Fugitives of the Forest: The Heroic Story Of Jewish Resistance And Survival During The Second World War

by Allan Levine author of Details are Unprintable: Wayne Lonergan and the Sensational Café

The heroic story of Jewish resistance and survival during the Second World War.

Genres: History, Holocaust, Nonfiction, War, World War II, Memoir, Jewish

480 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1999

Reviews

[Lewis Weinstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

excellent detail regarding Jewish partisans, including Tuvia Bielski, as they managed to survive in the forests

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very general look at the Partisans in Eastern Europe. Focus is, obivously, on the Jewish Partisans. Overall, Levine is balanced but one is left with the impression that (1)only Jewish partisans were brave (2) only Jewish partisans were honest (3) Only Jewish partisans didn't rape. I'm not sure why I don't really believe this. Levine does deal with the taking of food, needed food, from villagers, though the reader might get the impression that all villagers deserved to be stolen from.

The partisans were braver than I will ever be, but I'm not sure painting them as saints does them justice.

Still, this is a good overview, though Defiance: The Bielski Partisans was a little better.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

A page turner, well written and accessible to someone without a great deal of prior knowledge, other than watching ‘Defiance’ 12 years ago. I learned so much and feel as though this book opened up a new perspective on the war for me. I’d like to know more about the functioning of the family camps, the more mundane aspects that I find interesting. I’ll be seeking that out now that I have this starting point. Great book.

[Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

A harrowing read and full of insights into the terrible extent of the complicity of ordinary Polish, Lithuanian and Ukrainian people during the German occupation of these countries in the genocide and the long term dangers of the "ghetto-isation" of minority populations with the aliennation it brings. Caught between the competing tyrannies of the Nazi's and the Soviet Communists, Jewish communities suffered incredible deprivation and hardship. This book could have done with some good editing but is nevertheless an important chronicle of the horrors and suffering inflicted on Jewish people of eastern Europe.

[Gwen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok...not the best one I've read

[Evan Þ. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was, at many times, a chilling tale to read because of the Nazis' horrific cruelty. But also, it was at times an encouraging tale to read, because of the indomitable perseverance of so many Jewish people who escaped from the ghettos to the forests, and survived in great privations and starvation. Many fought back as partisans, trying to cause the Nazis however much trouble they could, with shoestring support from the Soviet government and despite enmity from many non-Jewish partisans.

And, many of those Jewish partisans insisted on supporting "family camps" of non-fighting Jews in the woods. Other partisans and the Soviet government considered it a distraction from the cause, but many of them considered it the cause in itself. And, many of them stuck with it - and thousands survived because of them.

[Andreas J. Bendzin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gives very good insight into the different groups of Jews that were, alongside the partisans hiding in the forests to evade the Nazis. It looks at the issue from many different angles. It also shows the fickle natures of Poles as well as the Partisans. The former did not lack much behind the Nazis in their antisemitic attitude albeit void of the cruelty. The latter did not trust Jews to be true fighters which had to be established time and time again. The book also goes into more detail concerning the Bielski brothers. Any who have seen the movie DEFIANCE will come to know some aspects of it as being just that, fiction of the imagination while others remained true to the real nature of what the Bielskis experienced.

[Linda Bakst · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the book provides a great deal of information about an aspect of Holocaust history that is not well known, and for that it is a valuable contribution, it is repetitive and you can lose the context.

[Ken Wagner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beyond The German Death Camps

I have knowledge of the German death camps in Germany. I have been to Dachau concentration camp. I had no idea of what happened in the Polish forests. This is a must read.

[Amy Salvatore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not really well written but fascinating accounts of a different side of the Holocaust story.

[Sandra Drew · Rating 5 out of 5]

What one can achieve when pressed is remarkable. Story of resistance, community, survival and overwhelming odds. True heroism is made, not born.