Daniela Ozacky Stern edited the book which chronicles the harrowing firsthand account of Eliezer (Lazar) Engelstern’s survival, his experiences across multiple ghettos, and his eventual escape to join the Bielski partisan family camp in the forests of western Belorussia.
Our Partisan Kingdom: From the Vilna Ghetto to the Bielski Family Camp.
This memoir serves as a comprehensive, firsthand account of his struggle to evade death, navigate the brutal realities of the Vilna, Woronów, and Lida ghettos, and ultimately escape into the forests of western Belorussia to join the partisan group commanded by Tuvia Bielski. Originally published in Yiddish in 1972, this English translation preserves a vital historical record of survival and resistance during the Holocaust.
Engelstern’s narrative begins on the eve of the Vilna Ghetto’s establishment on September 6, 1941, capturing the trauma of displacement, severe overcrowding, and the constant threat posed by Lithuanian collaborators and Nazi Aktionen. Following the murder of his wife and young daughter during the liquidation of the Woronów ghetto, Engelstern fled to Lida. There, he endured further forced labor, terrifying selections, and harrowing escapes, before successfully transitioning to the forests in the spring of 1943.
In the forest, Engelstern joined the unique framework of the Bielski otriad—a hybrid combat unit and family camp that prioritized saving Jewish lives alongside armed resistance. As chief cook for the base, Engelstern provides rich descriptions of daily life within the zemlyankas (bunkers), communal resilience, cultural gatherings, and the integration of over 100 children. The memoir also addresses the complex internal dynamics of the partisan movement, including strict Soviet-style discipline, tensions with local peasants, and antisemitic hostilities from non-Jewish partisans.
By shifting the focus from grand military strategies to the everyday survival of ordinary individuals, Engelstern’s intimate memoir offers profound insights into human endurance, agency, and the triumph of the human spirit amidst unimaginable adversity.
Engelstern, L., Engles, D., & International Institute for Holocaust Research. (2024). Our partisan kingdom : from the Vilna ghetto to the Bielski family camp. Yad Vashem, the International Institute for Holocaust Research.
