Defiance

Any Daniel Craig fans out there?(yes, he's on the hot scale) The movie "Defiance" is coming out telling the story of the Bielski brothers. I love this true story of three brothers who formed a partisan group after their family was killed by the Nazis and also created a hidden village in the forest of over 1200 Jews who had escaped the genocide. More about their story HERE and the movie HERE.

Theirs is one of the lesser known Holocaust stories but one that is truly remarkable. In my WWII/Holocaust unit I require the students to read one book (fiction or non-fiction) on the Holocaust. While reading through books to recommend I came across one on the Bielski brothers and could not put it down. 

This unit would open up so many good discussions as we talked about human character, prejudice, and injustice. Such questions as,"What do you do if you see injustice happening? Do you stand up or stand by?  What do you want your life to stand for? And what if standing up means sacrificing your own life?" Great stories like those of the Bielski brothers, Denmark rescuing almost their entire Jewish population, and individuals Schindler and Raoul Wallenberg should not be forgotten. 

I hope the movie does the story justice.

Anyone want to babysit so I can see it before it gets to netflix?