rickcee
29 Jul 2009
History / Bielski Brothers - does anyone know the story? [38]
If you see the movie Defiance and read about the Bielskis, obviously they were no saints. But is that the point? Did they need to be saints to be on the side of right when it came to fighting fascism? The Germans (Nazis) were the animals they have been portrayed to be. Of that there is little doubt. What really fries my eggs, though, is the incessant anti-semitism on the part of many modern Poles today. How can you hang onto old, obviously wrong sentiments? I've read so many accounts of the Bielski Otriad on various message boards, and I must say that as a person of Polish descent, I am appalled at the apparent resentment and hatred for Jews STILL in this modern world. Isn't it time to bury the hatchet? I'm not alone in believing that Jews, like other minority groups, have had more than their fair share of abuse and discrimination in this world. Let's start this new century by thinking not how we can revive the old feelings of hatred and bias that have plagued humankind since the dawn of time, but how we can rise above those ancient resentments and create a new world in which people strive to seek the good in their fellow man. I, for one, choose to believe that the Bielskis, in all their foibles, complete with a history of smuggling and other not-so-perfect activities, were heroic in fighting one of the most horrific scourges in history--the fascist mentality of the Germans and Polish sympathizers. I want to live in a world in which we look for the good in people and not judge them by old standards of bias and prejudice.
If you see the movie Defiance and read about the Bielskis, obviously they were no saints. But is that the point? Did they need to be saints to be on the side of right when it came to fighting fascism? The Germans (Nazis) were the animals they have been portrayed to be. Of that there is little doubt. What really fries my eggs, though, is the incessant anti-semitism on the part of many modern Poles today. How can you hang onto old, obviously wrong sentiments? I've read so many accounts of the Bielski Otriad on various message boards, and I must say that as a person of Polish descent, I am appalled at the apparent resentment and hatred for Jews STILL in this modern world. Isn't it time to bury the hatchet? I'm not alone in believing that Jews, like other minority groups, have had more than their fair share of abuse and discrimination in this world. Let's start this new century by thinking not how we can revive the old feelings of hatred and bias that have plagued humankind since the dawn of time, but how we can rise above those ancient resentments and create a new world in which people strive to seek the good in their fellow man. I, for one, choose to believe that the Bielskis, in all their foibles, complete with a history of smuggling and other not-so-perfect activities, were heroic in fighting one of the most horrific scourges in history--the fascist mentality of the Germans and Polish sympathizers. I want to live in a world in which we look for the good in people and not judge them by old standards of bias and prejudice.