Rating: 
Summary: Amazing Story
Review: The amazing thing of this amazing story is how it could happen at all. The Bielski Brothers emerged as heroic figures at a time when the Nazis were destroying life and hope in the Belarussian countryside. That these brave Jewish brothers could succeed in defying the worst part of the Holocaust in such dire times is the substance of historical significance. I recommend the book not only as exciting reading, but as a testament to the best of human nature.
Rating:
Summary: A Story of Survival!
Review: The Bielski Brothers is a fascinating, unblelievably true account during the time of World War Two. After the second chapter i was hooked. The three brothers: Tuvia, Zus, and Asael demonstrate courage and defeat after escaping from the horrors of the Nazis. An outrage grew amongst the three brothers after their parents and loved ones were involved in a mass murder by the anti-seminists, causing them to hide within the trees,build a villiage in the forest, and save nearly 1,200 Jews (as much as Oskar Schindler) Making the woods a safe haven for Jews.
The escapees are separated into groups of fighting men and non-fighting men, As they battle it out against the Nazis.
Coming to the end, i would say The Bielski Brothers is a very good book. I strongly recommend it!!! ;)
Rating:
Summary: A MUST-READ FOR EVERYBODY!
Review: The Bielski Brothers should be read by every schoolkid. It's a story too long overlooked. It is a story of humanity --as dramatic as any in history. And it is true. How the Bielski's reacted to the Nazis -- saved themselves and 12-hundred others, young and old, strong and week, the ill, the infirm the hopeless is a piece of European history that has had to wait until today and Peter Duffy's book for its due.
Rating: 
Summary: Brutal Men, Surviving Brutal Times
Review: The Bielski Brothers were brutal men. What set them apart from others was that they rescued 1,200 Jews. They did not turn away the old, women, or children, though factions within their partisian group felt that the non-combatants were too much of a burden. Not only were the non-combatants not turned away, they were sought out from the ghetto's and led to the enclave.The Brothers all had flaws, and the author Peter Duffy, does not gloss over the flaws. The Brothers were vengeful, murderous, and tyrannical. However, I feel that more "compassionate" men would never have been able to accomplish what the Bielski Brothers did. They maintained a enormous community within the forests of Belorus, not for weeks or months, but for years. This took strict discipline, which the Bielski's were capable of, including execution of those who disobeyed. Duffy reveals that at times, Tuvia, the leader, crossed the line of reason. Duffy is able to show the humanity of these men. Men who lost their parents, wives and children, to the Nazi's, and risked their lives to save the lives of strangers. This is a well written book, that tells a fascinating, little known story from the most horrific times in modern history.
Rating:
Summary: War and Beyond!
Review: The brothers witnesses such unbearable cruelty at the hands of the Germans and many local gentiles that they saw no choice but to fight if they were going to survive. Their fight included their protection of hundreds and hundreds of Jews. Through their charisma, organizing skills, and aggressiveness, they successfully accomplished their task. Along the way, however, it appears that they developed a certain hubris, a feeling of such self-importance that they became what can only be called tyrannical. Although there is a question of whether they or some of their people were unduly robbing the surrounding peasants and appeared less than completely with their Soviet sponsors, there is no question that they took what ever they wanted for themselves, including accommodations and women. Perhaps as with Moses, Tuvia committed such a cruel act upon the dissolution of the camp that he paid for it by becoming a failure in later life, never able to re-capture his former authority and self-satisfaction.
Rating: 
Summary: Error in The Bielski Brothers
Review: This book is written for a general, rather than a scholarly,
readership. The publisher's claim that the Bielski story was
"untold until now" is true only regarding a popular treatment.
There is a more scholarly book available: Nechama Tec, "Defiance:
The Bielski Partisans" (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993). Unfortunately, Duffy repeats (at page 232) an erroneous and long
since discredited accusation against General Tadeusz Bor-
Komorowski, commander of the Polish underground Home Army (Armia
Krajowa or AK): "Indeed, General Bor-Komorowski, the AK's top
commander, issued an order on September 15, 1943, calling for the
extermination of Jewish partisan groups, which he regarded as bandits." This allegation is false. General Bor-Komorowski did issue his
Order No. 116 of September 15, 1943, which ordered action against
bandits, but there was no mention whatsoever of Jews or Jewish
partisan groups. The allegation has been ably refuted in the following two papers: John Lowell Armstrong, "The Polish Underground and the Jews: A
Reassessment of Home Army Commander Tadeusz Bor-Komorowski's
Order 116 Against Banditry," Slavonic and East European Review,
Vol. 72, No. 2, (April 1994) pages 259-276. Stanislaus A. Blejwas, "Polemic as History: Shmuel Krakowski,
'The War of the Doomed. Jewish Armed Resistance in Poland, 1942-
1944'," Polin, Vol. 4 (1989), pages 354-362. Both Armstrong and Blejwas show that Bor-Komorowski's chief
accuser, Shmuel Krakowski, failed to quote the right document,
and badly misinterpreted the document he did quote. Charles Chotkowski
Fairfield, Conn.
Rating: 
Summary: Inspiring Courage - but Disappointing Writing Style
Review: Very seldom in my avid reading, biblioholic years do I experience a boring read - this is one of the nth degree of boring reads. And, very seldom do I write a negative review. Considering the magnitude of the subject matter and content, expectations were high; the more I read, the more disillusioned I became. It is the writing style of author Peter Duffy which left me with descending hope of reading enjoyment as the book progressed. And, yes, I "stuck it out" to the end. Duffy's manner of "handling" the subject matter distorts and disrupts the reader's enjoyment of THE BIELSKI BROTHERS. Too many menial descriptions covering up what should be valuable, in-depth, intellectual writing. Details of trivial matters applied too often without zest. As presented, the story is slow treading in movement and progressive reporting. The author states on page 207, "?But the work proceeded slowly, with everyone worn out from months of living like nomads." As in the latter statement, Duffy's fails to write with enthusiasm, upbeat phrasing and non-contributive descriptions to add to the reader's enjoyment of serious material. For instance, by page 207 - three-quarters of the book is complete, but Duffy is no farther ahead in describing Bielski accomplishments than at the halfway mark. The reader is still searching for the "vim and vigor" writing of an important part of history. In each chapter, repetitive action scenes, reporting of too many trivial movements and scenes repeated over and over leaves the reader with "stilted" thinking -- "?it's got to get better in reporting events?"; it doesn't; the reporting remains weak. The two-star rating I've assigned to the book is in honor of the BIELSKI family and their peers, for the courage and determination in a time of horrendous, heinous, anti-Semitism, with one part of Hitler's determination to destruct a race and culture. With any book, a reader gains "something" - that something for me is the discovery of the existence of the BIELSKI family. THE BIELSKI BROTHERS determinedly performed a courageous fete to help their country men, women and children. Dear reader, in Duffy's debut, you are in for a dry run of disappointing reporting of information and writing style to the approach of important subject matter. I do honor the author's quotation from The Talmud: "Whoever saves one life saves the world entire." Mr. Duffy, do try again and I wish you well in your future endeavors. (...)
Rating:
Summary: Inspiring Courage - but Disappointing Writing Style
Review: Very seldom in my avid reading, biblioholic years do I experience a boring read - this is one of the nth degree of boring reads. And, very seldom do I write a negative review. Considering the magnitude of the subject matter and content, expectations were high; the more I read, the more disillusioned I became. It is the writing style of author Peter Duffy which left me with descending hope of reading enjoyment as the book progressed. And, yes, I "stuck it out" to the end. Duffy's manner of "handling" the subject matter distorts and disrupts the reader's enjoyment of THE BIELSKI BROTHERS. Too many menial descriptions covering up what should be valuable, in-depth, intellectual writing. Details of trivial matters applied too often without zest. As presented, the story is slow treading in movement and progressive reporting. The author states on page 207, "...But the work proceeded slowly, with everyone worn out from months of living like nomads." As in the latter statement, Duffy's fails to write with enthusiasm, upbeat phrasing and non-contributive descriptions to add to the reader's enjoyment of serious material. For instance, by page 207 - three-quarters of the book is complete, but Duffy is no farther ahead in describing Bielski accomplishments than at the halfway mark. The reader is still searching for the "vim and vigor" writing of an important part of history. In each chapter, repetitive action scenes, reporting of too many trivial movements and scenes repeated over and over leaves the reader with "stilted" thinking -- "...it's got to get better in reporting events..."; it doesn't; the reporting remains weak. The two-star rating I've assigned to the book is in honor of the BIELSKI family and their peers, for the courage and determination in a time of horrendous, heinous, anti-Semitism, with one part of Hitler's determination to destruct a race and culture. With any book, a reader gains "something" - that something for me is the discovery of the existence of the BIELSKI family. THE BIELSKI BROTHERS determinedly performed a courageous fete to help their country men, women and children. Dear reader, in Duffy's debut, you are in for a dry run of disappointing reporting of information and writing style to the approach of important subject matter. I do honor the author's quotation from The Talmud: "Whoever saves one life saves the world entire." Mr. Duffy, do try again and I wish you well in your future endeavors. (...)
Rating:
Summary: Jews kill Nazis and coraborators
Review: Well finally the true story of Jews killing Nazis and their helpers. Jews seek and get reverge during WWII. One of the brothers Zus had 64 documented persoanl kills. Ofcourse he saw his father, mother and two brothers shot by Nazi Killing Squads in Nuvergrodek Ghetto. This book gives people hope, revenge and finally survival in a time where most accepted death. A must read for people who face hopelessness in oppression.
Rating: 
Summary: Heroes Or Common Bandits?Duffy's humbug story of Bielski
Review: What kind of morality is it? To commemorate murderers? See for yourself. In small hours of May 8, 1943, the joint Soviet-Jewish assault on Naliboki occurred. One hundred and twenty eight (128) innocent civilians, including women and children, were butchered in a heinous pogrom that lasted almost three hours. Eyewitnesses confirmed later that the majority of the 128 people killed died at the hands of Jewish the Bielski's "Jeruzalem" and Zorin's "Pobeda" units. The Polish Institute of National Memory [IPN], (its Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation in Lodz) is currently conducting an investigation into barbaric act commited by Tuvia Bielski, Sholem Zorin and their partisans in Naliboki. This investigation was opened on March 20, 2001 in response to the request of the Polish Canadian Congress. According to the Institute report, issued on March 1, 2002, 24 witnesses have been questioned so far, most of them former inhabitants of Naliboki or nearby settlements who had been present there during the attack. Their detailed testimonies about the course of events under investigation mention the names of some of the perpetrators, several of whom have been identified as former Jewish residents of Naliboki. The witnesses also mentioned the names of Soviet partisans. Naliboki, county of Stolpce, Nowogródek province, a village located in the middle of Naliboki Forest, is currently part of Belorussia. The Polish and Belorussian villagers had formed a self-defence group to fend off Soviet and Jewish marauders that robbed them of the food and other possessions. The Holocaust memoirs branded those who attempted to protect their property as anti-Semites and Nazi collaborators. Initially, the local peasants, who were not overly rich themselves, were fairly generous in providing food, even though they didn't have much left after they met the burdensome quotas imposed by the Germans. However, as the numbers of Jews in the forest grew, and demands for forced contributions by the Germans and the Soviet partisans were ever escalating, the attitude of the impoverished villagers, who were subjected to these onerous burdens, started to change. Their first concern was to feed their own families. This had to take precedence before looking after the bands of Jewish escapees. It was also more important to meet quotas levied by the Germans on each Polish village. This was literally a matter of life and death for them and their families. Germans proved to treat such contingents most seriously, as they were quite capable of annihilating whole villages as a punishment for not fulfilling them. Little known in the western literature is the fact that the Germans razed from the face of Earth more than 400 Polish villages and towns. What the villagers didn't know was that hiding in Naliboki Forest the "heroes" of Tuvia Bielski supported by other Soviet partisans were also capable of such acts. The virtually exclusive preoccupation of the Jews hiding in forests was not partisan warfare, but scavenging for provisions. They dispatched an endless flow of armed groups into villages to rob the peasants of their food and meager belongings. In Soviet eyes, the main "crime" of the Naliboki villagers was that when in the spring of 1943 the commanders of the Soviet partisans stationed in Naliboki Forest tried to subordinate the village self-defence unit, the Poles refused. The dire conditions in the camp were of no concern to Bielskis. Józef Marchwiñski, a Polish communist, married to a Jewish woman, for a while acted as Bielski's deputy, described the life of plenty and leisure led by Bielski's entourage and his "harem" of well dressed women, all whom the poor Jews branded as the "tsar's palace". Another communist wrote that Bielski had been eager to accept into the camp people who had had gold and other valuables, but less likely to take in the poor. In his memoir, a leading member of the Zorin's group presented a similar picture. Once a week, they even sent food surplus to Moscow by a plane, which landed in a field inside the forest. (Wertheim, Jewish partisans in Belorussia, Zeszyty Historyczne no. 86, 1988). The Naliboki atrocity was not an out of character event marking the Soviet-Jewish units. Similar atrocity, being also investigated by Institute of National Memory, was committed in the village of Koniuchy, county of Lida, Nowogrodek province, at the edge of Rudniki Forest, where numerous Soviet partisan groups had their bases. Members of these groups frequently carried out raids against the nearby villages and settlements including Koniuchy. In "Destruction and Resistance", Chaim Lazaar wrote: 'The Brigade Headquarters decided to raze Koniuchy to the ground to set an example to others. One evening a hundred and twenty of the best partisans from all the camps, armed with the best weapons they had, set out in the direction of the village. There were about 50 Jews among them, headed by Yaakov Prenner. At midnight they came to the vicinity of the village and assumed their proper positions. The order was not to leave anyone alive. Even livestock was to be killed and all property was to be destroyed'. Rich Cohen (The Avengers", New York, Alfred A. Knopf, 2000, 145) writes: 'The peasants ducked into houses. Partisans threw grenades onto roofs and the houses exploded into flame. Other houses were torched. Peasants ran from their front doors and raced down the streets. The partisans chased them, shooting men, women and children. .../... Caught in a cross fire, hundreds of peasants were killed'.
Bielski claimed 381 Nazi and Nazi allied fighters killed at the end of war. 128 defenseless inhabitants of Naliboki ended up being branded as Nazi allied fighters. Does Duffy elaborate on the killings in Naliboki?
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