Defiance ranks with other top Holocaust films
By: Ben Goldberg
Issue date: 3/25/09 Section: Features
A list of famous Holocaust movies includes some pretty illustrious titles. Films like "Schindler's List" and "The Pianist" have captivated audiences by showing the travesties the Jewish people have endured.
Rarely, however, do movies show Jews fighting back, refusing to be led peacefully to their death.
With the release of "Defiance" in January, movie viewers saw a different picture of the Holocaust.
"I think it's great to show how Jews tried to fight back during the Holocaust because most movies show only their suffering," said Lindsay Yellen, a sophomore government and politics major. "It's very important to remember [the suffering], but also to show the strength that Jews had to try to fight for the rights they had lost."
The movie tells the true story of Tuvia, Zus, Asael and Aron Bielski, four brothers who escape into the Belarussian forests after their parents are murdered. The brothers offer help to Russian resistance fighters and end up starting a village and providing for about 1,000 other Jews.
For some students, the film was a welcome respite from the usual Holocaust movies.
"I think it makes some people feel uncomfortable at first with Jews showing resistance, but I think personally it's amazing. The partisans never gave up ... they fought and continued to fight until they could fight no longer," said Jordana Weinberg, a freshman physical education major.
Both Weinberg and Yellen had personal attachments to the story. The grandparents of Weinberg's friend from high school were interviewed and parts of their story were used as a basis for the movie.
Yellen lives in the same town as the descendants of the Bielski family and saw the movie as part of a program the family put together.
Both Yellen and Weinberg found it inspiring that all of the people hiding in the woods were able to come together and to provide for themselves. The way the movie portrayed the constant struggle of the Bielski's to provide for everyone was very powerful for Weinberg.
Yellen said those parts were some of her favorites.
"My favorite part…was when they came together so that people could live in hiding. It showed all the people working together and how the Bielski brothers were willing to continue taking people in even though they had very little to give," she said.
While the social aspects of the movie were indeed powerful, it was the fact that the brothers offered up resistance that really left a lasting impression for Weinberg.
"I am even more proud to say my people, my Jewish people, did not go down without a fight," she said. "They fought with every fiber in their body, with every spare bullet they could find."
Rarely, however, do movies show Jews fighting back, refusing to be led peacefully to their death.
With the release of "Defiance" in January, movie viewers saw a different picture of the Holocaust.
"I think it's great to show how Jews tried to fight back during the Holocaust because most movies show only their suffering," said Lindsay Yellen, a sophomore government and politics major. "It's very important to remember [the suffering], but also to show the strength that Jews had to try to fight for the rights they had lost."
The movie tells the true story of Tuvia, Zus, Asael and Aron Bielski, four brothers who escape into the Belarussian forests after their parents are murdered. The brothers offer help to Russian resistance fighters and end up starting a village and providing for about 1,000 other Jews.
For some students, the film was a welcome respite from the usual Holocaust movies.
"I think it makes some people feel uncomfortable at first with Jews showing resistance, but I think personally it's amazing. The partisans never gave up ... they fought and continued to fight until they could fight no longer," said Jordana Weinberg, a freshman physical education major.
Both Weinberg and Yellen had personal attachments to the story. The grandparents of Weinberg's friend from high school were interviewed and parts of their story were used as a basis for the movie.
Yellen lives in the same town as the descendants of the Bielski family and saw the movie as part of a program the family put together.
Both Yellen and Weinberg found it inspiring that all of the people hiding in the woods were able to come together and to provide for themselves. The way the movie portrayed the constant struggle of the Bielski's to provide for everyone was very powerful for Weinberg.
Yellen said those parts were some of her favorites.
"My favorite part…was when they came together so that people could live in hiding. It showed all the people working together and how the Bielski brothers were willing to continue taking people in even though they had very little to give," she said.
While the social aspects of the movie were indeed powerful, it was the fact that the brothers offered up resistance that really left a lasting impression for Weinberg.
"I am even more proud to say my people, my Jewish people, did not go down without a fight," she said. "They fought with every fiber in their body, with every spare bullet they could find."
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