Asael Bielski

A childhood survivor of the Holocaust, Tec researched the legend of the Bielski Otriad by interviewing survivors in the late 1980s and early ’90s. Her documentation of these stories is both eye-opening and brutal, with raw and intensely personal recounts of life in the Otriad. As informative and influential as Tec’s work is, the plot of Zwick’s film strays from it in drastic ways, sadly to it’s detriment. Comparing Tec’s scholarly work and Zwick’s blockbuster film is like comparing a Da Vinci masterpiece to a child’s finger painting. The film loses a large portion of the book’s emotional depth, becoming more of an Old-Western shoot-‘em-up rather than a collection of survivor’s stories amidst the Bielski brothers fight to save as many Jews as…

executing Jews. Among the survivors not slaughtered or confined to ghettos are the Belarusian Jewish Bielski siblings: Tuvia, Zus, Asael and Aron. Their parents are dead, executed by neighborhood police under requests from the possessing Germans. The siblings escape to the Naliboki Forest, vowing to vindicate the passings of their folks. They encounter other Jewish escapers stowing away in the woods, and the siblings take them under their assurance and authority. Throughout the following year,…

of shoes, but after giving Wiener the visa the Nazi says, “You Jew, you will not have time to wear out one pair of shoes.” This interaction between Wiener and the Nazi gives Wiener the will to live and to resist and fight so that after the war he would be able to find that Nazi back and kill him. In Defiance, brothers Tuvia and Zus Bielski find their thirst for revenge after their parents and other villagers are killed by the local police on the orders of the Germans. From that point forward the…

One of the most important Jewish resistance efforts were of the Bielski Partisans. This partisan group was established by three Belorussian brothers, Tuvia, Asael, and Zus Bielski, after their parents and two brothers were killed by German authorities. Tuvia commanded the group while Asael became the deputy and Zus oversaw the reconnaissance. Their younger brother, Aharon was also a part of this group. The Bielski Partisans operated in Western Belorussia between 1942 and 1944. The brothers were…

awards throughout his professional career to date. He is highly decorated. In his long association with acting, Craig has the experience needed to give credence to the physically and emotionally demanding role of the eldest of the Bielski brothers. His athletic ability and rugged exterior enhance his performance of the unsmiling, combatant portrayal of Tuvia. This high profile actor has the handsome, manly, mysterious look with an element of danger that supports the image of the real Tuvia…

Basterds-type violence and espionage. In fact, that image is not actually too far off. Some Jews joined partisan groups, the ‘official’ title of armed resistors of the Nazis. Partisans were the most traditional and direct form of resistance to the German onslaught. They sabotaged the Germans by disabling German trains, blowing up railroads, and destroying bridges, but also did more violent things such as engaging in shootouts with Nazis, and attacking those suspected of killing Jews (Bielski 1).…

I really liked the movie Defiance. Tuvia Bielski was a very brave leader. He was able to lead not only his brothers, but 1200 other Jews to safety before the end of the war. I found it amazing that in the movie he just happened upon many of the Jews he helped. In all of the accounts I read on him, he was more organized and willing to go out of his way to get the Jews. I don’t think in many cases, the Jews just randomly showed up or found their way to the Bielski partisans. I also read that both…

During Operation Barbarossa, Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union, along with its counterparts of countries in eastern Europe, the four Bielski brothers - Tuvia, Alexander, Asael and Aron - were forced to flee their home and hide out in the forest. There, they encountered other escapees who had also been forced from their homes, and from there, formed the Bielski Partisan group. This eventual otriad consisted of approximately 1,200 Jews, many of them escaped prisoners from nearby ghettos. The…

The ‘Defiance,’ is a film about 4 brothers (Tuvia, Zus, Asael, Aron) who escape from the Nazi’s and live in the forest where they end up making a Camp for other Jews who escaped. They fought in what they believed in, however never took recognition of their achievements. It is valuable for a historian studying the Holocaust to a certain extent. However, as it is a feature film in the genre thriller the reliability is questionable, as it exaggerates many parts of the movie for cinematic purposes…

It was shown in the movies Defiance and Schindler’s List, and the book Everything is Illuminated. In the movie Defiance and Schindler’s List hatred was shown towards the Bielski brothers, Schindler, and all of the Jews. The Nazi party, led by Hitler, hated the Jewish people. The Jews were targeted and killed because of hatred. The Bielski brothers formed the Bielski Otriad because of their hatred towards the Germans. They attacked German convoys because the Bielskis hated the Germans and the…