Customer Reviews

The Bielski Brothers (History Channel)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is one of the best WWII documentaries I have seen by the History Channel. It does an excellent job of not only giving you the facts, but making you feel like you experienced what happened when three Belorussian brothers that happened to be Jewish decided to try and hide others like themselves from the Germans. That would have been heroic in itself, but these three brothers didn't stop there, they used guerilla tactics against the Germans as well. Good quality DVD with plenty of replayability. If you enjoyed this catch Defiance.

CA Luster

I was impressed by the extras in the DVD Defiance that had its own documentary featuring pictures and discussions with the Bielkski children. This DVD features not only the Bielski family, but also actual footage of the survivors still living today.

Fascinating footage of actual partisans at work, actual on location shots of the village in the woods. This is simply a great history and a must for video of fighting oppression and tyranny.

This DVD is great. True heros. The Beilski brothers make me proud to be Jewish. I am very happy their story was told. I am surprised it took this long to have this awesome story surface to the public. Better late than never.

What a shame this documentary only has sub-titles for the speakers who do not speak English. Most of the others have heavy accents. I wear hearing aids and it was nearly impossible for me to understand a great deal of what was said. How can any modern production not be captioned for the hearing-impaired?

(4.75 stars)

This History Channel DVD tells the rarely heard of story of how three strong and brave hearted Jewish men, the Bielski brothers, fled the Nazis to seek refuge in the forest near their village in Belorussia. It also tells of how the Bielskis allowed and encouraged any other Jew seeking refuge the right to join them in their forest camp. The documentary flows in chronological order and it is replete with stories from actual survivors of World War II who lived in the Bielski camps, archival film footage, commentaries by children of the Bielski brothers and even some comments by the youngest Bielski brother, Aron.

The story is incredible. The Bielski brothers were tough--people all over their region in Belorussia knew of the Bielski brothers because they were THAT tough. When they initially hid in the forest, it was essentially just them. However, word travels; and so eventually more and more Jews risked their lives escaping from ghettos and trains to concentration camps to wander through the forest in the hopes of finding the Bielskis and their camp for refugee Jews. We see the Jewish group also working with Russian partisans against the Germans; and again they were very brave indeed. They did what they had to do to survive; and of course most of the stories we're told are not for very young children.

In particular, I loved the comments we get from the children of the Bielski brothers and the survivors who lived in the Jewish refugee camp run by the Bielskis. It's so meaningful and touching; indeed they're frequently so emotional that you'd have to have a heart made of stone not to be moved by it.

It may well seem like I've told you too much; but I left out much more so as not to spoil it for you. Believe me, the experience of watching this is extremely powerful and long-lasting; you won't forget this DVD anytime soon.

I just wish this ran a little bit longer! The story is fascinating. The DVD comes with no bonus features either; I guess that is a minor disappointment.

Overall, The Bielski Brothers is an outstanding installment in The History Channel series and I highly recommend this for anyone who wants to study World War II in general. People who are Jewish or studying Jewish history should get this as well.

"The Bielski Brothers" is a History Channel documentary that recounts the true life, inspiring, and miraculous story of how three brothers - Tuvia, Zus and Asael Bielski who were also Jewish, set up a camp deep in the Belorussian forests during WW II which provided refuge to Jews escaping Nazi persecution. The numbers grew and against all odds, about 1,200 Jews survived the war in the forest camp. The refugees had to move frequently, being constantly hunted by the Nazis, and though there were casualties, hundreds more survived which is amazing considering the constraints they were under.

The documentary features archival records, and also interviews with survivors and the descendants of the Bielskis. This is a must-watch documentary as it tells the story of unsung heroes and more importantly of Jewish resistance against Nazis which was not prevalent during WW II for varying reasons. The most famous instance of Jewish resistance during WW II was the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, and the Bielski brothers and their band of fighters deserve recognition for standing up to the Nazis, setting up a well-organized camp in the forests even with the odds stacked up against them. A miracle indeed.

I found the story of people helping each other to be essential to the human spirit. So many in the world who have thought that Jews were led to slaughter like sheep have been wrong. This is the powerful and true story of a Jewish resistance movement during World War II in the Bellarus area of Europe. I was amazed at the strict dicipline that was used; but it was effective. An excelent production that was also well acted.

The movie "Defiance" was incredible! Craig and Schreiber performances were exemplary. I'd say Craig was at his best.

The story line only touches upon the time line of the real events. I realize that this is a movie and compilation of true events and they did a great job!

The movie company could not film in the current country of Belorus. It's very strictly governed. And, remember that Jews were not well-loved in the old Belorus.

The movie crew search European locations and found exactly the same types of forests, soil types and swamps as there were in Belorus. They filmed during 12 weeks of Winter . The Bielski Otriad faced 6 months of Winters, that can be 30 or more below zero at times. Kudos to the reality of the locations.

Worth owning and re-watching from time to time, as I have on numerous occasions.

This History Channel is revealing in such a way that the movie could not be as they interview relatives and survivors of the Bielski Otriad. To see and hear one of Tuvia's sons and Asael and Chaya's daughter is incredible! [She speaks of her father's death fighting the Germans as they were informed by the Russian Army.]

Pay close attention to her expressions and body language. The book points out that a Russian officer hated Asael. Hmmmm.

Tuvia's son would be at the regular gatherings [at home] of many of the survivors through the years. He was constantly told what a great man Tuvia was. He did not understand until the much later in life and more information came out.

Tuvia was no angel, but best suited to the task before him. Read the book! The one by Nechama Tec. I have most of the others as well. Haven't read them yet.

An exceptionally well written documentary of the activities of Jewish partisans who survived the German invasion of their nation. Having been in Europe for the past several years, I have not seen to film version, but have read with great interest, the account of the Bielski Brothers during World War II. As I live in Kosovo, (no longer in Kuwait) a small unnatural country in the Former Yugoslavia, I have first hand knowledge of the type of terrain and the forrestation that was so well used by the Jewish partisans in helping to defeat the Nazis.

This book is a must read for those who in anyway believe that we might be faced with a similar end of the world type occurance and what we might face from either a foreign invader, or an interal one.

The "Bielski Brothers" tells the real story behind the movie "Defiance" in about half the time and with none of the histrionics. Survivors tell their stories in accents that ring true, and the achievement of the savings of so many lives is as gripping as the movie version.