Under the veil of secrecy in the forests of western Belarus there once was a camp, but this camp wasn't just an average tent and bonfire, it was a safe haven that would revolutionize and redefine what it means to persevere and never surrender. It only took three people to build it from the ground up, three sets of minds with the drive to survive and will from the only family they had left. Their mark shines in the hearts of Jews all over the world and will forever be known  as the group that stood up against the Nazi Regime's final solution. They were the Bielski brothers and they were a bright spot in the holocaust.

In 1941, the war had already been in full swing for 2 years, with the Nazi Regime's invasion of various countries to the east during World War II. The Bielski family of seven (two parents and five sons) lived in the small village of Stankevich, Belarus. There, the seven Bielskis were rounded up and transported to the Nowogrodek ghetto in December. After harsh treatment and the presence of the Einsatzgruppen, only three of the brothers in the family survived: Tuvia, Asael, and Zus, while the rest of their family was brutally executed. Soon afterwards, the three remaining survivors managed to flee the ghetto to the nearby forests of Poland, and unbeknownst to them it was just a matter of months before Germany would finalize their plans for their mass elimination of the "Jewish Question". The 'camp' concept was originally conceived by the three brothers and they were followed by thirty other close friends and family that fled with them. Their will to survive and natural leadership qualities helped the Bielskis slowly grow a resistance force that was used to both attack Nazi collaborators and create a protective area that was used to save fleeing Jewish women, children, and elders, which were the most common demographic for Jews that went to the gas chambers.

The leader of the camp was Tuvia Bielski, previously a polish army veteran. His experience in the military and his natural leadership qualities made him a distinct and effective leader. As more and more refugees fled the ghetto and made their way to the camp, the brothers needed to make sure the camp was run like a self-sustaining settlement. They commanded the camp with authority to ensure the camp was run efficiently and to ensure that the settlers did not get caught. Despite knowing the area due to its proximity of their homestead, surviving the harsh winters and  gathering ample food and water was a hefty struggle. This further promoted the idea they had to start a entire economy that managed the man power of the population versus the resources need to survive. Therefore, it was risky to have females give birth. A single baby needs lots of food, time, and attention, yet they can't contribute to the settlement for many years. Because of childbirth issues like this, abortions were encouraged for the betterment of the community. Ironic as it was, this portrayed the Bielski brothers as not wanting people that couldn't contribute, similar to what the Nazi T4 program did. However, the Bielski camp community still cared for and nursed the elderly and the sick. Another challenge was the quickly changing fronts of multiple armies, between the Nazis travelling from town to town rounding up Jews and sending them to ghettos and concentration camps, as well as Christian civilians living in small villages, as they could be lured by the high reward of turning in Jews to the SS.  For this reason, the camp needed to be mobile and their survival methods couldn't be entirely permanent.

By the end of 1942, the camp community amassed to 300. One of their famous recruitments during this time was from the Iwie ghetto, that fortunately saved about a hundred Jews from their impending deportation. The next big step for the brothers was when they came upon a cache of German and Soviet crafted weapons hidden in the woods. This newly found arsenal gave them the means to further protect themselves and pillage Nazi owned areas for food and supplies. Over the next two years the camp would swell to 1200 Jewish civilians. With a large fighting force and craftsman in a plethora of trades, such as tailors, seamstresses, shoemakers, watchmakers, carpenters, mechanics, and experts in demolition, this made life and existence in the camp more humane. The camp was developed profoundly by the variety of skilled craftsmen and women, and gave them access to a mill, bakery, bathhouse, medical facilities, tannery, school, jail, theater, and the capacity for sixty cows and thirty horses. With all of this equipment and fighting paraphernalia, assassinating key SS officers in the region became an accessible way of retaliating against their oppressors, making the Bielski brothers a concealed force to be reckoned with. They risked their lives for the freedom and protection of their fellow Jews.

In conclusion, I feel that the Bielski brothers are a perfect example of a bright spot in the holocaust, since through all their suffering and hardship, their journey helped save hundreds of Jewish lives that could have been easily killed in ghettos and death camps. Their resistance against their opposition and the compassion they had for their new comrades expresses the key theme that the Nazis tried to stop. The SS officers in ghettos and camps were determined to make everyman selfish, brutal, careless, and unethical to utterly destroy not just the Jewish population, but to vanquish their culture, religion, and total existence. This contradictory dynamic of convention separates the two parties immensely. The Bielskis didn't do what they did because anyone told them to, or for the thought that they might be heroes someday; conversely, that it was a necessity greater than themselves and imperative that the "Jewish Question" didn't simmer away silently, but stayed a bright, glowing spot in the surrounding darkness of autocracy.