• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

  • Home
  • Advertise
    • Advertise in One or All of our Magazines
    • Advertising Payment Form
  • Print Subscription
  • Digital Subscription
    • Subscribe
    • Subscriber Login
  • Contact Us

Event Chair Meryl Lefkowitz

Remember the Partisans

October 21, 2016 by Stacey Pfeffer

Chappaqua Resident Meryl Lefkowitz with her great uncle Michael Stoll, a Bielski partisan
Chappaqua Resident Meryl Lefkowitz with her great uncle Michael Stoll, a Bielski partisan

A packed audience recently gathered at the Dewitt Wallace auditorium at Chappaqua Crossing to watch The Bielski Brothers: Jerusalem in the Woods, a documentary film based on the lives of the Bielski partisans during the Holocaust. The event was sponsored by UJA-Federation of New York’s Westchester Women chapter in an effort to raise awareness about the remarkable story of the Bielski brothers who were Jewish partisans that survived in the Belorussian forest during World War II. The four Bielski brothers managed to rescue 1,200 Jews in the neighboring Jewish ghettos of Lida and Nowogrodek, the largest rescue effort by Jews for Jews in World War II.

Aron (Bielski) Bell, the last remaining survivor of the Bielski brothers, was in attendance at the event along with several other Bielski partisans.

Chappaqua resident and one of the event chair’s Meryl Lefkowitz has many relatives who were saved by the Bielski brothers. “My father’s family including my grandmother, her parents, brother, sister and cousin were all Holocaust survivors and Bielski partisans. “The Bielskis were close to my family and saved them as well as countless others by creating their community in the woods,” said Lefkowitz. “My grandmother and her brother and sister and cousin are all still alive and to this day they keep the memories and stories alive. We are here (a family of more than 50 of their descendants) because of their determination to survive.” The number of Bielski descendants is approximately 20,000, according to historians.

Laura Kleinhandler of Rye Brook, UJA-Federation’s Westchester Women Chair; Aron Bell; Michele Gregson of Chappaqua, UJA-Federation’s Westchester Women Vice Chair; and Alan Bell Photo courtesy of UJA-Federation of NY
Laura Kleinhandler of Rye Brook, UJA-Federation’s Westchester Women Chair; Aron Bell; Michele Gregson of Chappaqua, UJA-Federation’s Westchester Women Vice Chair; and Alan Bell Photo courtesy of UJA-Federation of NY

Lefkowitz’s great uncle Michael Stoll attended the event. His story is featured in the documentary. He was on a cattle car about to be transported to the Majdanek concentration camp from the Lida ghetto and jumped from the train along with his sister, Lefkowitz’s paternal grandmother and her paternal great grandfather. Remarkably they reunited with their mother and other sister in the woods who had already joined the Bielski brigade. “I am proud of who I am and where I have come from. These are amazing people with an unwavering will to live and prosper and an unbelievable story to tell,” commented Lefkowitz.

The story of the Bielski partisans was popularized in the 2008 Hollywood film Defiance starring Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber. The documentary film featured at the event follows the story of the Bielski brothers a Jewish farming family in the town of Stankiewicze. After the Nazis invaded their town and forced all Jews into the ghettos of Lida and Nowogrodek, three of the Bielski brothers escaped to the nearby forest. At first the brothers focused on just saving their immediate family members but eventually took it as their mission to save as many Jews as they could. With the brother’s farming background and intimate knowledge of the forest, they were able to ultimately evade the Germans and Belorussian collaborators.

Aron (Bielski) Bell, the last remaining Bielski Brother with his wife Henryka Bell
Aron (Bielski) Bell, the last remaining Bielski Brother with his wife Henryka Bell

Eventually with the help of some non-Jewish Belorusian friends they acquired guns and were soon able to obtain captured German and Soviet weapons and equipment supplied by Soviet partisans. The Bielski partisans actively scouted the Jewish ghettoes and helped several Jews escape. They constantly moved throughout the forest to avoid detection by the Nazis.

By 1943, the number of partisans in the Bielski brigade had increased to 700 Jews, and the Bielski brothers were fearful of the Nazis discovering their base so they relocated to a more remote part of the Naliboki Forest where they remained until their liberation. The partisans formed a Jewish community in this location dubbed “Jerusalem in the woods.” The refugees were organized by skill and they had cobblers, tailors, carpenters, leather workers, and blacksmiths all contributing to the overall well-being of the community. In addition, they even had a laundry, synagogue, infirmary and schoolhouse.

“This story is extraordinary in that the best of human qualities emerged in the darkest moments of history. The unanswered question surrounding the story of the four Bielski brothers whose efforts saved more than 1,200 Jews is how did they create a caring community in the midst of the Holocaust? Millie Jasper, Executive Director of the White Plains-based Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center, said: “It’s remarkable that the Bielski brothers created an environment where each member of the group chose not their personal survival, but the survival of the group.”

Stacey Pfeffer lives with her husband and three young children in Chappaqua. She has written for New York Family Magazine, Kveller.com, Westchester Parents and Inside Armonk. Both of her maternal grandparents were Holocaust survivors.

Filed Under: Cover Stories Tagged With: Bielski Partisans, Chappaqua Crossing, Dewitt Waallace, Event Chair Meryl Lefkowitz, Jewish partisans, New Castle, The Bielski Brothers, UJA Federation of New York

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • Over 350 Students From 31 Schools Attend 21st Annual Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center High School Institute at Iona University
  • Greeley Boys Swim & Dive Team Wins State Championship Title Second Year in a Row
  • Chabad Center Invitation to a Community Passover Seder: “Don’t Pass Over Passover!”
  • New Castle Fire District No. 1 Announces Bond Referendum to be Held April 25
  • Don’t Resist JUST DESSERTS at the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center April 28-30
  • When There’s A Dog in Your Life

Please Visit

Chappaqua School Foundation
White Plains Hospital
William Raveis – Armonk
William Raveis – Chappaqua
Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival
Houlihan Lawrence – Chappaqua
Houlihan Lawrence – Armonk
Houlihan Lawrence – Briarcliff
Westchester Table Tennis
Compass: Miller-Goldenberg Team
Armonk Tennis Club
Raveis: Stacey Sporn
Compass: Natalia Wixom
Houlihan: Kile Boga-Ibric
Mathenasium
Randi Childs
Kevin Roberts Painting & Design
Houlihan: Tara Seigel
JRL Land Surveying
Arbonne: Jill Kay
Compass: Yona Stougo

Follow our Social Media

The Inside Press

Our Latest Issues

For a full reading of our current edition, or to obtain a copy or subscription, please contact us.

Inside Chappaqua Inside Armonk Inside Pleasantville

Join Our Mailing List


Search Inside Press

Links

  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Digital Subscription
  • Print Subscription

Footer

Support The Inside Press

Advertising

Print Subscription

Digital Subscription

Categories

Archives

Subscribe

Did you know you can subscribe anytime to our print editions?

Voluntary subscriptions are most welcome, if you've moved outside the area, or a subscription is a great present idea for an elderly parent, for a neighbor who is moving or for your graduating high school student or any college student who may enjoy keeping up with hometown stories.

Subscribe Today

Copyright © 2023 The Inside Press, Inc. · Log in