Aron Bielski
Aharon Bielski | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1927 |
| Other names | Aaron Bielski Aharon Bielski Aron Bell |
| Spouse | Henryka |
Aron Bielski, later changed to Aron Bell, (born 1927)[1] is a Polish-American Jew and former member of the Bielski partisans group, the largest armed rescuers of Jews by Jews during World War II. He was also known as Arczyk Bielski. Out of the four Bielski brothers, he was the youngest, as well as the only one still living as of early 2009 (Tuvia Bielski died in 1987 and Zus in 1995).
Life with Bielski partisans
The Bielski family were farmers in Stankiewicze (Stankievichy) near Nowogródek (Navahrudak), an area that at the beginning of the Second World War belonged to the Second Polish Republic, but in September 1939 was seized by the Soviet Union (see: Polish September Campaign and Soviet invasion of Poland (1939)), which was then allied with Nazi Germany. After German Operation Barbarossa, Aron's brothers created a notable resistance organization, the Bielski partisans group. Aron became a member of that group.
Nechama Tec who wrote a book about them had the following to say about Aron: "Occasionally in the forest he acted as a guide. Those I spoke to agree that his participation and impact on the life of the Bielski otriad was minimal, almost nonexistent."[2] While Nechama was not able to interview Aron, he was interviewed by Peter Duffy in his book.[3] That author, in the second authoritative book about the Bielski partisans, mentions Aron about 30 times, and lists him as one of the important sources for the book. Duffy interviewed Bell for the 2000 article Heroes Among Us published in the New York Times.[4]
Later life
After the war Bielski returned to communist-dominated Poland, and soon after immigrated to British Mandate of Palestine. In 1954 he settled in the United States, along with his surviving brothers and their families,[5] where he drove and then owned two trucks in New York City.[citation needed] Aron was the only member of the Bielski family to change his family name (which became "Bell").
Kidnapping charge
In 2007 Bielski, together with his wife Henryka (then 58 yr old), was arrested for kidnapping 93 yr old Janina Zaniewska. They flew her to Poland, under the guise of taking her to visit old friends, dropped her at a nursing home and returned to Palm Beach, Florida. Next, they withdrew $300,000 from Zaniewska's bank account. Police were contacted in August by a bank manager who wondered why the Bells were withdrawing Zaniewska’s money. Police eventually found Zaniewska at the nursing home, and arrested the couple. The charges against them carried up to 90 years in prison [6], but were dropped in Feb 2008 [7].
Legacy
George MacKay portrayed Aron in the 2008 film Defiance.
See also
References
- ^ Bell's age is given as 70 in a NYT article from 2000 and the Holocaust Museum uses 1927
- ^ Nechama Tec, Defiance: The Bielski Partisans, Oxford University Press US, 2008, ISBN 0195376854, Google Print, p.304
- ^ Peter Duffy, The Bielski Brothers: The True Story of Three Men Who Defied the Nazis, Built a Village in the Forest, and Saved 1,200 Jews, HarperCollins, 2004, ISBN 0060935537, Google Print, p.286
- ^ Heroes Among Us, May 28, 2000 article in NYT duffy bielski&st=cse link
- ^ http://www1.yadvashem.org/odot_pdf/microsoft%20word%20-%206103.pdf
- ^ http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/926541.html
- ^ http://www.allvoices.com/news/28183-palm-beach
External links
- Gary Stern, For Pound Ridge man, the new movie "Defiance" is the story of his family, The Journal News, January 21, 2009
- Kamil Tchorek (2008-12-31). "Country split over whether Daniel Craig is film hero or villain". London: The Times. Retrieved 2008-12-31.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - Template:Pl icon Piotr Głuchowski, Marcin Kowalski, Wymazany Aron Bell (Aron Bell Erased), Gazeta Wyborcza, 008-06-16