Collection
Explore the Partisans
Find interview transcripts, historical overviews, and primary source documents about a particular Jewish partisan or country.
At a Glance
Language
English — USSubject
- History
- Social Studies
Grade
9–12- The Holocaust
- Genocide
Overview
These video testimonies, interview transcripts, and primary source documents provide a window into the lives of the Jewish partisans—the women and men who fought in organized resistance groups across Europe during World War II.
Students are encouraged to use the resources here and on the Jewish Partisan Educational Foundation website to curate a museum exhibition dedicated to the Jewish partisans. See our lesson Creating Student Projects to implement this project-based learning activity in your classroom. Once students are assigned a partisan, they can begin exploring!
Materials and Downloads
Jewish Partisans in the Resistance
Learn about the role that Jewish partisans played in resistance to the Holocaust in this brief introduction to the topic.
Resistance Is...
Israeli poet Haim Gouri and Monia Avrahami explore resistance during the Holocaust.
Frank Blaichman’s Biography
Read about the experiences of a Jewish partisan fighting against the Germans in Poland during World War II.
Ethical Dilemmas in a Time of Genocide
Read a Jewish partisan’s account of how his unit gained the trust and respect of the local population while resisting the Germans.
Jewish Life in Poland Before the Holocaust
Read a Jewish partisan’s account of how his unit gained the trust and respect of the local population while resisting the Germans.
The Holocaust in Poland
Learn about the brutality of the German occupation and the Holocaust in Poland with this short historical overview.
Jewish Partisans in Occupied Poland
Introduce the subject of Jewish partisan resistance in Poland with this brief overview.
Vitka Kempner’s Biography
Learn the story of Vitka Kempner, who as a teenager became a leading figure of the Jewish partisan resistance in Vilna.
Leaving Home
Explore the decision of Vitka Kempner, then a 19-year-old Jewish teenager from Poland, to leave her family and flee when the German army invaded in 1939.
Resistance in the Vilna Ghetto
Learn about the dilemmas Jewish partisans faced as they encouraged others to fight back against the Germans during the Holocaust, through experience of teenage resistance fighter Vitka Kempner.
The Role of Gender Among the Partisans
Resistance leader Vitka Kempner recalls attitudes toward women in Soviet partisan units.
Joining the FPO
Resistance fighter Vitka Kempner describes the origins of the United Partisans Organization in the Vilna Ghetto.
Jewish Life in Lithuania Before the Holocaust
Learn the history of Jewish life in Lithuania by reading this historical overview.
The Holocaust in Lithuania
Introduce students to the history of the Holocaust in Lithuania with this historical overview.
Jewish Partisans in Lithuania
Introduce students to the history of the Holocaust in Lithuania with this historical overview.
Sonia Orbuch’s Biography
Learn about the measures taken by a young woman and her family to join a partisan group during the Nazi's forced occupation of Poland.
Sara Fortis’s Biography
Read the story of Sara Fortis, a young woman who fled her hometown in Greece when the Nazis invaded in 1941 and joined the resistance movement.
Sara Trains Her Army of Women
Learn about the necessity to recruit and train women for an all-female partisan unit.
The Importance of the Partisans
Learn about the key role that the partisans played in saving the lives of many Jews, Gentiles, and Greek citizens.
The Partisans of Evia
Read about the highly capable partisans of Evia, the second largest island in Greece.
Call Me Captain Sarika
Sara Fortis recollects how the partisans addressed one another and the significance of her title captain.
Protecting the Girls from the Men
Sara Fortis recounts feeling responsible for the well-being of the women in her all-female partisan unit.
The Women Partisans Burn Down a House
Learn about partisan tactics with this retelling of an all-female unit's torching of a perpetrator's home.
Jewish Life in Greece Before the Holocaust
Read a brief overview of the presence of the Jewish population in the early centuries of Greece.
The Holocaust in Greece
Learn about the occupation of Greece by the Axis powers during World War II.
Jewish Partisans in Greece
Learn how Greek Jews were active in the partisan resistance movement during World II, despite the presence of German forces in Greece.
Bielski Brothers’ Biography
Introduce students to the four brothers whose partisan unit saved Jewish lives from the forests of Belarus.
The Vilna Ghetto Manifesto
Read Abba Kovner’s treatise urging the Jews of the Vilna Ghetto to rise up and resist the Nazis.
Jewish Life in Belarus Before the Holocaust
Read a brief history of Jewish life in Belarus before World War II.
Life in the Forest
Former Jewish partisan Frank Blaichman discusses how partisans persevered in the face of challenging weather, hunger, and suffering.
Power and Responsibility
Former Jewish partisan Frank Blaichman reflects on how he managed the responsibility of carrying firearms.
Protecting Jews
Former Jewish partisan Frank Blaichman describes finding shelter for Jews who could not join the partisans' resistance efforts.
Joining the Partisans
Former Jewish partisan Sonia Orbuch recalls the moment she and her family joined a group of Russian partisans.
Partisan Life
Former Jewish partisan Sonia Orbuch explains how she perceived life among the partisans as a "good life."
Life on the Front Lines
Former Jewish partisan Sonia Orbuch describes providing medical care to sick and wounded partisans.
Killed as a Fighter, Not Because I Am a Jew
Former Jewish partisan Sonia Orbuch describes how she approached the dangers of life as a partisan.
Partisan Sonia Orbuch after World War II
Sonia Orbuch, a Jewish partisan in Poland during the Holocaust, and her husband, Isaak Orbuch, on their wedding day in 1945.
Vitka Kempner and Fellow Jewish Partisans
Vitka Kempner (right), a leading figure of the Jewish partisan movement in Vilna, with fellow partisans Abba Kovner and Rozka Korczak.
Jewish Partisan Sara Fortis
Sara Fortis led an all-women unit of partisans who fought in the resistance movement against Nazi Germany
Jewish Partisan Tuvia Bielski
Tuvia Bielski and his brothers led one of the largest partisan units fighting in the resistance movement against Nazi Germany.
Jewish Partisan Zus Bielski
Zus Bielski, with his brothers, led a partisan group in the forest of Belarus committed to resisting the Germans and saving Jewish lives.
Tuvia Bielski Saving Jewish Lives
Former Jewish partisan Aron Bell describes the Bielski group's commitment to saving the lives of Jews.
The Bielski Brothers: An Introduction
The Bielski brothers led a group of partisans responsible for saving more than 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust.
Importance of Arms
Former Jewish partisan Aron Bell describes how weapons were essential to the life of a partisan.
Will to Survive
Former Jewish partisan Aron Bell discusses the Bielski brothers' determination to save Jewish lives during the Holocaust.
Thwarting the Nazis
Former Jewish partisan Aron Bell discusses the various acts of sabotage that partisan groups performed against the Nazis.
Every Day the Impossible: Jewish Women in the Partisans
Former Jewish partisans reflect on women's participation in organized resistance groups during the Holocaust.
Living and Surviving in the Partisans: Medicine
Former Jewish partisans recall the challenges of treating wounded and sick partisans.
Living and Surviving in the Partisans: Shelter
Former Jewish partisans describe the various ways they found shelter while avoiding detection by the Germans.
Living and Surviving in the Partisans: Winter Night
Former Jewish partisans describe surviving harsh weather conditions while living in the forest resisting the Germans.
Was this resource useful?
Tell us More
You're exploring:
Collection 6
Explore the Partisans
You might also be interested in…
Resistance during the Holocaust: An Exploration of the Jewish Partisans
Explore the stories of Jewish partisans that stood against Nazi oppression, genocide, and antisemitism during World War II.
Resources for Civic Education in Massachusetts
Explore resources that meet the Massachusetts History and Social Science Framework.
Resources for Civic Education in California
Explore resources that meet the California History–Social Science Framework standards.
Survivors and Witnesses: Video Testimony
This collection features powerful accounts of the Holocaust, told by survivors, rescuers, and witnesses, selected from USC Shoah Foundation’s Visual History Archive.
Teaching with Video Testimony
Students watch video testimony from a Holocaust survivor and engage in purposeful reflection about the survivor’s important story.
Holocaust and Human Behavior
Explore the digital version of our core resource on the Holocaust. Find classroom-ready readings, primary sources, and short documentary films that support a study of the Holocaust through the lens of human behavior.
Teaching with Testimony
Engage students in personal accounts from survivors with this collection of video testimony, survivor profiles, and a lesson plan.
Teaching Holocaust and Human Behaviour (UK)
Lead your students through a detailed and challenging study of the Holocaust that asks what this history can teach us about the power and impact of choices.
Introducing the Unit (UK)
Students will come together as a community of learners to develop a contract that establishes a safe, but challenging environment in their classroom.
Do You Take the Oath?
Students consider the choices and reasoning of individual Germans who stayed quiet or spoke up during the first few years of Nazi rule.
Americans and the Holocaust: The Refugee Crisis
Explore the motives, pressures, and fears that shaped Americans’ responses to Nazism and the humanitarian refugee crisis it provoked during the 1930s and 1940s.
Unlimited Access to Learning. More Added Every Month.
Facing History & Ourselves is designed for educators who want to help students explore identity, think critically, grow emotionally, act ethically, and participate in civic life. It’s hard work, so we’ve developed some go-to professional learning opportunities to help you along the way.
Exploring ELA Text Selection with Julia Torres
On-Demand
Virtual
Listen to #DisruptTexts founder Julia Torres about taking a critical lens to text selection in ELA classrooms.
Working for Justice, Equity and Civic Agency in Our Schools: A Conversation with Clint Smith
On-Demand
Virtual
Issues of equity and education have long existed in our country and continue to manifest today. How can writing and the power of one's voice help us respond to these disparities? Listen to writer and educator, Dr. Clint Smith, where we hear his poetry and reflections on working for justice, equity, and civic agency in our schools.
Centering Student Voices to Build Community and Agency
On-Demand
Virtual
Explore approaches to centering student voice, building authentic relationships and cultivating community with Molly Josephs, the creator of This Teenage Life, a youth-driven, story-sharing podcast that started as a school club.
Most teachers are willing to tackle the difficult topics, but we need the tools.
—
Gabriela Calderon-Espinal, Bay Shore, NY
