Naliboki forest
Alexander Zeisal Bielski
Leader of the Bielski partisans (–)
Alexander Zeisal Bielski | |
---|---|
Bielski c.– | |
Born | ()19 October Stankiewicze, near Navahrudak, Russian Empire |
Died | 18 August () (aged82) Brooklyn, United States |
Othernames | Zus Bielski |
Knownfor | Bielski partisans |
Spouses | Cyrl Borowski (m.; died)Sonia Boldo (m.) |
Children | 4 |
Relatives | Tuvia Bielski (brother) Asael Bielski (brother) Aron Bielski (brother) |
Alexander Zeisal "Zus" Bielski (19 October 18 August ) was a leader of the Bielski partisans who rescued approximately 1, Jews fleeing from the Nazi Holocaust during World War II.
Biography
Alexander "Zus" Bielski was born in in the Russian Empire. He grew up in the only Jewish family in Stankiewicze. The small village in Western Belarus is located between towns of Lida and Navahrudak, 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 broke out, Tuvia, Zus, and Asael were called up by their army units to fight against the Nazi German occupiers. Owing to so much chaos the units disbanded.
Zus bielski biography books In July , after two and a half years in the woods, more than one thousand Jewish men, women and children, emerged from the woods triumphant and alive. Read View source View history. Softcover, trade paperback. She was only eleven-and-a-half inches tall, but she would change the world.They fled to Stankiewicze,[2] where their parents lived. In July , a German army unit arrived in Stankiewicze, and Jewish residents were moved to the Nowogródek 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
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, and Asael, managed to save 1, Jews. Zus left the partisans for the Red Army for a few months. Today, the descendants of those who were saved number over 10, Zus' first wife, Cyrl Borowski,[1] and infant daughter were murdered by the Nazis. One of the refugees Zus rescued was year-old Sonia Boldo, who he would later marry.[3]
Later life
After the war, Zus initially moved to Israel, but he left for New York City in There, he built his wealth by owning a large fleet of taxi cabs and a trucking company with his brother Tuvia.
Zus bielski Synopsis About this edition Synopsis In , three brothers witnessed their parents and two other siblings being led away to their eventual murders. Toggle the table of contents. Book may be ex-library with stamps and stickers. But as its notoriety grew, so too did the Nazi efforts to capture the rugged brothers; and on several occasions they came so near to succeeding that the Bielskis had to abandon the camp and lead their massive entourage to newer, safer locations.He died of cardiac arrest in Brooklyn at age [3] He and his wife Sonia had three sons: David, Jay, and Zvi. Jay served in the IDF as a volunteer during the war, and Zvi (June 1, – April 14, ) 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.[3][4]
Legacy
Liev Schreiber portrayed Zus Bielski in the film Defiance ().
References
- ^ abTec, Nechama (). Defiance; the Bielski Partisan. New York: Oxford University Press. p.
- ^Tec, Nechama ().Zus bielski biography books pdf Read Edit View history. In July , after some 30 months in the woods, the Bielskis learned that the Germans, overrun by the Red Army, were retreating back toward Berlin. San Val, Hardcover. Download as PDF Printable version.
Defiance: The Bielski Partisans. Oxford University Press US. pp.25– ISBN.
- ^ abc"Alexander Z. Bielski, 83, a Guerrilla Fighter Who Harried Nazis and Saved Jews, Is Dead". The New York Times. 23 August Retrieved 1 April
- ^Children of the Otriad (c) Paramount Pictures Corporation, included in the special features on the DVD Defiance