Avery Lubin, an 8th grader at North Shore Academy Middle School was chosen as the second place winner in our First Annual Youth Writing Contest. His personal reflection on the life lessons of the Jewish partisans can be found below
Although it is hard to put myself in the position of those who lived through the Shoah, I can reflect upon their heroic deeds and try to incorporate their lessons into my life.
Picture above is Jewish partisan Abba Kovner, who inspired Avery's winning essay.
Many people bemoan the apathy of today’s youth, viewing them as self-centered and disinterested in the world at large. The youth of Iran’s recent protests contradict that view. Their actions, as well as those of the heroic youth of the resistance movement, are praiseworthy. Liberty and freedom must be preserved at all and any cost. Acts of valor, even those from long ago, still inspire today.
Winning essayist Avery Lubin with educator Rabbi Jeffrey Kobrin
JPEF is proud to announce the winners of our First Annual Youth Writing Contest.
From 500 entries representing 15 states across the country in public, private, Jewish and parochial schools the six top essays were chosen as winners: three from 8th-9th grades and three from 10th-12th grades. The students wrote about what the life lessons of the Jewish partisans meant to them. The life lessons are:
Stand up to tyranny, oppression and discrimination…early.
Many of the students wrote about their own personal experiences about the life lessons (listed above). The subjects ranged from Darfur to helping children with disabilities.
Essays remained anonymous to our volunteer readers. Each essay was read three times by three different readers.
"I was impressed by the caliber of the writing entries and the tremendous enthusiasm shown by the students and teachers from all over the country," stated Paul Orbuch, JPEF Board Co-Chair.
The winners were:
Lower Division(8th-9th Grades):
First place: 9th grader from Manhattan High School for Girls, NY
Second place: 8th grader from North Shore Hebrew Academy Middle School, NY
Third place: 8th grader from Tecumseh Junior High School, IN
Upper Division (10th-12th Grades):
First place: 12th grader from North Shore Hebrew Academy High School, NY
Second place: 11th grader from Solomon Schechter High School of Long Island, NY
Third place: 11th grader from Solomon Schechter High School of Long Island, NY
JPEF’s Writing Contest allowed “young people to think deeply about a piece of history that has only recently come into the public spotlight. In doing so, young people across the country have reasoned that the stories of the Jewish partisans are relevant to their own lives and critical to their understand of the Holocaust," commented David Monblatt, JPEF Advisory Board Member.
We want to take the opportunity to thank all of the students who participated in the contest, and all of the administrators, educators and mentors who encouraged their participation. We would also like to thank the 35 volunteer readers who helped us judge this contest.
These essays were deeply touching and inspiring to all of us here at JPEF: the staff, board members and partisans. We look forward to hosting the contest again next year.
For further information or questions about the contest, please contact Rachel at Rachel@jewishpartisans.org. The Jewish Partisan Educational Foundation is a non-profit organization based in San Francisco, California. JPEF is the only organization in the world solely focused on bringing the history and life lessons of the Jewish partisans to educational and cultural institutions across the globe.
As we get closer to the finish line of our writing contest, we are now down to 35 semi-finalists for lower (8th - 9th grades) and upper (10th-12th grades). The quality of the writing is amazing.
I wanted to pull some quotes to share from the lower finalists (upper finalists by Friday)...
"Before I knew about the partisans, I thought that only people of importance could make a difference, that a person like me is invisible to the world. But the partisans experience made me aware of the influence young people can have."
-8th grader, Indiana
"The partisans must never be caught!" The women hurry form the scene and I run with them, marveling at their strength, their audacity, how such young women could stand up to tyranny and prejudice with no second thoughts.
9th grader, New York
"The thought of fighting for what you believe in, no matter what the consequences, is hard to understand. It makes me wonder if such a decision was to be made by me, what I would do. I always think I would stand by my beliefs, but you can never be sure until it happens. If death could be a consequence, would I do it? Would I stand up for the rights of myself and others, or stand down and only hope that others will do it for me?"
-8th grader, Tennessee
"I pledge to do my part to make a difference in our world."
Sheila Garberman was with the Bielski partisans when she was 12 years old. I met her when I was partipating in a video conference with over 100 high school students in Southern New Jersey. Here is a photo of Mrs. Garberman with the blouse that she has had for over 65 years -- made from a piece of a Russian parachute in the forest by a fellow partisan. She was an orphan at the time -- her family killed by the Germans and their collaborators. Mrs. Garberman brings this incredible artifact to the scores of classes she speaks to in her community and it was an honor to share the morning with her.
During the same presentation with the students, only one out of 100 ever heard of the Jewish partisans before our program (this is normal for most schools, and we strive to change this through our work). We sent the school copies of "Defiance" on DVD for them to review before our video conference call along with our teacher materials. The conversation with the students was fascinating, but most of all, I was touched the the elegance and grace of by Mrs. Garberman and the story of her blouse.
Mitch Braff, Executive Director, just led a fantastic workshop last night where the feedback was some of the best we have ever had. Firstly, 100% of the educators will use the material and 100% would recommend the class and materials. Here are two quotes from educators that sought me out after the class to share their enthusiasm:
"I thought it was the best workshop I have ever been to."
"Our table did not want to leave. We said, "No, the four hours can't possibly be up already!"
We have four new trainers for our 'Teaching with Defiance" trainings, and will be teaching later this month in Portland, Maine with one of our new trainers. This will make five TWD workshops in a thirty day period -- a record for us.
What matters is that I am standing up for something that counts. I am doing the right thing whether other people are doing it or not. I will be a partisan like Simon Trakinski and stand up and help whoever I can.
Find out more about JPEF's youth writing contest here.
Deadline for entries is May 10.
Find out more about Simon Trakinski here.
Tony Award winning actor Liev Schreiber was the guest of honor at a JPEF event this week in New York. Schreiber played Jewish partisan Zus Bielski in "Defiance" with Daniel Craig, and most recently stared in the Broadway revival of "A View From the Bridge" with Scarlet Johansson.
Schreiber shared his experiences about making "Defiance" and other insights about playing the famous partisan leader, his work, and growing up in New York to the capacity crowd with JPEF board member, Jonathan Kushner (pictured with Schreiber) as moderator. Before Schreiber spoke, Steven Holm and Charlie Blaichman, both sons of Jewish partisans spoke about growing up with father's and mother's who were both in partisan groups in Poland during World War II. JPEF Board co-chair Elliott Felson, whose father was also a Jewish partisan, spoke about JPEF programs and introduced a new video by JPEF.
JPEF will be honoring the Blaichman and Holm families October 4, at the JPEF 2010 Annual Dinner in New York. For more information, email David Kaplan, davidk@jewishpartisans.org.
Brandeis community members gather to view "Pictures of Resistance"
On April 14th, 2010 "Pictures of Resistance" opened to a full house at Brandeis University for its Boston debut. This rare collection of images by the only known Jewish partisan photographer gave attendees a rare look into the world of the Jewish partisan resistance fighters who resisted the Germans and their collaborators during WWII. The photos were presented alongside the stories behind each of the images – stories of heroism, bravery, camaraderie and loss – as recounted by the partisan photographer herself.
Brandeis also brought in Zvi Bielski, son of the Zus Bielski, who showed a multimedia presentation about his family. Bielski recalled his childhood growing up in the famous, and sometimes infamous family of resistance fighters that were immortalized in the recent Hollywood film Defiance. "Growing up I had no idea the Jews actually lost the war. Sure, I knew relatives had died in the war, but I figured they all died fighting the Nazis like my dad and uncles had." The Bielski brigade saved over 1,200 individuals whose offspring today number in the tens of thousands. Bielski regaled the audience with these stories of his family's heroism, of rescue and survival against the toughest odds, eliciting audible reactions from the audience throughout the evening. Some were even moved to tears.
"Often we hear of Jews as victims, but the stories portrayed in the exhibit spoke of Jews as heroes," said Brandeis graduate student Jessica Levine. "It gave me a new, different Holocaust story to tell, one of resistance and resilience. It made me feel proud to be a Jew."
- prepared for JPEF by V. Judah Khaykin former JPEF Staff and Brandeis-Genesis Institute Fellow
Here is a quote from a recent entry of JPEF's youth writing contest:
A significant factor in my appreciation and admiration of the young partisans came from an organized movie night for teens, where I saw the movie Defiance. I learned that even a minority has a chance of success, and that nothing can be declared impossible, without a real attempt. When the lights came back on, I looked around me at all of the teenagers seated in the theater. I was struck by the realization that people like us had fought for what was right, in spite of the dangers and hardships. It was the commitment of the young partisans that ultimately contributed to the final victory.
The contest deadline is quickly approaching (May 10), but please feel free to pass along the information found at www.jewishpartisans.org/contest to educators and students.
Sonya Oshman was a Bielski partisan and has an incredible story. Her material is not on the JPEF site, not yet anyway, but this is a vivid piece on her by Gila Lyons for Tablet Magazine. The story covers the escape from the Novogrodek work camp in Poland (now Belarus) which is the topic of JPEF documentary narrated by Tovah Feldshuh, "A Partisan Returns: The Legacy of Two Sisters".
Executive Director, Mitch Braff was interviewed for the article: They Fought Back. The article shares the story of Poland-born Jewish partisan, Moshe Baran, and how JPEF works to integrate stories like Baran's into educational and cultural organizations.
“Many young people tell us they feel proud after learning about the partisans,” said Braff. “They no longer see their ancestors only as victims.”
Read the article by Justin Jacobs at the Jewish Chronicle here.
JPEF's writing contest for 8th - 12th grade students is now open! Those interested in submitting an essay are asked to write about these life lessons of the Jewish partisans:
Young people can make a difference Stand up to tyranny, oppression, and discrimination...early Question authority
The winner of the most compelling essay- and his/her teacher- will both win an iPod Touch, loaded with all of JPEF's films and the movie Defiance, starring Daniel Craig.
This is a wonderful opportunity for students to reflect upon the life lessons of the Jewish partisans. If you are an educator, JPEF encourages you to promote this contest in your classroom. If you know an educator, please pass this information along to them.
Remembering the 20-30,000 Jews who fought back against the Germans as partisans is a profoundly meaningful way to pay tribute to the 6 million Jews who ultimately perished in the Holocaust. To this end, JPEF provides a double-sided supplement for remembering resistance on Yom HaShoah called “Putting the Gevurah Back into Yom HaShoah.” (www.jewishpartisans.org/resist)
Ilona Shechter, a teacher at Gideon Hausner Day School in Palo Alto and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Mandel Fellow, has organized many memorials during her career. She shared with JPEF staff the following tips for Jewish partisans-centered activities:
Show the JPEF Short Film Introduction to the Partisans
“If you only do one thing,” states Shechter, “show this film (available free at JPEF’s website at(www.jewishpartisans.org/films.) I have shown the film to (as young as) 5th grade and they loved it. For them, Holocaust meant death and dying and destruction. Watching Jews blowing up trains; this was the absolute best. The kids have responded very well to it. They asked very intelligent questions: Where did the Jewish partisans get all their supplies from? Who helped them and who didn’t?”
Teach new partisan material incrementally
Shechter continued, noting that incrementally adding new partisan material each year makes for highly effective lessons. She stated, “When the students get into 8th grade, I show them all the rest of the films. Today I showed them [JPEF’s] ‘Women in the Partisans.’You could have heard a pin drop on the carpet. It’s an excellent teaching tool.” Ilona also recommends using the accompanying study guide when showing the film.
Hold candle lighting ceremonies in the classroom
“A simple, effective observance is to light 6 or 12 candles for the 6 million Jews (and the 6 million others considered “undesirable” by the Germans) who perished. Students take turns lighting candles, each remembering a different group: ‘This is a candle we light for the Jews who died in the death camps of Poland…This is a candle we light for the Jewish partisans who fought in the forests of Europe,’ etc.”
Talk with your students
A little information can stimulate a class-worth of conversation. Shechter shared, “A young teacher in Montana showed JPEF film clips to his class the first year he did it (taught about the partisans.) There was this stunned silence in the classroom. He said ‘What’s the matter?’ The class answered, ‘I bet there were more like that, but most didn’t get the opportunities, or realized that they were all going to be killed.’ That was a profound thing for kids to say. To realize that most Jews were starving and deprived and would have fought back if they could.”
Post pictures
“There’s nothing like having pictures of 12 and 14 year old partisans up in school, showing what young people can do…that age really was not material,” states Shechter. For printable photos, go to the homepage of JPEF’s website and click on image galleries under the Explore tab. You can also click the Image tab on any partisan profile.
Use Poetry, Music, and Memoirs
“A lot of poetry- poetry written by partisans- and memoirs, songs, and music…There’s a whole CD on partisan songs-playing music while partisan poetry is read…..You could do an entire Yom HaShoah v’HaGevurah entirely on partisans. It could be very effective.” Begin your search for this material by Googling “Jewish partisans song poetry memoir.”
Also, review a short poem about a Jewish women partisan on the last page of the Women in the Partisans study guide on the JPEF website, www.jewishpartisans.org/women
Final Thoughts
Ilona Shechter articulated why she feels it is important to teach about the partisans and other resistance by concluding, “On Yom HaShoah, most people forget about the Gevurah (strength or heroism.) Everyone talks about the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. But there was more. It blows people away when they see that.”
JPEF: What do you think is important about Yom HaShoah v’HaGevurah?
Blaichman: People who wanted to remember the Holocaust created Yom HaShoah. They knew that they had to teach future generations the important lessons from the Shoah—so that it would never happen again.
JPEF:What lessons would you like to share with Jewish and non-Jewish youth today?
Blaichman: Jews should never forget that they are Jews. The day we were liberated, we thought that Fascism and Nazism were buried. Today, we see that antisemitism is still all around us. It is important for us to remember—and youth should be taught—that Jews fought and will continue to fight against antisemitism, bigotry, and oppression.
JPEF:As a Holocaust survivor and a Jewish partisan, you have many days of personal reflection and remembrance. How is Yom HaShoah v’HaGevurah different?
Blaichman: I am very grateful that there is a day to remember what happened during that time—it is a good thing that the memory stays alive for generations.
JPEF: Any further reflections about this memorial?
Blaichman: Most importantly that Jews can defend themselves. The only way we survived as partisans was that we had the courage to fight back. Growing up in Poland, we were never taught how to survive. We had to have courage—early on we accepted our fate. It is important that people know that when I was fighting as a partisan, it was as a Jew—I am a Jew, I was fighting as a Jew, and I survived as a Jew. Jewish students, especially, should be proud to be Jewish and know that there were Jews who fought back and survived.
To learn more about Frank Blaichman, please visit his biography.
To download the study guide Frank Blaichman: A Partisan Leader's Story please visit JPEF's RESIST Curriculum.
JPEF: You must have many days of personal reflection and remembrance. How is Yom HaShoah v’HaGevurah different?
Schulman: This is the day when most people remember the Shoah. For me, it is not that different than any other day because I think about it all the time. Every day is Yom HaShoah.
JPEF: What lessons would you like to share with young people today?
Schulman: That there was a resistance and Jews did not go like lambs to the slaughter. Jews resisted—they fought back!
JPEF: What do you think is important about Yom HaShoah v’HaGevurah?
Schulman: I think it is important for future generations, not those of past generations who remember it quite clearly. As I said already, for me one day is not any different than the other—it is my responsibility to remember it and speak about what happened every day.
To learn more about Faye and the photography exhibit, please visit
When: Thursday, March 18th from 3:30-4:15 PM (PST)
Confronting Evil: A discussion about the present and the past.
This forum - first in a proposed series - will help educators connect the life lessons of the Jewish partisans with recent world events and your students' lives.
The call will discuss the remarks made by President Obama during his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech. In his speech, he talked about the need for a forceful response to al-Qaeda: “Evil does exist in the world…To say that force may sometimes be necessary is not a call to cynicism—it is a recognition of history…" In addition, we will also discuss this topic from the Jewish partisans perspective. JPEF interviewed Simon Trakinski, a Jewish partisan from Lithuania, shortly after the September 11 tragedy in which he said, “When you fight evil, you can’t be a saint….how can you preserve your principles and solve the problem?” In that context Trakinski went on to say, "Evil will only recognize stronger evil."
How does a society deal with this kind of "evil"? How do people negotiate with those who want to kill them in the first place? Can there even be negotiations? These, amongst other questions will be discussed.
JPEF was fortunate enough to be acknowledged as one of the top 50 most innovative Jewish organizations for four years by Slingshot, a program of the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies. When we received recognition of this in October, we were also awarded a $40,000 grant and given a Flip camera to record programs and happenings for a midterm grant report -- vs. having to write one. This is the product of those Flip clips and takes the viewer to Zurich, Tennessee, California, Florida, and Washington DC where we ran programs that will ultimately affect tens of thousands of people. Having a little film/video background we had to edit it a little, add a little music. FAR from polished, but will give a five minute glimpse of what we have been up to from Oct 2009- Feb 2010.
The dramatic story of Purim, filled with deception, betrayal, and murder, as well as a beautiful woman’s heroism and the implausible victory of the Jewish people against all odds, provides a timely and unique perspective on the Jewish partisan experience of modern history.
Applying the lens of the Purim story to contextualize the Jewish partisans deepens our overall understanding of Jewish history. The King’s initial attraction to Esther allowed her to use her beauty as a shield to hide behind. When, after becoming Queen, she decides to reveal her Jewish identity, her bravery in undeniable. “I will go to the king, though it is against the law; and if I perish, I perish.” (Esther 4:16) Keeping Esther’s bravery in mind, it is easy to draw a parallel to the incredibly courageous acts of the partisans.
Like Esther, many Jewish partisans during World War II were in life or death situations, which forced them to hide their identity as a Jew. For first person testimony from partisans which invokes the Purim story, spend some time on Norman Salsitz’ bio on the JPEF website which describes his experience hiding his identity. You might also be interested in the clip from Eta Wrobel called “Eta’s beautiful hair saves her life” which can be found here
We had one day after the Lion’s Conference with Faye before she left Israel – possibly for the last time. She wanted to go to the Wall in Jerusalem, so we hired a car and took her there for one last adventure before she left.
We got to the Wall and Jan Greenfield (our Israeli staff person) and she covered the heads in scarves and to me they suddenly looked related. Faye talked about being here 15 years ago with her husband, before he died, and how much going to Israel, especially Jerusalem, meant to her.
Throughout the entire day trip she marveled how Israel has changed with so many more buildings and people. As we walked the streets I heard a couple people stop and point to Faye saying, “That’s the Jewish partisan photographer.” She had become famous.
On the way back to Tel Aviv and the airport, we stopped her at the Jewish partisan memorial. The Israeli soldiers there were honored to meet Faye and wanted to pose with her in a picture.
Her trip here was amazing on so many levels. She touched over a thousand people at the Lion’s conference and made many friends for JPEF. I am humbled how this woman, turning 90 later this week, did this to help us tell her story, and the story of all Jewish partisans.
She taught me a lesson about how independent she is—shattering any myths I might have had on the so-called “elderly”. When I asked her if we could arrange a ride home for her when she arrived in Toronto after a 12 hour flight, carrying luggage, and passing through quite a few time zones, she told me she did not want to bother anyone, and besides, “Once I get to Toronto I can get home myself. I’ll just take a taxi.”
Jan Greenfield, our Israeli staff person and myself connected with hundreds of people personally throughout the conference and at our table, which was a constant hub of activity. We had three phenomenal events that put us over the top.
First, there was our workshop. We were told that because of the timing (Saturday at 2:15pm) with many people out for Shabbat, we might only get 5-10 people. 130 showed up! We had to bring in more chairs—twice. People were turned away at the door. Faye had the whole room hanging on her every word.
Next we had a private reception at the hotel room of Diane and Howard Wohl for a dozen of her friends. Just as we started the governor of Michigan, Jennifer M. Granholm, came in to hear what Faye had to say. On meeting the governor again in the elevator she thanked me for introducing her to Faye, and took some material. Looks like we have a good shot to get into their schools now as well.
With barely an hour for Faye to rest, we then took a taxi to the Port of Tel Aviv to the exclusive Hanger 11, where the evening’s event was taking place—a gala dinner with 1,400 people – honoring women soldiers of Israel. Faye had to rehearse with the event director and their staff before the guests came. The opening ceremony included young Israeli folk dancers who got the whole Lions crown on their feet.
The keynote speaker was Tzipi Livni, sitting at the next table. When Livni arrived it was a media event with dozens of cameras and her security detail. One of the only requests for the whole week Faye made of me was to get a photo of her with the foreign minister. It took some pushing through the crowd, but we got it. When it was Faye’s turn to speak, she was introduced with her photographs projected on the walls around the 140 tables. The visuals were spectacular. In her speech, she insisted she thank JPEF and me personally (I tried to dissuade her on the latter) for all the work we do—people clapped. When she was finished speaking Brigadier General Yehudit Grisaro came up with another woman soldier from the IDF and Faye literally passed the torch to the general, who passed it to young soldier. They held hands and the entire audience shot up giving them a loud and long-standing ovation.
After the dinner there was dancing and Einat Sharuf, a well known Israeli singer, performed. People took this opportunity to get a photo with Faye or speak with her. She touched many lives this week. (More photos on our Flickr account soon to follow).
Our t-shirts are now available for purchase from Cafe Press! You'll find our online store at cafepress.com/jewishpartisans.
We have shirts featuring both Eta Wrobel and Zus Bielski in men's and women's sizes, with your choice of standard and organic material. You can also choose which color your shirt will be and whether you want an image on the front and back, or just the front. For cost effectiveness, JPEF is having Cafe Press handle all shirt sales at 0% profit for JPEF.
