Happy Birthday, Resistance Fighter, Mira Shelub

 

Mira after the war, 1947.

Mira on the set of a JPEF interview holding a
photo of her husband, Norman, 2002.

Last week, Jewish partisan Mira Shelub celebrated her birthday. Mira's partisan activity took place mainly in northeastern Poland (today's Belarus) where her all Jewish group engaged in sabotage against the Nazi's and their Polish collaborators. They blew up trains, attacked police stations, and stole food that had been provided for the Germans by peasants.

Mira met her husband, Norman, who was also a fighter in her group and was the leader of their group. She reminisces, "I was lucky enough that I loved my husband and he loved me, and it was like a love affair in the forest. Can you ask for a better place? So, we were lucky that we got together and we, and we promised each other that we'll be together forever."

They married after the war, had three children, and moved to San Francisco.

Read more about Mira here.

Mira Shelub is featured in multiple JPEF documentaries and study guides including the printed guide: "Women in the Partisans" and short film, "Everyday the Impossible: Jewish Women in the Partisans".

Mira talking about the decisions she faced as a resistance
fighter to youth at Fremont High School, 2008.

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JPEF's New Poster -- Zus Bielski

We have released a new poster -- featuring Jewish partisan Zus Bielski. Zus was one of 12 children, and with his brothers Tuvia, Asael, and Aron Bielski formed the largest all Jewish partisan group. The group had 1,200 members and today, there are 15,000 - 20,000 decedents from the Bielski Brigade -- alive today because of Zus and his brothers.

Zus was featured in the film "Defiance" directed by Edward Zwick and played by Liev Schreiber.

The poster reads, "Zus Bielski and his brothers fought against the Nazis and saved more than 1,200 lives" and was poster was designed by Chicago based designer Eric Triantafillou.

Download a PDF on the JPEF "Defiance" page here.

If you are interested in a t-shirt of this image, please write rachel@jewishpartisans.org.

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JPEF Executive Director, Mitch Braff, to Speak in Seattle

 

On Thursday, January 13th, JPEF's Executive Director, Mitch Braff will speak at the Opening Reception of "Pictures of Resistance: The Wartime Photographs of Jewish Partisan Faye Schulman". The reception runs from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM (PST) at Hillel, University of Washington with the Washington State Holocaust Education Resource Center (WSHERC).

On January 14th (8:30 AM - 3:00 PM PST), Braff and Tuvia Bielski's granddaughter, Sharon Rennert, are featured speakers for a teacher training. JPEF's "Women in the Partisans" training will accompany Rennert's "In Our Hands: A Personal Story of the Bielski Partisans."

View the event flyer.

Register for the training here.

"Pictures of Resistance" will run at UW Hillel until February 17.


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JPEF Partisan, Jeff Gradow, Celebrates 86 Years

Yesterday was Jewish partisan, Jeff Gradow's 86th Birthday. During World War II, Jeff was forced to take refuge in the forest when the Germans launched Operation Barbarossa. Years later the Soviets would air drop supplies and weapons to his partisan group. This help allowed the camp to launch guerilla attacks on nearby German soldiers. In 1944, his partisan group was absorbed by the Red Army.

Jeff eventually moved to the United States where he still resides today.

As a JPEF partisan, we feature Jeff's story and images on our website. Click here to read more about Jeff.


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