Fugitives of the Forest

Describes the escape of thousands of Jews to the forests in Nazi-occupied Poland and the USSR between 1941-44. Relates the problems they faced, as well as Jewish participation in partisan warfare, Soviet or Polish. The relations of the Jews with their non-Jewish comrades in the partisan units, and with the surrounding non-Jewish population, were complicated. Many partisans were reluctant to accept non-combatants into their units and held Jewish fighting abilities in low esteem; antisemitism was widespread. Dwells on the two largest Jewish partisan "family camps" in Belorussia - the camp of the Bielski brothers and of Shalom Zorin.