Pages

Wednesday, August 3, 2022

An Incredible World War II Film About Belarus Partisans Fighting Nazis In 1943

 Two of our readers have a close connection to the Nazi invasion of Russia in 1941. Sara Feigenbaum’s family were Jewish partisans fighting for the Russians against the Nazis. A movie was made about their adventures in 2008-Defiance starring Daniel Craig. Here is an IMDB link for those curious:

 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1034303/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_21

 

      My primary care physician, Dr. Alla Rudin also had two sets of grandparents in Belarus as Nazi tanks rolled their way. In a rare act of kindness totally uncharacteristic of Josef Stalin, an evacuation to Kazakhstan was arranged because they were Jewish and surely would have been murdered by the Nazis. (Normally only Stalin’s most beloved writers and film actors got such good treatment.)

 

      Most of you know that one of my passions in life is the study of The Great Patriotic War from June of 1941 to May of 1945. I have read thousands of books on the subject. I never lose admiration for the courage and self-sacrifice of the Russian people who suffered 27 million deaths and who knows how many people were wounded. (The normal ratio is 3 wounded for each death. That would indicate some 81 million people were wounded.)

 

      Elena is a master at finding obscure foreign films. Last night she found a treasure on YouTube. It is called “Come And See.” It is about a group of young people fighting as partisans against the Nazis in 1943 in Belarus. Early this morning I watched the film. Here is the link if you want to invest two hours watching it:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjIiApN6cfg

 

    My highest tribute to a film can be the words: “Oh my gosh that’s what it's really like!” If we could find someone alive who actually lived through this ordeal, they would be amazed and say that it was an accurate representation of what happened. I do not believe that this was a big-budget film. However, an incredible amount of time and effort was invested to make every detail correct. The cinematography and acting were superb. Subtitles are provided for most of us who do not speak Russian. If you have the time, please invest two hours for an incredible cinematic experience.

No comments: