Below are questions answered by many of the Jewish partisans JPEF interviewed. Check and uncheck any answer or combination of answers, then scroll down to see which partisans answered like you did. Click their photo to find out more about them.
Many Jewish partisans in Eastern Europe lived in underground bunkers called zemlyankas (Russian for "dugout"): small, primitive shelters that provided a living and hiding space, sometimes for dozens of people, even through freezing winters.
Click and drag in the window below to explore a virtual model of Shalom Yoran's zemlyanka that he built and lived in with four other men in the winter of 1942.
1937 borders. Approximate areas of Jewish partisan activity marked in yellow.
Approximately 30,000 Jews throughout Eastern and Western Europe -- many of them teens -- fought back during the Holocaust as Jewish partisans.
During World War II, approximately 30,000 Jews throughout Eastern and Western Europe -- many of them teens -- fought back against the Germans and their collaborators as Jewish partisans. They were men and women from a variety of backgrounds.
Jack Kakis was born in the Greek town of Thessaloniki in 1920. The oldest boy, his mischievous nature made him the black sheep of the family. He remembers that, while he received high grades in school, every report card included complaints from his teachers about his behavior. After completing high school he earned a spot in officers' school, but his studies were interrupted by the outbreak of the war. He went to Athens to fight, but when the Germans invaded he was sent home.
Approximate area of partisan activity for
The EAM was a formidable force. They had received shipments of arms and explosives from the Allies as well as heavy artillery from the retreating Italians. Because of his military background, Jack was made the commander of a machine gun regiment. It was his job to assign missions to his men. Some went to town as spies, reporting back on the movements of German troops. Others mined the roads or ambushed convoys. Jack would generally accompany the saboteurs, providing them with cover from his machine gun while they carried out their missions. The EAM harassed German trains on the Thessaloniki-Athens railroad, preventing supplies from reaching Rommel's forces in North Africa.
After the liberation of Greece in 1944 Jack returned to the regular Greek Army. He was awarded several medals for his service during WWII, including the medal for Bravery Under Duress, the Greek equivalent of the American Purple Heart.
Engage and inspire your youth with these free, ready-to use materials for teaching History, Leadership, Ethics and Jewish Values through the life lessons of Jews who fought back during the Holocaust. Designed for 6th-12th grade History, English, Social Studies, Holocaust/Genocide and Jewish Studies classrooms and informal settings (youth groups, summer camps, etc.). Most materials can be completed in 45-60 minutes.
Watch short documentary films narrated by Ed Asner, Tova Feldshuh, Larry King, and Liev Schreiber made from from a collection of 50 original interviews with surviving Jewish partisans shot all over the world.
JPEF's Defiance Multimedia Curriculum, developed in cooperation with the film makers. Engage your students in critical thinking about History, Leadership, Ethics, and Jewish Values with JPEF's multimedia curriculum on teaching with the film.
