In the year 1941, the Jews at least in Europe 00:00:28.66\00:00:32.66 were being massacred by the thousands. 00:00:32.69\00:00:35.16 Amid the chaos, carnage, and bloodshed, three brothers 00:00:35.20\00:00:39.50 managed to escape certain death and take refuge in the dense 00:00:39.53\00:00:43.71 forests they have known since childhood. 00:00:43.74\00:00:46.31 There they began their desperate battle against the Nazis, 00:00:46.34\00:00:51.71 the brothers turned a primitive struggle to survive 00:00:51.75\00:00:55.92 into something far more consequential. 00:00:55.95\00:00:58.65 A way to avenge the death of their loved ones by saving 00:00:58.69\00:01:03.29 thousands of others. 00:01:03.32\00:01:04.66 At first, it was all that they could do to survive 00:01:04.69\00:01:08.93 and stay alive but gradually as whispers of their daring 00:01:08.96\00:01:13.67 exploit spread, they began to attract others 00:01:13.70\00:01:16.84 men and women, young and old willing to risk everything 00:01:16.87\00:01:21.34 for the sake of even a moment's freedom. 00:01:21.38\00:01:25.28 As the brutal winter descended they worked to create 00:01:25.31\00:01:29.45 a community and to keep faith alive when all humanity 00:01:29.48\00:01:34.52 appeared to be lost. 00:01:34.56\00:01:35.92 Join me as we follow the exploits and explore the 00:01:35.96\00:01:40.76 fascinating Tuvia Bielski and his brothers, 00:01:40.80\00:01:45.20 Jewish partisans who dared to defy the iron fist of Hitler 00:01:45.23\00:01:50.71 and the Nazi regime. 00:01:50.74\00:01:52.27 This is an epic tale of family, honor, vengeance, and salvation. 00:01:52.31\00:01:59.38 It was early in 1943 at the Navagrahato Ghetto was buzzing 00:02:16.80\00:02:22.24 with whispers, there were rumors of an impending Nazi raid, 00:02:22.27\00:02:27.14 rumors that the ghetto would be liquidated which was a code 00:02:27.18\00:02:31.11 word for the mass murder of all Jews living inside its walls. 00:02:31.15\00:02:37.12 When war broke out between Germany and the Soviet Union 00:02:37.15\00:02:41.16 in June 1941, there had been over 6,000 Jews in Navagrahato. 00:02:41.19\00:02:46.13 In December 1941 all these Jews were forced into a ghetto. 00:02:46.16\00:02:52.60 Between July 1941 and May 1943 the Jews of Navagrahadik 00:02:52.63\00:02:59.81 were murdered in a series of Nazi raids dwindling the Jewish 00:02:59.84\00:03:04.15 population from over 6,000 down to less than 300. 00:03:04.18\00:03:09.42 This small bedraggled group of Jews were determined 00:03:09.45\00:03:14.06 to survive. As rumors of a final liquidation of the camp 00:03:14.09\00:03:19.23 increased, leaders in the community decided that they 00:03:19.26\00:03:23.03 needed to act in order to save themselves. 00:03:23.06\00:03:25.93 However, escape seemed like an impossible dream 00:03:25.97\00:03:30.44 the ghetto was guarded around the clock by a unit of 00:03:30.47\00:03:35.04 armed Nazi soldiers in addition the entire ghetto 00:03:35.08\00:03:39.75 was surrounded by two walls. Even if one or two of the 00:03:39.78\00:03:43.92 ghetto inmates could manage to make it past the guards 00:03:43.95\00:03:47.42 and walls and barbed wire, it was impossible for all of them 00:03:47.46\00:03:52.33 to escape. And the Nazi policy was to kill everyone left behind 00:03:52.36\00:03:58.20 in the even that a handful did manage to leave. 00:03:58.23\00:04:01.77 If the Jews of Navagrahato ghetto were to escape, 00:04:01.80\00:04:05.87 then they needed to make sure that no one was left behind. 00:04:05.91\00:04:11.08 Finally, they decided that their only option was to tunnel 00:04:11.11\00:04:16.52 out of the ghetto choosing the space under someone's bed 00:04:16.55\00:04:20.92 is the entry point of the tunnel. 00:04:20.96\00:04:22.66 A group of 50 diggers began to slowly shovel their way 00:04:22.69\00:04:27.36 under the ghetto, finally after months of digging and despite 00:04:27.40\00:04:32.33 months of challenges, the tunnel was ready. 00:04:32.37\00:04:35.40 On the 26th of September 1943 at 9:00 pm, the first Jews 00:04:35.44\00:04:41.81 slipped through the entrance to the tunnel and disappeared 00:04:41.84\00:04:45.61 into the depths of the earth. Realizing that something was 00:04:45.65\00:04:50.09 amiss, the guards sounded the alarm and began to open fire 00:04:50.12\00:04:54.79 indiscriminately. But by this time many of the evacuees 00:04:54.82\00:04:59.49 were emerging on the other side of the tunnel 00:04:59.53\00:05:01.76 outside of the ghetto walls breathing in their first taste 00:05:01.80\00:05:06.17 of freedom. One of them a young 14-year-old girl stumbled 00:05:06.20\00:05:11.51 into the dark moonless night, it was raining and the sounds 00:05:11.54\00:05:16.24 of gunfire or the barking of attack dogs surrounded her 00:05:16.28\00:05:20.32 in the distance, seeing a farm- house, she made a run for it. 00:05:20.35\00:05:24.85 She hid in the outhouse, sitting in there for hours to fearful 00:05:24.89\00:05:30.19 to sleep listening to the shouts and the gunshots and the 00:05:30.23\00:05:33.80 barking dogs. Finally at dawn when the activity had 00:05:33.83\00:05:37.53 died down, she decided to run to the forest, 00:05:37.57\00:05:41.60 she had heard of a group of Jewish resistance fighters, 00:05:41.64\00:05:45.81 partisans who lived in the forest defending themselves 00:05:45.84\00:05:50.05 against Nazi attacks, scavenging for food and above all else 00:05:50.08\00:05:55.15 refusing to bow to the tyranny of the Nazi regime. 00:05:55.18\00:05:59.52 After hours of wandering the girl stumbled onto the camp 00:05:59.55\00:06:03.79 in Naliboki Forest in western Belarus, she was welcome 00:06:03.83\00:06:08.33 with open arms, given food and a place to stay. 00:06:08.36\00:06:11.90 She had reached the campsite of the Bielski Otriad 00:06:11.93\00:06:16.20 a group of 1,200 Jews led by the Bielski brothers determined 00:06:16.24\00:06:22.31 to survive the war. 00:06:22.34\00:06:24.21 When the Nazis rose to power in 1933, their leader Adolf Hitler 00:06:24.25\00:06:33.76 only had two agenda items in mind, the first was to create 00:06:33.79\00:06:39.19 a German super state that dominated Europe in 00:06:39.23\00:06:42.43 the world, the second was to systematically eradicate the 00:06:42.46\00:06:47.94 Jewish race from the face of the earth. 00:06:47.97\00:06:50.54 Quietly he began to put in place measures to separate, 00:06:50.57\00:06:56.51 exclude, and expel Jews from every facet of German society. 00:06:56.54\00:07:02.32 Germans were ordered to boycott Jewish businesses and Jews were 00:07:02.35\00:07:07.72 systematically removed from civil service. 00:07:07.76\00:07:10.99 Then in November 1938 Herschel Grynszpan a Polish, German, Jew 00:07:11.03\00:07:18.23 living in France shot and killed Ernst vom Rath a German diplomat 00:07:18.27\00:07:23.71 living in Paris, Grynszpan was seeking revenge for the 00:07:23.74\00:07:28.18 the German treatment of Jews including his own family 00:07:28.21\00:07:31.81 who had been forced into exile in Poland. 00:07:31.85\00:07:35.58 Soon after vom Rath's death, Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi 00:07:35.62\00:07:41.36 minister in charge of propaganda ordered more violence 00:07:41.39\00:07:45.13 this took the form of what was later was known as the 00:07:45.16\00:07:49.56 Kristallnacht pogrom, or the Night of Broken Glass. 00:07:49.60\00:07:53.23 During Kristallnacht German Paramilitary troops 00:07:53.27\00:07:57.64 and Hitler youth units burned, looted, and vandaled 00:07:57.67\00:08:01.24 thousands of Jewish homes, store, and synagogues. 00:08:01.28\00:08:05.51 Soon after this 30,000 Jewish men were arbitrarily arrested 00:08:05.55\00:08:12.05 and sent to concentration camps. 00:08:12.09\00:08:14.56 Then on the 1st of September 1939, Germany invaded Poland 00:08:14.59\00:08:20.90 kicking off World War II, by June of 1940, Germany had 00:08:20.93\00:08:26.30 invaded and occupied Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Northern France 00:08:26.33\00:08:31.87 and the Netherlands. Then in June 1941 Germany launched 00:08:31.91\00:08:37.71 Operation Barbarossa and invaded the Soviet Union. 00:08:37.75\00:08:41.08 However Hitler's ever expanding empire held an increasing 00:08:41.12\00:08:46.12 number of Jews and they soon began to look for ways 00:08:46.15\00:08:49.82 to deal with what he referred to as the Jewish problem. 00:08:49.86\00:08:53.53 His deadly response became known as the final solution. 00:08:53.56\00:08:58.70 Jews across Europe were labeled with yellow stars and herded 00:08:58.73\00:09:03.61 into ghettos or shipped off to concentration camps 00:09:03.64\00:09:07.04 to be exterminated. 00:09:07.08\00:09:09.01 Today, we are familiar with the harrowing images 00:09:09.04\00:09:13.52 of emaciated Jews peering through wired fencing 00:09:13.55\00:09:17.05 and the leering smoke stacks of Death Camps like Auschwitz 00:09:17.09\00:09:21.56 were millions of Jews were murdered. 00:09:21.59\00:09:24.29 These images are deeply disturbing and give us a glimpse 00:09:24.33\00:09:29.40 into what the human heart is capable of at its worst 00:09:29.43\00:09:33.64 but one aspect of Jewish history during World War II 00:09:33.67\00:09:37.94 that is overlooked or more often unknown is the story of 00:09:37.97\00:09:42.81 Jewish partisans who defied the Nazi war machine. 00:09:42.84\00:09:47.52 Many of these partisans occupied the forests of Western Belarus 00:09:47.55\00:09:54.76 within the Soviet Union and the most successful of these groups 00:09:54.79\00:09:59.23 that saved the most Jewish lives during World War II 00:09:59.26\00:10:02.73 was the Bielski Otriad or the Bielski partisans. 00:10:02.76\00:10:07.24 The Bielski' s were a poor peasant family based in the 00:10:07.27\00:10:11.27 village of Stuncavridge in Western Belarus. 00:10:11.31\00:10:14.88 The father David Bielski owned a small mill farmed the land 00:10:14.91\00:10:19.71 and kept some livestock, his wife Biella gave birth to 00:10:19.75\00:10:24.39 twelve children, ten sons, and two daughters. 00:10:24.42\00:10:28.42 The Bielski s lived in a small two-room hut and were the only 00:10:28.46\00:10:33.70 Jewish family living in Stuncavridge. 00:10:33.73\00:10:36.46 On the first of September 1939, Germany invaded Poland 00:10:36.50\00:10:44.77 from the west, 16 days later on the 17th of September 00:10:44.81\00:10:49.48 the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east 00:10:49.51\00:10:53.58 the military invasion lasted three weeks until on the 00:10:53.62\00:10:57.65 sixth of October, 1939, the entire territory of 2nd Polish 00:10:57.69\00:11:03.12 republic was divided between Nazi, Germany and the 00:11:03.16\00:11:07.23 Soviet Union. For many Jews in the eastern part 00:11:07.26\00:11:10.80 of the Polish Republic the arrival of the Red Army 00:11:10.83\00:11:14.40 was a welcome site, they were glad to see Soviets because 00:11:14.44\00:11:18.87 they would shield them from the far greater terror 00:11:18.91\00:11:21.71 of Nazi hatred towards Jews. 00:11:21.74\00:11:24.88 But their sense of relief was short lived, nine months later 00:11:24.91\00:11:29.65 in June 1941, Germany declared war on the Soviet Union. 00:11:29.68\00:11:35.02 The German onslaught against the Soviet Union was as 00:11:35.06\00:11:38.83 unexpected as it was sudden taking Soviet authorities 00:11:38.86\00:11:43.13 and civilians by surprise. To escape the Luftwaffe raids 00:11:43.16\00:11:48.54 Tuvia and Zus Bielski, David and Biela Beilsky's sons 00:11:48.57\00:11:53.17 fled to the family home in Stankiewicz with their families. 00:11:53.21\00:11:57.58 As the situation unfolded and the Germans gained 00:11:57.61\00:12:01.35 the upper hand, most Jews began to realize that time 00:12:01.38\00:12:06.25 was running out. 00:12:06.29\00:12:08.86 The first German Army unit rolled into Stankiewicz on the 00:12:08.89\00:12:14.46 first, of July 1941, they chose the Bielsky's farmland 00:12:14.50\00:12:19.80 to set up camp and set up their headquarters in the backyard 00:12:19.83\00:12:24.17 of the family's small home. At first, the Germans appeared 00:12:24.21\00:12:28.94 friendly but soon they issued orders demanding that 00:12:28.98\00:12:33.15 all Jews who were not permanent residents of Stankiewic 00:12:33.18\00:12:37.52 immediately evacuate the village on pain of death. 00:12:37.55\00:12:41.42 Tuvi and his brother Zus were forced to leave and return 00:12:41.46\00:12:46.80 to their respective homes. During this time Tuvia 00:12:46.83\00:12:51.47 went to the nearby town of Nowogrodek to visit his brother 00:12:51.50\00:12:55.04 Asael, while he was there, both brothers were arrested by the 00:12:55.07\00:12:59.91 Germans and forced into a labor camp. They managed to escape 00:12:59.94\00:13:04.45 in the dead of night and vowed that they would never allow 00:13:04.48\00:13:08.92 themselves to be captured by the Germans again. 00:13:08.95\00:13:11.95 As the Nazi reign of terror began to sweep over Russia, 00:13:11.99\00:13:17.09 Jews began to get a taste of what the western counterparts 00:13:17.13\00:13:22.30 had experienced. By the time the Nazis invaded the 00:13:22.33\00:13:25.93 Soviet Union, they had perfected their methods of Jewish 00:13:25.97\00:13:30.34 extermination. Determined to accelerate the process of 00:13:30.37\00:13:35.08 Jewish annihilation, they introduced specialized 00:13:35.11\00:13:39.05 killing units especially trained to murder Jews... 00:13:39.08\00:13:42.92 This group known as the Einzart's Group would follow 00:13:42.95\00:13:48.16 close on the hills of the advancing army. 00:13:48.19\00:13:51.13 They would encircle and trap large Jewish population centers 00:13:51.16\00:13:55.56 before their unsuspecting victims had a chance to figure 00:13:55.60\00:13:59.33 out what was happening and it was too late to escape. 00:13:59.37\00:14:02.60 In the massacres that followed this elite Nazi killing machine 00:14:02.64\00:14:07.74 was assisted by the German army and local collaborators. 00:14:07.78\00:14:12.08 By October 1941, Tuvia, Asael, and Zus Bielski began to 00:14:12.11\00:14:20.26 covertly began to move in and out of society. 00:14:20.29\00:14:23.02 They spent time with their families, picked up work 00:14:23.06\00:14:26.76 as casual day laborers on farms and would hide in the 00:14:26.80\00:14:30.63 surrounding forests when circumstances posed a threat 00:14:30.67\00:14:34.34 but they refused to settle into ghettos. 00:14:34.37\00:14:38.17 Ghettos were large enclosed districts where Jews were 00:14:38.21\00:14:44.71 isolated from the rest of society. 00:14:44.75\00:14:47.42 In order to place Jews in a ghetto Nazi authorities 00:14:47.45\00:14:51.79 would follow a familiar pattern, first Jews were identified 00:14:51.82\00:14:57.56 and separated from their non- Jewish counterparts, 00:14:57.59\00:15:00.66 often their property was confiscated and they were 00:15:00.70\00:15:04.33 refused employment. Once this phase was completed 00:15:04.37\00:15:09.14 they were rounded up and forced into ghettos where living 00:15:09.17\00:15:13.04 conditions were appalling, extreme overcrowding 00:15:13.07\00:15:16.98 in the confined area led to the outbreak of epidemics. 00:15:17.01\00:15:20.85 The abject poverty of the inhabitants led to starvation 00:15:20.88\00:15:25.85 and often death. Towards the end of 1941 the Bielsky farm 00:15:25.89\00:15:33.53 in Stankiewic was raided by the Germans, 00:15:33.56\00:15:36.83 the Bielsky brothers learned that their parents 00:15:36.87\00:15:40.40 had been arrested and taken to the Novogrudok Ghetto 00:15:40.44\00:15:43.71 along with Zus Bielsky's wife and baby daughter. 00:15:43.74\00:15:47.68 Then on the 7th of December 1941, there was a massive raid 00:15:47.71\00:15:53.58 at the Novogrudok Ghetto, 4,000 Jews were massacred 00:15:53.62\00:15:58.25 and among them were the Bielsky's parents and the wives 00:15:58.29\00:16:02.92 of two of the brothers, Tuvia and Zus. 00:16:02.96\00:16:06.53 This tragedy was a turning point for the Bielsky Brothers, 00:16:06.56\00:16:11.60 now more than ever they were determined to concentrate on 00:16:11.63\00:16:17.07 to find the German army and freeing themselves and those 00:16:17.11\00:16:21.14 who were dear to them from their clutches. 00:16:21.18\00:16:23.68 By March 1942 Asael Bielsky had gathered nine fugitive Jews 00:16:23.71\00:16:31.05 around him in the forest near Novogrudok, by then it was 00:16:31.09\00:16:35.79 impossible to work in exchange for food, this was because 00:16:35.82\00:16:40.30 the local non-Jewish population was terrified of the severe 00:16:40.33\00:16:45.90 punishment that would inevitably follow if they 00:16:45.93\00:16:49.84 were caught assisting or harboring Jews. 00:16:49.87\00:16:53.14 So, in order to gather food, Asael Bielsky's little group 00:16:53.17\00:16:58.51 began to venture out of the forest at dusk 00:16:58.55\00:17:01.25 with their guns in their hands visiting locals farmers and 00:17:01.28\00:17:05.69 and asking for food. Bit by bit they realized that a large 00:17:05.72\00:17:10.99 group of well-organized well- armed Jews was the best solution 00:17:11.03\00:17:15.76 to surviving the Nazi reign of terror. 00:17:15.80\00:17:18.57 As time progressed and German raids became more aggressive, 00:17:18.60\00:17:23.74 many Jewish fugitives became to realize that the forest 00:17:23.77\00:17:28.68 offered them more safety than hiding in sympathetic neighbors 00:17:28.71\00:17:33.08 homes. Then in May 1942, there was another mass murder 00:17:33.11\00:17:38.52 at the Leader Ghetto, Tuvia Bielsky urged his friend 00:17:38.55\00:17:43.93 Ulta Tickten who had survived the murder to prepare to leave 00:17:43.96\00:17:48.53 the ghetto with his family. The heavy security surrounding 00:17:48.56\00:17:52.40 the ghetto made it impossible for Tuvia to infiltrate it 00:17:52.43\00:17:57.37 however, he managed to orchestrate Tickten's escape 00:17:57.41\00:18:01.14 from outside the ghetto. Soon Tuvia and his small group of 00:18:01.18\00:18:05.75 fugitive Jews joined his brother Ascel's group and they fused 00:18:05.78\00:18:11.09 into a single unit. 00:18:11.12\00:18:12.92 The group began to increase in size as more and more Jews 00:18:12.95\00:18:17.69 escaped the surrounding ghetto's and joined them 00:18:17.73\00:18:20.70 finally around May 1942 they decided that they needed to 00:18:20.73\00:18:25.67 formally organize themselves into a partisan group. 00:18:25.70\00:18:29.70 Though they went under several different names, they were 00:18:29.74\00:18:33.74 always known as the Bielsky Otriad under the command of 00:18:33.78\00:18:38.11 Tuvia Bielsky, the oldest of the three brothers. 00:18:38.15\00:18:41.58 What made the Bielsky Otriad so unique was their willingness 00:18:41.62\00:18:46.25 to accept and integrated all Jews who came to them as 00:18:46.29\00:18:50.23 fugitives whether they were armed and able-bodied or not. 00:18:50.26\00:18:54.70 This meant that their group had a high percentage of 00:18:54.73\00:18:58.50 unarmed women, children and elderly people who were 00:18:58.53\00:19:02.30 protected and provided for by those who were able to fight. 00:19:02.34\00:19:07.31 Most Russian partisans cooperated in the forest 00:19:07.34\00:19:10.55 focused on armed conflict or sabotage against the Germans 00:19:10.58\00:19:15.05 but the Bielsky's focused more on saving lives. 00:19:15.08\00:19:19.82 Tuvia Bielsky insisted that self-preservation was 00:19:19.85\00:19:24.83 intricately linked to the preservation of others, 00:19:24.86\00:19:27.40 he believed that in working to save others 00:19:27.43\00:19:30.57 we inevitably save ourselves. Tuvia Bielsky often said 00:19:30.60\00:19:36.44 However regardless of their desire to stay away from 00:19:54.42\00:19:58.66 waging war against the Germans, the Bielsky Otriad was asked 00:19:58.69\00:20:03.33 to cooperate in anti-Nazi raids alongside Russian partisans in 00:20:03.37\00:20:08.34 the area. These joint military ventures began in the last 00:20:08.37\00:20:12.97 quarter of 1942 and continued well into 1943 00:20:13.01\00:20:18.48 Much of this involved sabotaging railway stations, bridges, 00:20:18.51\00:20:23.99 telephone lines and hacking supply trucks. 00:20:24.02\00:20:27.52 Then in July 1943 planned an attack to eliminate the 00:20:27.56\00:20:34.50 partisans hiding in the Naliboki Forest. The Bielsky Otriad had 00:20:34.53\00:20:40.37 set up a semi-permanent camp there and were in danger of 00:20:40.40\00:20:43.64 being captured and killed. 00:20:43.67\00:20:45.27 When they heard that the Germans were coming, they hastily 00:20:45.31\00:20:49.41 abandoned their camp and evacuated onto an island 00:20:49.44\00:20:52.98 in the middle of the swamp. The evacuation took a group 00:20:53.01\00:20:57.12 of nearly 700 Jews through dangerous terrain 00:20:57.15\00:21:00.52 but all of them managed to make it safely to the island. 00:21:00.56\00:21:05.09 After weeks of camping out in the swampland the partisans 00:21:05.13\00:21:10.17 managed to make it through German lines and evacuate the 00:21:10.20\00:21:14.84 forest finding shelter in nearby villages before eventually 00:21:14.87\00:21:18.84 making it back to the Naliboki Forest after the danger 00:21:18.87\00:21:22.61 had passed. Eventually the Bielsky Otriad grew to 00:21:22.64\00:21:28.18 twelve hundred people and by the autumn of 1943, 00:21:28.22\00:21:32.05 they organized themselves into a small shtetl or town with 00:21:32.09\00:21:37.26 workshops and a large communal kitchen. 00:21:37.29\00:21:40.06 By the end of 143 close to three million Polish Jews had been 00:21:40.10\00:21:45.73 slaughtered, this was about 90% of the pre-war population. 00:21:45.77\00:21:51.67 Then on the 6th of June 1944 the allied forces landed in 00:21:51.71\00:21:58.08 Normandy, France, and on the 23rd of June, the Red Army 00:21:58.11\00:22:03.02 opened its Great Offensive Operation targeting the 00:22:03.05\00:22:06.65 Bella Russian and Baltic France. As Serbia troops surged forward, 00:22:06.69\00:22:11.93 Jewish Partisans played their part in disrupting the arrival 00:22:11.96\00:22:16.67 of German reinforcements by destroying vital roads 00:22:16.70\00:22:20.37 and bridges. Then in July 1944 the Red Army swept victoriously 00:22:20.40\00:22:27.28 through Belarus, pursuing the retreating German Army 00:22:27.31\00:22:31.11 and liberating towns on the way. 00:22:31.15\00:22:33.92 But the war still continued to rage and the order came down 00:22:33.95\00:22:39.55 from Soviet authorities for the Bielski Otriad 00:22:39.59\00:22:43.36 to evacuate their camp and go to Novogrudok where they 00:22:43.39\00:22:47.50 would be issued with new identification papers and 00:22:47.53\00:22:50.63 relocated. 00:22:50.67\00:22:52.00 There, most of them were enlisted in the Red Army 00:22:52.03\00:22:55.70 and sent to the front where they died. 00:22:55.74\00:22:58.47 Asael Bielski was among these recruits and he died in 00:22:58.51\00:23:03.08 Marienberg, Germany, leaving behind his pregnant wife Chaja. 00:23:03.11\00:23:08.28 After the war Tuvia and Zus with their families 00:23:08.32\00:23:13.39 first settled in Israel and then later relocated 00:23:13.42\00:23:17.66 to the United States where they ran a trucking business. 00:23:17.69\00:23:20.96 Tuvia Bielsky was a unique man, in fact, there was no one else 00:23:21.00\00:23:26.10 quite like him. A Jewish resistance fighter for during 00:23:26.13\00:23:30.94 the height of Nazi power, not only defied capture 00:23:30.97\00:23:34.21 but saved 1,200 Jews from being murdered as well. 00:23:34.24\00:23:39.48 He died at the age of 81 in New York, leaving behind 00:23:39.51\00:23:44.15 his wife Lilca and three children. 00:23:44.19\00:23:47.62 The story of the Bielsky partisans is inspiring 00:23:47.66\00:23:52.43 because of its uniqueness, it's a singularity 00:23:52.46\00:23:55.50 and a normally otherwise predictable pattern of massacre 00:23:55.53\00:24:00.97 and victimization at a time when Jews were forced to 00:24:01.00\00:24:05.97 go quietly into the dark night of inhalation. 00:24:06.01\00:24:08.98 The Bielsky's defied the norm and raged against the Nazi 00:24:09.01\00:24:14.55 Killing Machine. 00:24:14.58\00:24:15.92 We live in a world besieged by another master of terror, 00:24:15.95\00:24:20.92 an invisible being that the Bible in Revelation 12:7 calls 00:24:20.96\00:24:26.39 the Devil and Satan. He's a master of cruelty 00:24:26.43\00:24:30.20 and suffering, destroying anyone who places themselves 00:24:30.23\00:24:34.94 in his power. But we can choose to part of a small group 00:24:34.97\00:24:40.04 that actively defies this reign by placing ourselves 00:24:40.08\00:24:44.25 under the better of another commander. 00:24:44.28\00:24:47.08 Listen to what Jesus says in John chapter 16:33. 00:24:47.12\00:24:52.65 Jesus offers us hope in a world besieged by uncertainty 00:25:08.87\00:25:13.07 and fear. Instead of going quietly into the dark night 00:25:13.11\00:25:17.28 of sin and hopelessness, Jesus lifts up the light of truths 00:25:17.31\00:25:21.82 and invites us to join His band of Partisans, resistance 00:25:21.85\00:25:27.92 fighters, determined to defy Satan's reign of terror and 00:25:27.96\00:25:31.79 stand in alliance with God's reign of Love and Hope. 00:25:31.83\00:25:35.43 And just as the Partisans experienced the joy freedom, 00:25:35.46\00:25:39.97 Jesus has promised us freedom too. 00:25:40.00\00:25:43.97 In Revelation 21:4, the Bible tells us. 00:25:44.01\00:25:48.78 We may live in a world besieged by hatred, violence, and 00:26:03.32\00:26:07.16 hopelessness, but Jesus offers us hope, not just for this world 00:26:07.20\00:26:12.17 but for eternity. 00:26:12.20\00:26:14.67 If you'd like to partner with Jesus today and find that 00:26:14.70\00:26:18.54 real hope, if you'd like to experience how God is with us 00:26:18.57\00:26:23.11 even during our darkest and most difficult trials, 00:26:23.14\00:26:26.68 then I'd like to recommend the free gift we have 00:26:26.72\00:26:30.02 for all our Incredible Journey viewers today. 00:26:30.05\00:26:33.62 It's a booklet Finding Courage To Meet Life's Challenges. 00:26:33.66\00:26:39.19 I'm sure you'll want to read this small booklet that explores 00:26:39.23\00:26:43.06 the big theme of Good vs. Evil in our world today 00:26:43.10\00:26:46.84 This booklet is our gift to you and is absolutely free. 00:26:46.87\00:26:51.47 I guarantee there are no costs or obligations whatsoever. 00:26:51.51\00:26:56.31 So, make the most of this wonderful opportunity 00:26:56.34\00:26:59.75 to receive the gift we have for you today. 00:26:59.78\00:27:03.15 Phone or text 0436.333.555 in Australia, or 020.422.2042 00:27:03.18\00:27:13.36 in New Zealand, or visit our website TiJ.tv 00:27:13.40\00:27:18.37 or simply scan the QR code on the screen and we'll send you 00:27:18.40\00:27:22.77 today's free offer, totally free of charge and with no 00:27:22.80\00:27:25.94 obligation. Write to us at GPO Box 274, Sydney NSW 2001 00:27:25.97\00:27:33.01 Australia, or PO Box 76673 Manukau, Auckland 2241 00:27:33.05\00:27:40.06 New Zealand. Don't Delay, call or text us now. 00:27:40.09\00:27:43.56 Be sure to join us again next week when we will share another 00:27:43.59\00:27:49.30 of life's journey's together, until then I invite you 00:27:49.33\00:27:53.70 to join me as we pray. 00:27:53.74\00:27:56.00 Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for the hope 00:27:56.04\00:27:59.64 and assurance that you give us. 00:27:59.67\00:28:01.51 Thank you for being right there with us as we face our struggles 00:28:01.54\00:28:06.08 and challenges every day. 00:28:06.11\00:28:07.92 We reach out to you today and ask you to guide us on 00:28:07.95\00:28:12.12 life's pathway. Give us the strength to follow your leading. 00:28:12.15\00:28:16.52 We ask in Jesus name, Amen! 00:28:16.56\00:28:20.56