International Holocaust Remembrance Day (January 27th), is dedicated in memory of those who struggled and were murdered under the Nazi regime. This year, as we continue to face uncertainties in our lives, I wanted to look at a story of fortitude and hope in defiance of our oppressors. In 2007, essayist and art curator Judy Batalion was searching through the histories of notable Jewish women, when she stumbled across an old Yiddish book, Freuen in di Ghettos, which sparked a light in her to learn more. Across dozens of memoirs from small presses, dusty catalogs and archives, and family stories, Batalion learned the names of young Jewish girls who took up armed resistance against the Nazi regime and who were almost lost to history: Renia Kukielka, Zivia Lubetkin, Toaia Altman, Chajka Meed, Bela Hazan, and so many more. Batalion’s decade-long research culminated in her non-fiction book The Light of Days: The Untold Story of Women Resistance Fighters in Hitler’s Ghettos.
Jewish youths in pre-WWII Poland, unable to join the Youth Groups of their countrymen, formed their own tightknit clubs that unbeknownst to them, would one day lead the armed and brave Jewish resistance during the Holocaust. Dozens of these co-ed Jewish Youth Groups made up of a hundred thousand young Jews, learned and explored different ideologies and purposes, while instilling a work ethic and comradery that proved priceless as they formed underground resistance factions against the Nazi Regime. Often taking advantage of their more Aryan features, Jewish girls (some as young as 15), used their meek and mild appearances to trick soldiers and guards as they smuggled news, weapons, money, forged documents, and underground magazines between ghettos and holdouts across Poland. These girls were known to break thousands of Jews out of confinement, smuggling people in giant soup pots or over roofs, finding safe connections and hiding places for the refugees. Three bold young women even attended a Gestapo Christmas party together while undercover. Despite their strong leadership, quick thinking, and incredible skills, large resistance operations put men in leading positions over the young women whose commitment to the cause was indispensable. During the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, one third of the armed fighters were women, risking and losing their lives as equals. The camaraderie between these young women was unparalleled, their heroism and intelligence gave them hope even in the bleakest of times. Hope, not always for their lives, but for their people.
“Nazi culture was classically sexist, and women were not expected to be illicit operatives; why would that nice, young peasant girl have bulletins sewn into her skirt or a pistol inside of her teddy bear?”
– Judy batalion
The Light of Days, while documenting camaraderie of the Jewish resistance to the Nazi government, also focuses on the differing ideals and purposes of these upstart youth organizations who suddenly had to join together despite their differences. The main contention between the groups that both resistance fighters and civilians had to make a stand on was the concept of fight or flight. These two ideals drove the parties, known as hereness or thereness– should they stay and fight for the only home they know in the name of doikayt, or leave to form a country all their own in pursuit of Aliya? Too few stories of the Jewish Resistance against the Nazi’s and the Holocaust are told and even fewer of the remarkable young women who risked lives relentlessly fighting the regime from the ghettos, the forests, and all over the country. Their stories were hidden to further political motives, and survivors were shamed into silence. Book Club Groups looking to expand their knowledge of WWII, women’s history, or who are in search of tales of resistance will be moved by the emotional and personal accounts of these young women. The Light of Days is a must-read. Batalion asks her readers: how does a person cope after witnessing such atrocities first hand? Why would people and politicians work so hard to suppress these stories of heroism, and what do they have to gain by perpetuating a narrative of victimhood and complicity?
“It is deeply troubling to make laws about what historical narratives are allowed to be told—it shows a rulership interested in propaganda, not truth.” – Judy Batalion, The Light of Days
Further Resources:
- Modern Jewish Resistance Groups:
If you’re interested in requesting The Light of Days for your book club, you can find the Request Form here. There are 8 copies and an Audio CD. (A librarian must request items)
Battalion, Judy. The Light of Days. HarperCollins. 2020.
