Fighter in the Woods: The True Story of a Jewish Girl who Joined the Partisans in World War II

by Joshua M. Greene

From award-winning author Joshua M. Greene (The Girl Who Fought Back; Signs of Survival) comes this remarkable true story of a Jewish girl in Nazi-occupied Poland who escaped near death to join -- and fight -- with the Soviet partisans in the woods.

Scholastic Focus is the premier home of thoroughly researched, beautifully written, and thoughtfully designed works of narrative nonfiction aimed at middle-grade and young adult readers. These books help readers learn about the world in which they live and develop their critical thinking skills so that they may become dynamic citizens who are able to analyze and understand our past, participate in essential discussions about our present, and work to grow and build our future.

The year was 1941, and Nazi Germany was bombing Poland. Celia Kassow, a young Jewish girl, knew she was in danger of being seized by the Nazis, so she ran to seek shelter at a Polish classmate's house. The classmate's response?

"Get away from here, you dirty Jew."

Celia and her family, like all the Jewish families in their town, were then imprisoned in a Nazi ghetto, facing daily starvation and torture. Most of Celia's family was murdered there, but a different Polish classmate of Celia's, a boy who had a crush on her, helped Celia escape to his family's farm, and eventually, into the woods to join the Soviet partisans.

The partisans were resistance fighters who gathered in secret during WWII to fight back against the Axis powers by attacking German garrisons and blowing up trains. When Celia joined them, the other partisans -- mostly young men -- wanted to put her on kitchen duty, but Celia refused and asked to be put on patrol. She was given a horse, ammunition, and an assignment.

Celia survived the war fighting with the partisans. After the war, she would go on to get married, have children, and immigrate to the United States, where she lived out her days assisting other immigrants and raising her family.

Her true story, based on first-person testimony and vetted by Celia's son, is one of incredible bravery and grit in the face of unimaginable evil.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Holocaust

124 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 4, 2025

About the author

Joshua M. Greene earned his M.A. at Hofstra University, where he taught Hinduism and Holocaust history until his retirement in 2013. His books on war crimes trials and survivor testimony have been published in six languages. He has spoken at the Pentagon, the Judge Advocates College, the New York Public Library Distinguished Author series, and lectures frequently before state bar associations. In 1969, he was initiated as Yogesvara Das by HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and spent 13 years in Krishna temples, serving as director of ISKCON’s European publishing office. His books on spirituality include Here Comes the Sun: The Spiritual and Musical Journey of George Harrison and Gita Wisdom: An Introduction to India’s Essential Yoga Text. His most recent book is a biography of Srila Prabhupada, titled Swami in a Strange Land: How Krishna Came to the West. Greene is also a filmmaker whose Holocaust documentaries have aired on PBS, The Disney Channel, and Discovery.

Reviews

[Jessica Burns · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent children's book on surviving the holocaust. While details are child friendly, this book does not sugar coat the reality of ghetto life for Jews or the deaths that were a result. May be a difficult read for sensitive children and adults. It was well written and adults will be able to read between the lines the deeper tragedies the book glosses over for the sake of a young audience.

[Deke Moulton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely quick read at about 120 pages. Absolutely terrifying firsthand account, although it’s really nice to see how this book pushes back against the idea that survivors of the Holocaust were “sheep’s walking to the slaughter” by highlighting stories of people who fought back. This is a companion novel in a way with his other book about the Warsaw uprising.

As oddly popular as holocaust fiction is, it’s extremely important to see books like this alongside titles featuring Christian Saviors like number of the stars.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fast read with new to me true stories of the holocaust. I enjoyed it especially since there were pictures of the real life people in the back of the book.

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 4 out of 5]

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

In 1943, Celia Cimmer is working with the Resistance to the Nazis in Poland, blowing up a munitions depot. What brought her to this desperate position? In this fictionalized account based on a video interview recorded by Celia Kossow in 1980, we see how Celia's school in Druya was bombed by the Nazis in 1941, and the teenager had to flee in her nightgown. Hoping for help, she went to a friend's house, but the friend told her to go away because she was Jewish. Her home town of Szarkowszcyzna was forty miles away, and she was fortunate the a truck driver picked her up and helped her get back. There, she found that Nazis had turned her town into a ghetto, and her entire family was living in a storage shed. The Nazis had taken everything, and forced the citizens to work for them. The whole family had to get jobs, and Celia applied to be a waitress in the Nazi headquarters. Unfortunately, the commandant had a grievance against her family, and informed her that she would be his "girlfriend" and live with him or be killed. When she replied that she would not, she was tortured and eventually shot at. The bullet missed her, but caused lifelong hearing damage. She managed to get home, where her mother, Liba, cared for her. She eventually had to go back to work, but when she heard that the ghetto was to be liquidated, she and her family ran. Their town was destroyed, and the group that they were with was caught and walked to another town Glubok. Her father was killed, so her mother tells her to run away. Luckily, a Christian boy, Piotr, helps her to escape and hides her at his family's farm. Sometimes, she would have to stay in a dark hole in the cellar for days. Liba and Celia's sister, Slava, also escape, but are caught. Liba dies, and Salva is injured and thrown into a pit for the dead. She escapes, and manages to crawl to Piotr's house. The sisters are taken to the Resistance, for which their brothers Herske and Zahman are working, and are eventually trained with weapons and horses. Unlike many Holocaust tales, there is a satisfying conclusion, as we see how Celia's life unfolds after she marries and emigrates to the US. There is also an excellent note about how the experiences of Jewish people during the Holocaust should be remembered but not glamorized.
Strengths: The author's notes about how he adapted Celia's interview into a book were very interesting, and I especially appreciated that he talked about how he tried to verify information so that Holocaust deniers wouldn't have any ammunition for saying this was fake. In today's world, that attention to detail is refreshing. The inclusion of pictures of Celia and of groups of Resistance members and other period photographs will help make this seem more real to young readers, for whom World War II is becoming very far removed. While there are atrocities portrayed, they are all done with a good balance of truth and delicacy; 6th graders might not understand fully what being a commandant's "girlfriend" would entail, but older readers will. It was good to see that at least four of the siblings survived, and their post war experience was very similar to that of friends of mine who emigrated from Silesia.
Weaknesses: I was hoping for more involvement with horses, based on the cover, since Hopkinson's World War II Close Up: They Saved the Stallions was fresh in my mind.
What I really think: This author's My Survival: A Girl on Schindler's List (with Rena Finder), Signs of Survival: A Memoir of the Holocaust (with Renee Hartman), and The Girl Who Fought Back: Vladka Meed and the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising are all riveting, fast paced accounts that don't cover up the atrocities of war, but give a first hand perspective on what it was like to survive such trauma. They are a greater choice for refreshing Holocaust titles, which can become very worn through years of use.

[Linda Vanlerberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

We need to remind ourselves of these horrors

The Nazi regime is painful to read about, but it something the world keeps repeating. Other countries have had their own ethnic issues. Now the US is experiencing its own ethnic fears with hispanics. We must do what we can to protect all people .

[Marie McGrath · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a narrative nonfiction story of Celia, a Jewish girl during World War II.

It is written as a middle grade story and I simply loved how it told her tale in an authentic way while still remembering the audience it's intended for. Perfect for those kids or adults who want more information about that time but from a young girl. Highly recommend.

[Allison Haehnel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well-told account of a young girl’s escape from a Jewish ghetto in Poland. Her story is not that of super-human abilities but rather a story of necessary actions to survive the Nazi invasion and occupation. I appreciated the author’s candid notes detailing how he took first-hand memories and wove them into the most accurate history possible.

[Brittany Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story about a Jewish family and how they fought against the Nazis. It is a true story full of passion, courage, and perseverance.

[NikkiB · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book with my baby girl and I think she found a new love of historical fictions!