, so in 1929, at the age of 23, he married an older woman named Rifka who owned a general store and a large house. The couple lived in the nearby small town of Subotniki. During the
Soviet occupation During World War II, the Soviet Union occupied and annexed several countries effectively handed over by Nazi Germany in the secret Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of 1939. These included the eastern regions of Poland (incorporated into three differe ...
in 1939, Bielski feared that he would be arrested by the
NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...
due to his "bourgeois capitalist" occupation, so he moved to
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 ...
. Before Tuvia left Subotniki he urged his wife, Rifka, to join him in the move to Lida. She refused. In Soviet-controlled Lida, Bielski met and fell in love with another woman named Sonia Warshavsky. The love affair became serious. In late 1939, Bielski divorced his wife, Rifka and married Sonia, though they were not yet "officially" married due to wartime conditions. Sonia was killed while taking shelter with others in a peasant home. Not long after, Tuvia married Lila "Lilka" Tiktin, who was only 17 at the time. They knew each other before the war and stayed married until his death 44 years later.


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. Tuvia recalls: "Suddenly about 50 planes (''
Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...
'') flew over the town dropping incendiary bombs. In a few minutes the entire place was on fire. The commander called us in, ordered us to leave the burning town and regroup in a forest about five kilometers from there. We were to continue working. We carried out his command but soon after we began our job in the forest another wave of planes flew over the area and set the woods on fire. The commander called us in and said: 'Friends, you are on your own!'" After the units disbanded, the Bielski brothers fled to Stankiewicze, where their parents lived. In early July 1941, a German army unit arrived in Stankiewicze and Jewish residents were moved to a ghetto in
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 ...
. The four Bielski brothers managed to flee to the nearby forest. Their parents, two of their brothers and other family members, including Rifka and Zus' wife and child, were killed in the ghetto on December 8, 1941. Tuvia Bielski led a group of
Jewish partisans Jewish partisans were fighters in irregular military groups participating in the Jewish resistance under Nazi rule, Jewish resistance movement against Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, its collaborators during W ...
who hid in the forest. Although always hunted by
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, Bielski's group continued to grow. They periodically raided the ghettos to help people escape. They lived in the forests for over two years, and in their camp, they built a school, a hospital, and a nursery. As the 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 ...
, his aim was to save the lives of Jews, where he could make a large impact, rather than getting involved with skirmishes with Nazis, where their effect would be negligible. Thus, they did not explicitly seek to attack railroads and roads that the
German Nazi 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 ...
s were using as supply routes but did sometimes carry out such attacks to save Jews at risk of being killed by Nazis in the
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 ...
. The Bielski partisans ultimately saved the lives of more than 1,200 Jews. In 1944, Asael Bielski was conscripted into the Soviet Army and killed in battle in Germany.


Later life

After the war, Tuvia, Zus and their wives went to Israel via Romania, and ultimately immigrated to the United States in 1956. They joined their older brother Walter in New York, where he had gone before the war. Tuvia and Zus ran a small trucking firm in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
for 30 years. He remained married to Lilka for the remainder of their lives. They had three children: sons Michael and Robert, and daughter Ruth, and ten grandchildren. Granddaughter Sharon Rennert made a documentary about her family called ''In Our Hands: The Legacy of the Bielski Partisans''. When Tuvia died in 1987, he was nearly penniless. He was initially buried on
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...
; one year after his death, his remains were exhumed and taken to Jerusalem, where he was given a state funeral with full military honors in 1988. The exact grave is at Har Tamir, a part of Har HaMenuchot. The following location is in Hebrew using Latin letters: Gush taf-bet, Chelka daled, Shura 19, kever 11 (block 402, section 4, row 19, grave 11).


Legacy

Daniel Craig Daniel Wroughton Craig (born 2 March 1968) is an English actor. His accolades include two National Board of Review Awards, in addition to nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and three Golden Globe Awards. ...
portrayed Tuvia in the film '' Defiance'' (2008), which has been criticised in Poland due to its omission of the alleged involvement of the Bielski group in a massacre of Polish civilians conducted by Soviet-aligned partisans in
Naliboki Nalibaki or Naliboki (; ; ) is an Agrotown (Belarus), agrotown in Stowbtsy District, Minsk Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Nalibaki selsoviet. History During the times of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, since 15 ...
. The Naliboki massacre was the subject of an official inquiry by the Polish
Institute of National Remembrance The Institute of National Remembrance – Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation (, abbreviated IPN) is a Polish state research institute in charge of education and archives which also includes two public prosecutio ...
's Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation. The investigation ultimately did not find conclusive evidence linking the Bielski group to the crime. Bielski's memoirs, a manuscript written in Yiddish, were discovered in 2009 in Bielski's estate at the
YIVO YIVO (, , short for ) is an organization that preserves, studies, and teaches the cultural history of Jewish life throughout Eastern Europe, Germany, and Russia as well as orthography, lexicography, and other studies related to Yiddish. Estab ...
in New York. It was planned to be translated into English and published in 2012.


References


External links


Tuvia Bielski
Jewish Partisan Educational Foundation
The Bielski Partisans: Teaching with Defiance
Jewish Partisan Educational Foundation *
Tuvia Bielski: Partisan Leader

''Voices on Antisemitism'' Interview with Daniel Craig
from th
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Holocaust Resistance: Tuvia Bielski from the Jewish Virtual Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bielski, Tuvia People from Lida district 20th-century Polish Jews Belarusian partisans Jewish partisans Polish Holocaust survivors Burials at Har HaMenuchot 1906 births 1987 deaths Soviet partisans German military personnel of World War I Polish military personnel of World War II Soviet emigrants to Israel Israeli emigrants to the United States