A scene from ‘Four Winters’
One of the burning questions people ask about the Holocaust is why more Jews didn’t resist Nazi persecution and mass murder.
Nobel Prize laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel suggested a reframing.
“The question is not why all the Jews did not fight, but how so many of them did,” he said “Tormented, beaten, starved, where did they find the strength—spiritual and physical—to resist?”
Yet, many did. There were ghetto uprisings—the Warsaw ghetto was the most famous but not alone—and uprisings in three death camps. There were Jews who refused to hand over other Jews for deportation. Some fought in national resistance movements, while others resisted spiritually by creating Jewish cultural institutions and continuing to observe holidays and rituals. And Jews helped each other survive.
There were also Jews, many still in their teens, who escaped from the ghettos into the forests, where they joined other partisan groups or formed units of their own.
Julia Mintz’s documentary, “Four Winters: A Story of Jewish Partisan Resistance and Bravery in WWII,” gives voice to the latter. It is also the March offering—on the ninth and 10th of the month—of the Edward S. Finkelstein Harrisburg Jewish Film Festival.
The partisans, probably numbering 25,000 to 30,000, consisted mostly of very young men and women who fought deep in the forests of Eastern Europe, Ukraine and Belarus. Sometimes, their groups were small. Others, like the Bielskis, drew hundreds of members.
Mintz interviewed eight former partisans—now elderly—who appear on camera. Others contributed offscreen. And a “lot of research bolstered the interviews,” she said.
The “four winters” in the film title refer to the frigid conditions these young people braved, year in and year out, until the end of the war, and their commitment to that end.
A scene from ‘Four Winters’
There were forays into neighboring villages from the forest seeking weapons or something to eat, not knowing whether the people they’d encounter would be sympathetic or Nazi collaborators. And when they did get food, it didn’t necessarily meet Jewish dietary standards. Laughing, one of the former partisans said, “I keep kosher now.”
Added Mintz, being a partisan meant “breaking the 10 Commandments.”
Above all, there was the challenge of undergoing a transformation from young innocents to brave resistance fighters. But they felt they had no choice.
“We were high on survival,” said one of the former partisans.
Mintz, whose work focuses on narratives of bravery and resistance against unimaginable odds, has been on the producing teams for films shortlisted for the Academy Awards. She will be in Harrisburg to speak, live, at the screenings of “Four Winters.”
Shared Experience
This year, the Harrisburg Jewish Film Festival is, for the first time, offered as a film series, one weekend a month through June, rather than as an eight-day festival. The festival began in October, said chair Julie Sherman.
“We’re four very memorable films down, six more to go,” she said.
The films are presented live on Saturday nights at the Alexander Grass Campus for Jewish Life and Sunday afternoons at Midtown Cinema, both in Harrisburg.
Remaining festival offerings include “Remembering Gene Wilder,” a tribute to the beloved comic actor (April 6 to 7); “Perfect Strangers along with Madame Rosa,” the book club feature (May 4 to 5); and “Less Than Kosher” (June 1 to 2).
The first film directed by Israeli movie star Lior Ashkenazi, “Perfect Strangers” is the story of a group of friends who play a risky game—they toss their cell phones into the center of the table, and every message or call received is revealed for all to see. The Israeli version of “Perfect Strangers” is part of a greater phenomenon. It began as a 2016 Italian film that struck a universal chord, adapted more than a dozen times in diverse cultures.
“Madame Rosa,” released originally in 1977 and based on the book, “The Life Before Us” by Romain Gary, stars Simone Signoret as an elderly Holocaust survivor and former prostitute who cares for the children of other prostitutes.
“Less Than Kosher” is a Canadian movie about a failed singer whose life changes radically when she assumes the role of cantor at her family’s synagogue. The creator and star of the piece, Shaina Silver-Baird, will appear, live, with the film.
“Finally, people are coming back to the movies,” Sherman said. “We’re really pleased with our film selection this season, but really, the most exciting aspect of the festival is having our audience together in one room, sharing the experience.”
The Alexander Grass Campus for Jewish Life is located at 2986 N. 2nd St., Harrisburg. Midtown Cinema is located at 250 Reily St., Harrisburg.
Tickets for all 2023-24 screenings at the Grass Campus are available now. Midtown Cinema tickets will be available online two weeks before each screening. For more information, visit www.hbgjff.com.
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