Jewish Survivor Lillian Bielsky-Bell | USC Shoah Foundation

[@arielbielsky5677]

I am so grateful to have my grandmother's testimony on tape. She and I were very close, but she died suddenly when I was only nine, and I never got to hear her story first-hand. Being able to watch and hear it now that I am an adult means more than you'll ever know. I love you, Safta.

[@TheAnthoula14]

She sounds like a wonderful person, you must be so proud of her. I've watched many of the the USC testimonies from the Bielski survivors here. When I feel sorry for myself for my own problems, I always think about the survivors and what they went through. We are so soft these days, just the thought of trying to survive in a forest, with no resources, and people literally hunting you, is terrifying. It's amazing what we humans can do, when it's our life on the line.

[@alessiabroglia6682]

❤️

[@jameswells-uk6qu]

Do you know you have a duty to carry this great story and family's history on...too bad these interviewers were not very good..asking questions that really weren't pertinent! Very sad for this..but we do have the book and the movie. You should be very proud of your heritage!

[@monatingbjr6636]

I soooo understand

[@monatingbjr6636]

What a beautiful lady ❤️

[@carolc6795]

"Hitler was a loser" And you ma'am, were a gem ❤️🙏

[@mrsthursday]

"Hitler was a loser"! Words to live by. Thank You Mrs. Lillian Bielsky-Bell & family.

[@roberthill4236]

To those wondering why they didn’t edit the allergy attack: one of the favorite tactics of the deniers is to say these stories are scripted and edited. They never edit any of these stories at all. The emotions and the allergies add to the reality. To those complaining about her family’s wealth: her father was a rag merchant in one of the poorest parts of Europe. She was dirt poor by modern standards. Her memories of life before the Holocaust show how vibrant and resilient the community was before the Holocaust. Remember that no two survival stories are alike. It took a lot of luck and courage to survive. A lot of rich people were murdered too.

[@cynthiabelleman6497]

I have listened to several, and I have heard so many different stories. Nothing like the movies etc very interesting accounts. I would have loved being an interviewer

[@thesimulation9651]

​@@cynthiabelleman6497 if you Google shoah foundation interview guidelines it's so interesting the preparation for these interviews.

[@deborahjohnson1354]

Thank you for shedding some light on the situation. It’s difficult to understand when we don’t have any concept of that time and place.

[@TheAnthoula14]

I hope someday USC Shoah foundation will be able to use new technology to improve the sound on the testimonies. It kills me that I cant hear so much of the testimonies, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. I know this would have been impossible obviously, but it would have been fascinating if there had been a way to examine the immune systems of the Bielsky camp survivors after the war. It must have been far better than the average person out there. I know they had some medical care there, but it's not like they were stocked like a normal hospital. Clearly many healed from infections primarily through their own ability to fight them off.

[@frenchartantiquesparis424]

Just buy some speakers...

[@Mike-01234]

Sounds good to me I use headphones

[@cynthiabelleman6497]

This one I am hearing well, but I have listened to about 35 and many are very hard to hear

[@janejones5362]

Yep. I'm Jewish, and I have had lung issues since I was little. Undiagnosed (until an adult) allergies and asthma. No one would listen. I dx'd myself, during covid. Which I had, March 2020. Very, very badly. My father had lung issues, died at 62. My sister died from pneumonia at 4.5 months. G-d has a reason for me being alive.

[@finnfo4]

I'd say more like most people didn'tever recover. Most survivors have or had lifelong problems after the camp conditions.

[@celloswiss]

What a wonderful lady and what a moving story. I really enjoyed her narration and the complete absence of bitterness. Mrs Bielsky-Bell exudes nothing but humanity and love. Pura vida from Costa Rica.

[@ilenekaplan109]

She is a lovely lady.,my heart broke for her when her Mother died and again when her Father remarried a woman who cared just for her son. Your interviewers should be trained better for these testimonies. Also, stop asking the same questions, many of which are just stupid. It takes away from the seriousness of these testimonies.

[@melodywatson960]

I totally agree with the comment about the interviewers. They have a tendency to ask questions that are ridiculous, and if they would just pay attention,they wouldn’t have to ask and the people might not get so aggravated.

[@annalapoint7156]

I am glad, Ariel, that you got to hear you're Grandma's testimony! She is a very beautiful lady! Not fond of her interviewer! Bless you and your family!

[@LisaSmith-qw7ik]

Love to you Lillian Bielsky-Bell and to your family. You were so right to say 'Hitler is a loser'. Many thanks for sharing your story. Your spirit and strength is beautiful and very inspiring xx❤️

[@bonniebabird]

Thank you for posting this amazing interview for us all to understand the survival- especially of SO MANY souls in the woods during WW2. I had read stories about the courage and wit and sheer strength of this group to live as Jewish Resistance in the Belarus woods. Her testimony - a person deeply connected in the group - and hearing of her life before the war is absolutely precious. Unforgettable lady with an unforgettable life story.

[@blackwings715]

This woman is just so impressive 🖤

[@pgmurrin]

The camera has a pause button, the recording could have been paused to allow the lady time to compose herself from the coughing. But the cold, inconsiderate gestapo style interrogation being done here by that young girl is sad that this important history is being brought to light this way .

[@thesimulation9651]

That was not edited out because the favorite tactic of Holocaust deniers is to say that these interviews are scripted and edited

[@rajitapappu_khosla250]

Bravery and selflessness personified! I read Defiance, but hearing her gave a new perspective and admiration to the Bielski family effort, real heroes

[@sibert1974]

What a beautiful lady with a mesmerising voice.

[@DUSEKIE]

לילקה'לה Miss the talks we had into the night Special lady you were

[@zulmabontiffe487]

Not able to hear because the audio is SO low. have to move to another one .

[@justmeandmycrew7205]

Her story is amazing this interviewer was a shame I felt like she was cutting her off a lot and correcting her. If she said ok one more time I swear I couldn't take it

[@cynthiabelleman6497]

These stories are so amazing , I have listened to many and find them all so different and a story of courage and survival . The interviewers are not good. I think they are college students who volunteered.

[@cindyhalpern3187]

That interviewer was rough on her, even brutal. She is coughing violently and the interviewer doesn't stop the tape to let her recover. She corrects her endlessly. This was very disrespectful and this poor woman was just trying her best. I thank her for telling her story. The interviewer ought to be ashamed and not allowed to interview anyone else.

[@zulmabontiffe487]

Audio was too low at times. I find this to be a consistent problem with many of the testimonials and I have watched many of these in over 2 yrs . Not only that, but the long intermission per. videos is so annoying. I love to hear these survivors share their painful, horrendous experiences with the world. I wish AMERICA had intervened to save many lives. By the time we did, many had perished. I wasn't born when this happened. They are not forgotten.

[@margaretroselle8610]

God’s richest blessings on the Nation of Israel.

[@janejones5362]

Volume is very low.

[@emmaford32]

Why is the sound so bad? Pity you can't hear what she is saying.

[@SaRo-r8j]

Poor audio quality.

[@oldducky]

Why didn't the interviewer give Lillian a break when she was coughing? How inconsiderate!

[@lourdesprudencio5647]

I feel the same way.....omg. I wanted to hear the rest of the story.....

[@thesimulation9651]

Because Holocaust deniers love to say that these testimonies are scripted and edited. So the shoah foundation does not edit any of them

[@lourdesprudencio5647]

@ 50:38, the interviewer enterupt s. Please let her tell her story... I wanted to hear that part, waghhhhhhh

[@Aozziegamer99]

A different perspective provided by a partisan survivor. Very strong woman. I wonder what the partisans would think of Israel’s current murderous genocide.

[@mr.bernstein2813]

I would like to hear the Romani people side of the story also Who went through the exact same thing as the Jewish people

[@finnfo4]

Pretty sure there are accounts avbl of the Romany suffering.

[@mazzalobo]

In times of war, anyone might turn into a killer. Even her mother in law tried to kill her. How sad

[@karolinakocemba6291]

My nanny comes from Lida…it’s the first time someone mentions her city. Of course, they all had to move away, once the polish borders changed post Second World War x

[@karolinakocemba6291]

Jesus…just witnessed this poor lady having a coughing fit! And no water was given…🥺

[@joziemolody3592]

Anamazing survival story. Her story about how their group ran differs some from what other survivors have said. when asked about her job with the partisans, she hedged and said she sometimes did guard duty but also said she didn't like to shoot; making her an unlikely candidate for guard duty. She also said she had to receive the dignitaries that came to camp several times as if that took up most of her time. The forest wasn't loaded with royalty and generals so I don't know if had a job.

[@katherinebyron2177]

I understand your curiosity about her job with the partisans, but trust me - no one went with out a job during that time.

[@TheAnthoula14]

I noticed that too, but I'm guessing she and the other young women in the camp did a lot of the day to day domestic duties, cleaning up any debris that could give them away, checking on food supplies, keeping fires going or putting them out, etc. I'm just speculating, but I would assume in a situation like that where food is extremely limited, you want to avoid giving someone hard labor work unless when absolutely necessary, otherwise they would all have ended up dead. The exact opposite of what was going on in the concentration/labor camps at that exact time.

[@cherylstaples1790]

Why the hell didn't someone edit out her allergy attack? Damn!

[@thesimulation9651]

Because Holocaust deniers like to say that these testimonies are attitude and scripted, the shoah foundation chooses not to edit any of them

[@lourdesprudencio5647]

I don't understand why the kids of halocaustt kids have a something going on???? I don't even know the words... The kids wanted to talk about it but I think the pain was to much for them. I can't imagine... I am so sorry.....

[@SaRo-r8j]

So hard to understand. What a misfortune.

[@mikemueller3552]

Every interview it seems the only thing that matters is what did your father do, how well off was your family, did you have a big house!!! I find it sickening! Like it made the wealthy anymore important than the poor!

[@thesimulation9651]

If you Google show up on dacian interview guidelines you will find most of the explanation for why the questions are asked this way

[@finnfo4]

Do you understand the the wealthier Jewish families shared their wealth with the poorer citizens, including the Gentiles.

[@joziemolody3592]

I wish we could have heard from her father. The story with her father being blindly devoted to a stepmnother who would try to have her murdered and Lilly seeming to have no problem with her father doing so is incredible. She states Tuvia wasn't married to her girlfriend when they hooked up in the forest but every account I read says he was married.

[@kimberlymcdonald9419]

Jozie Molody p

[@januszrybicki9314]

Sorry but objective historical studies carried out recently show the Tevye Bielski history in much different way especially concerning his cooperation with the Communists and Soviets against the Polish underground Home Army.

[@mart9898]

Tevya repaid Polish Army for all the training he received during the joint raids with Russians.

[@janettemcgregor4100]

It seems like every survivors story they say they were from well off families, , I think that's what kept u alive 2 have money , speak several languages , luck , beauty sometimes only ... sad all of it .

[@wandagorte8958]

I have watched several testimonials and not all were rich. Remember all was taken from them, leaving them financially equal. Those with no learned trade like making shoes or sewing were saved as they were considered useful. I found several wealthy women who depended on maids and nannies having few survival skills and they seemed to be ‘sick’ far more than the poor people. An excuse to get out of manual labor? Too used to servants doing all for them? Maybe total lack of skills. It does seem that wealth played a part in the kinder transports to safety prior to the war and can not imagine how scared those kids were and the lids of parents in the end had to be hard to bear. Any wealth of their parents was also gone so they too were financially equal. Those who spoke many languages did seem to fair s little better as they could be used as interpreters, not that goes along with skills that were needed. Not much different than the wealthy of today who would have a very hard time living in the footsteps of poorer people.

[@cynthiabelleman6497]

I listened to many of these. There are plenty from average or lower income. The bielski brothers were farmers not wealthy

[@Lucyinthskyy]

That’s the way of the world unfortunately. I’ve noticed it as well and it makes you feel kind of bad because the majority of us are not well off and would have probably suffered a lot worse although, there are plenty of survivors who came from working class or poor families.

[@drake7heather]

Ehlekeooooieieuy

[@carole5447]

The interviewer is awful. Badgering the lady

[@mikemueller3552]

Allergy Attack? More like 2 packs of Marlboro’s a day!

[@misiasert1348]

How rude!

[@janejones5362]

You know her? I have moderate asthma and allergies. My voice gets hoarse from mucous, and I've NEVER smoked.