Lesson of the Day

I know this post is a little out of the ordinary, but wanted to write it anyway. I am a born teacher and I love to teach. I love to teach things that may have been overlooked or that no one really had the time or reason to teach. So today you'll get a mini-lesson from Samantha. Now onto the post. One of my greatest fears is that the facts of the Holocaust will be forgotten or twisted to a point that the truth can no longer be discerned. I am determined that I will fully inform my children. They have already seen several movies and documentaries about the Holocaust. I have personally been to Dachau, a German concentration camp. I want them to know that the Holocaust did happen and it was a horrendous, terrible thing. There isn't a story that comes from that time that doesn't break your heart one way or another. The stories of heroes are what impress me the most. It is the resilient fighter spirit that I want my children to see. Life was hard and unfair and cruel to so many. There were people willing to lay down their lives to help others. There were people who had no reason to risk their own lives, but they did and the world will never be the same because of it. I think of the generations that are living today because someone saw injustice and though they were only one person they believed they would make a difference. The Bielski brothers were these kinds of people. I had never heard of them until December. This is from Wikipedia: Their family was killed when the Nazis took over their lands. The Bielski brothers, Tuvia Bielski, Alexander Bielski (1906-1995) also known as "Zus",Asael Bielski, and Aron Bielski managed to flee to the nearby forest after their parents and other family members were killed in the ghetto in December 1941. Together with 13 neighbors from the ghetto, they formed the nucleus of their partisan combat group which was formed in the spring of 1942. Originally the group consisted of around forty people but grew quickly.
Hundreds of men, women, and children eventually found their way to the Bielski camp; at its peak 1,230 people belonged to the group, and 70% of its membership consisted of women, children, and the elderly.[1] No one was turned away.[1] About 150 engaged in armed operations.[1]

The partisans lived in underground dugouts (zemlyankas) or bunkers. In addition, several utility structures were built: a kitchen, a mill, a bakery, a bathhouse, a medical clinic for sick and wounded, and a quarantine hut for those who suffered from infectious diseases such as typhus. The camp's many children attended class in the dugout set up as a school. The camp even had its own jail and court of law.[4]

Under their protection, 1,200 Jews survived the war, making it one of the most successful rescue missions of the Holocaust.[1] The group spent more than two years living in the forests and were initially organized by members of the Bielski family.
The movie Defiance tells their story.

As is true in today's world the film has provoked controversy over whether the Bielski brothers were heroes or ruthless killers. An article in the Telegraph says, "One man, Jack Kagan, who as a 14-year-old boy escaped the Nazis to join the brothers in the forest, spoke in their defense. In an exclusive interview with The Sunday Telegraph he said, "The brothers were heroes. They saved my life and so many others. Without them we would all have been killed."
"It was war and they were protecting their people who had seen thousands of Jews, including their own families, murdered by the Nazis."
Mr Kagan, who moved to Britain in 1947, said the killings acted as a deterrent to others "who thought of selling Jewish lives to the Germans for a sack of potatoes".


We have to remember in order to never forget so that this will never happen again. We also have to educate ourselves and future generations so they will never let it happen either.