Jewish Saviors of the Holocaust Part II: From a Tunnel in Novogrudok to the Bielski Partisans

On the night of September 26, 1943 232 Jews escaped through a tunnel from the Novogrudok Ghetto. Nearly 170 survived, primarily by joining the Bielski partisans who operated nearby in the Naliboki forest. This was likely the greatest escape in Nazi occupied Europe throughout the entire war and Holocaust. The tenacity and courage of the last Jews of the Novogrudok ghetto to dig a 250 meter tunnel leading to the forest, combined with the capability of joining Tuvia Bielski and his partisans, facilitated one of the most astounding stories of Jewish survival during the Holocaust. Tuvia Bielski famously said that he prioritizes saving lives over killing Germans. The result was that his partisan unit was a family camp which saved over 1,200 Jews, among them the escapees of the Novogrudok tunnel.    To dedicate an episode in the Jewish History Soundbites ‘Jewish Saviors of the Holocaust’ series, please contact Yehuda at [email protected]    Jewish History Soundbites is coming to NY! Register here for the upcoming tour of the Mt. Judah cemetery with Yehuda Geberer on July 29, 9:30 am   For sponsorship opportunities about your favorite topics of Jewish history contact Yehuda at:  [email protected]   Subscribe To Our Podcast on:    PodBean: https://jsoundbites.podbean.com/   Follow us on Twitter or Instagram at @Jsoundbites You can email Yehuda at [email protected]