Resistance: They Fought Back takes a look at the Jewish resistance efforts in fighting back against the Nazis during the Holocaust. It was an active front in both the ghettos and camps.

“People have this myth stuck in their heads that Jews went to their deaths like sheep to the slaughter. But this is where the real story begins…Jews did not go as sheep to the slaughter…They fought back.” – Professor Richard Freund

The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and the Bielski partisans are probably among the most prominent examples of resistance efforts in the film. Roberta Grossman previously directed Who Will Write Our History–executive produced by Nancy Spielberg and Ori Eisen–about the Oyneg Shabes Archive. Defiance is a narrative feature about the Bielski partisans. Plan A depicts efforts to take revenge against Germany after the war. Tim Blake Nelson wrote and directed The Grey Zone, a film about the efforts by Sonderkommando XII to destroy Crematorium IV at Auschwitz-Birkenau. These are just a few of the resistance efforts that we know about.

This film goes a long way in correcting the narrative. The mere act of Jews surviving was resistance against the Nazis. Whether it was Warsaw, Vilna, Kovno, or elsewhere, Jews would rebel against the Nazis. There were Jews who would escape the ghetto through the sewers and survive after the Holocaust. Whether it was the ghetto, death camps, or the partisans in the forest, Jews were very active resisting against the Nazis. We know about the violent efforts, of course. Other efforts were non-violent. Parents doing what they can for their children, Jews doing their best to save books. Of course, the Oyneg Shabes Archives tells of life in the Warsaw Ghetto. Two of the three caches (35,000 pages across 6,000 documents) have been recovered. The third is still awaiting its discovery.

Voice actors share the experiences for the following:

• Vladka Meed
• Benjamin Meed
• Marek Edelman
• Emanuel Ringelblum
• David Graber
• Mordecai Anielewicz
• Abba Kovner
• Vitka Kempner Kovner
• Ruzka Korchak
• Bela Hazan
• Esther Raab
• Marcel Nadjari

A few Holocaust survivors are in the film–unfortunately some passed away after filming:

• Krystina Budnika
• Dana Mazurkevich
• Samuel Bak
• Dr. Marģers Vestermanis
• Chaim Melcer
• David Gur

Of the many quotes in the film, it’s hard to wrap the mind around this sobering statistic offered by Prof. Patrick Henry: “The most horrific statistic that I can think of, is that only 11% of European Jewish children who were alive in 1939, were still alive in 1945.”

This film’s origins date back to June 2019 and we’re certainly all the better for the filmmakers rising up to the challenge. Of course, they’re was the challenge in raising the money and then Covid happening. But once you get beyond those challenges, the real challenge comes in telling the story of Jewish resistance. I say this because we’re further removed from the Holocaust. This year marks the 80th anniversary of liberation with the fewest amount of survivors still living, let alone attending the ceremony. Many people involved with the resistance efforts would end up being murdered. But for the survivors, they did not always share their experiences. It took Schindler’s List and the USC Shoah Foundation before people would open up in larger numbers. Filmmakers turn to survivors, their children, and experts in refuting the narrative. Children discuss their parents’ experiences while actors voice their words.

I hope the film finds a wider audience through its PBS broadcast. I regret missing it last year but Pesach has a real impact on the schedule! But anyway, they go to many of the locations in Eastern Europe. It’s important that they do because it’s really important to show how they packed Jews into the ghetto like sardines. In Warsaw alone, about 500,000 Jews were confined to the ghetto. But beyond Warsaw, we learn about resistance efforts taking place in Vilna, Riga, and Kovno, among others. It wasn’t just contained to the ghettos–there were seven uprisings at death camps, six led by Jews. Where they couldn’t resist with weapons, they would resist through other means. Most importantly: caring for fellow Jews.

Eighty years later, films and books are continuing to shine a new light on the Holocaust. If not for Prof. Freund’s comments upon visiting filmmaker Paula S. Apsell in 2019, this film wouldn’t even exist. That it exists goes along way in not just correcting the Holocaust narrative regarding European Jewry but in teaching the importance of Holocaust education. We’re living in a time period where Holocaust education could be better. It’s bad enough that anti-Jewish hate is surging across the globe, including in America. As of December 2024, only 29 states mandate Holocaust education. Not only that but a recent ADL study reports that 46% of adults hold significant antisemitic beliefs. No wonder we can’t make much progress fighting anti-Jewish hate online!

In correcting the narrative, Resistance: They Fought Back is an essential addition to Holocaust cinema.

DIRECTORS: Kirk Wolfinger and Paula S. Apsell
VOICE CAST: Corey Stoll, Maggie Siff, Dianna Agron, Romy Rosemont, David Rosenberg, Julie Benk, Joel de la Fuente, Andrew Kishino, Lisa Loeb, Mark Zeisler
FEATURING: Dr. Steven Meed, Dr. Rita Meed, Krystina Budnika, Dana Mazurkevich, Samuel Bak, Hadas Kalderon, Michael Kovner, Yonat Rotbaine, Dr. Marģers Vestermanis, Yoel Yaari, Michael Kagan, Batya Cohen, Chaim Melcer, David Gur, Yehuda Bauer, Michael Berenbaum, Havi Dreifuss, David Fishman, Gideon Greif, Patrick Henry, Ilya Lensky, Avinoam Patt, Dina Porat, Rabbi Michael Schudrich, Richard Freund, Paul Bauman, Dr. Harry Jol, Pawel Sawicki

Resistance: They Fought Back premieres January 27, 2025, at 10 PM ET (check local listings) on PBS, PBS.org, the PBS app and the PBS Documentaries Prime Video Channel. Abramorama released the film in theaters on April 12, 2024. Grade: 4/5

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