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Jordan Crooks

Mr. Hawkins
Modern World History P, Period 6
8 April 2016
The Jewish Resistance
The Holocaust was a time that would be remembered years from then. And its expected,
who can forget the nearly successful genocide of an entire religion? While it is widely known
how helpless the Jews werethe lesser recognized part however showed just tough these guys
and girls were. Some Jews were fed up with going the non-violent route, and decided to take up
arms. The Resistance fighters, under many different names, banded together to battle against the
Nazis!
Most of the Jews who had joined in partisans had one common background and issue. As
it is, Some Jews who managed to escape from ghettos and camps formed their own
fighting units. (Evidence 1) Knowing the horrid conditions of the Jewish ghettos, they had to
survive tough situations. Much like the New Yorkers of the WW1 dough boys, having that
previous experience in a rough, urban area allowed them to be strong enough to endure the
conditions of battle. Just one of those problems/conditions mentioned before are, While NonJewish partisans could sneak back to their homes for security and safety, the Jews had no
place to go. They were constantly moving through the shadows on the edges of the cities
and towns. (Evidence 2) Having no base of operations is challenging on a man! He has little to
no chance of rest for fear of being ambushed by Nazis (though some did have camps). To top it

all off, Jewish partisans could not be helped by the local Jewish population, since the
overwhelming majority had by then been annihilated by the Nazis. Jewish partisans thus
often found themselves battling not only Germans but also a hostile local population.
(Evidence 3) This is what made them all so resilient and hardy, despite mostly only being teens
and young adults with no training. I mean, how could they even survive without the support of
others? Well, to overcome these hurdles, they did have to resort to despicable means sometimes.
These splinter factions had multiple ways in which they earned supplies, some of which
involved stealing. For example, armed brigades, often from holes in the ground, with
whatever weapons they could construct, trade for or steal, men, women and children
organized to engage the German Army. (Evidence 2) Obviously, their conditions were pretty
poor to a point where building weapons had to be an option, but they still managed to push
through. The partisans did have no choice however as most of the population was still antisemitic, so they would have to swipe items from families and dead soldiers. But, considering that
a population of the partisans actually joined with the Red Army, As the war progressed, the
Soviet government occasionally airdropped ammunition, counterfeit money and food
supplies to partisan groups known to be friendly. (Evidence 1) The Soviets, while
supportive of some, however will still pretty anti-semitic much like Stalin, and were known to
harass some Jewish troops. However, this was better than the treatment received by German
soldiers, and as long as they could fight against the Nazis, who cares what they think? Lastly,
another hardship was The partisans lived under harsh conditions without real shelter to
protect them from sub-freezing temperatures and storms in the winter, or from the heat
and rain in other seasons. (Evidence 2) To add on to the pressure that comes with low
ammunition, and uniforms, they also didnt have any tents to set up for the night! Most of them

probably slept on the ground, or maybe not at all. Yet despite all these bumps in the road, they
were still successful in certain times.
Even if most of them were killed, what still made them victorious in the end was
eliminating such a stagnant amount of German troops thanks to their tactics. In fact, A large
group of partisans in occupied Soviet territory hid in a forest near the Lithuanian capital of
Vilna. They were able to derail hundreds of trains and kill over 3,000 German soldiers.
(Evidence 1) And to think that this was in just Lithuania alone! Imagine the numbers in other
places that they contributed towards! But how could they possibly have done this? Well, The
partisans had few arms and little ammunition but were successful because they knew the
lay of the land and how to use the terrain to their own advantage. (Evidence 2) Think of
the American Revolution, the Minutemen had no military training but were successful because
they knew the lay of the land. This, in combination with guerilla tactics, is a surefire way to
eliminate an enemy effectively. Finally, Most successful partisan activities took place at
night, under camouflage of the dark and with the help of the local population. (Evidence
2) Using reasoning like a military strategist, the things the partisans did was extremely smart, as
not only are they using the terrain for cover, but theyre also using the reduced visibility of night
to strike where it hurts the most. With these tactics conjoined, its no wonder why they were able
to get so many Germans.
Sure, most of the partisans ended up like the band of high school kids in the 1984 movie
Red Dawn. But to say their efforts went unsung and were useless is highly underestimating them.
Against all the odds, they rose up and fought against the tyrannical oppression and systematic
murder of their culture. Soon, the goal they wanted to achieve happened with the Allied victory
against the Germans, and the Jews soon got their land of Israel back. Even today, the nation of

Israel and many Jews remember and honor these partisans for their heroic efforts against Hitlers
reign.

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