Review of
Woman of Valor: A Story of Resistance,
Leadership & Courage, by Marty Brounstein ISBN
9780757005039
Five out of five stars
A life of courage against great evil
In the early thirties,
there was an increase in the latent antisemitism in Europe that was concurrent
with the rise of fascism. While it appeared in many European countries, it was
most pronounced in Germany under the Nazis. Although there was a period where
antisemitism was relaxed in Poland, there was a rebirth after the departure of
Pilsudski.
In September
1939 Germany invaded Poland and rapidly defeated the Polish forces, after which
the war became a military occupation. The Germans brought their extreme
antisemitism with them. It was not long before the occupation became a movement
to exterminate the Jews. While most were rounded up and sent to the death
camps, there were some that managed to escape and even conduct partisan
military operations against the German forces and their Polish allies.
Eta Chait was a Jewish woman that spoke fluent Polish
and had an appearance that made her able to pass as a Christian in Nazi-occupied
Poland. This undoubtably saved her life as she was part of the resistance,
saving the lives of several Jews. She joined a partisan band living in the
forest and she was able to leave their base and go out into the areas patrolled
by the Germans and collect food and other materials that the partisans needed.
Her story is
one of determination to do whatever she could to resist the German killing
machine. In many ways it is an amazing one, for the Germans were very thorough
and they had many allies in the local Polish police force as well as among the
Polish citizenries. Even some fellow Jews collaborated with the Germans.
Chait survived
the war and ended up in New York City shortly after the war ended. It is a
great story of courage and survival. Unfortunately, there were too few examples
of this particular outcome.
No comments:
Post a Comment