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{{Short description|Jewish resistance organisation in Vilna Ghetto during World War II}}
The '''Fareinigte Partizaner Organizacje''' (United Partisan Organization; referred to as '''FPO''' by its ] initials) was a ] ] organization that took part in the ] ] ] during ]. The ] organisation was established by ] partisans - their leaders were writer ] and ].
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{refimprove|date=December 2023}}
] (back row, centre) with members of the FPO in Vilna]]


The '''''Fareynikte Partizaner Organizatsye''''' ({{langx|yi|{{Script/Hebrew|פֿאַראײניקטע פּאַרטיזאַנער אָרגאַניזאַציע}}}}; "'''United Partisan Organization'''"; {{langx|lt|'''Jungtinė Partizanų Organizacija'''}}; referred to as '''FPO''' by its Yiddish initials) was a ] organization based in the ] in ] that organized armed resistance against the Nazis during ].<ref name="Yad Vashem">] Shoah Resource Center, The International School for Holocaust Studies. </ref>{{bsn|reason=publisher itself is fine but this looks like a press release; surely there is a more robust source|date=January 2024}} The clandestine organisation was established by ] and ] partisans. Their leaders were writer ], ] and ].
The Fareinigte Partizaner Organizacje was formed on ], ] in the ]. It took on the motto: "We will not allow them to take us like beasts to the slaughter." This was one of the first resistance organizations that was established in the ghettos during World War II. Unlike in other ghettos, where the underground resistance was coordinated to some extent with the officials of the local Jewish establishment, Vilna's ], head of the ghetto, cooperated with German officials in stopping armed struggle. The FPO brought together ]-]s, right-wing conservatives, ]s and ]s. It was headed by ], ], and ]. The goals of the FPO were to establish self-defense in the ghetto, to sabotage German industrial and military activities and to join the partisan and Red Army’s fight against the Nazis.


==Establishment of the FPO==
However, the FPO did not succeed in its mission. In early 1943, the Germans caught a resistance member in the forest and the ], in response to German threats, gave Wittenberg over to the ]. The FPO was able to rescue him through an armed struggle and were then able to set up a small ]. The Judenrat did not tolerate this, though, because the Nazis constantly put pressure on them to end the resistance or face liquidation. The Judenrat knew that Jews were smuggling weapons into the ghetto and when a Jew was arrested for the purchase of a ], they finally gave the people an ultimatum. The Judenrat turned the people against the resistance members by making them seem like selfish enemies who were provoking the Nazis. Gens emphasized the people’s responsibility for one another. He said that resistance was sacrificing the good of the community. In the end, the people confronted the resistance and demanded their right to live. The resistance would not fire on the other Jews and they were eventually disarmed and arrested.
The FPO was formed on January 21, 1942, in the Vilna Ghetto. It took on the motto: ''"We will not allow them to take us ]."'' This was the first Jewish resistance organization established in the ghettos of Nazi-occupied Europe in World War II,<ref>Israel Gutman. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1998. P. 104-105</ref> followed by ] in August 1942.<ref name="sztetl.org">{{cite web | url=http://www.sztetl.org.pl/en/article/lachwa/5,history/ | title=Łachwa Jewish community. History | publisher=] | work=] | access-date=May 26, 2012 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402234421/http://www.sztetl.org.pl/en/article/lachwa/5,history/ | archive-date=April 2, 2012 }}</ref> Unlike in other ghettos – where the underground resistance was coordinated to some extent with the officials of the local Jewish establishment – Vilna's ], head of the ghetto, cooperated with German officials in stopping armed resistance. The FPO brought together ], right-wing ], Communists/Marxists and ]s. It was headed by ], ], and ].<ref>Dina Porat, ''The Fall of a Sparrow: The Life and Times of Abba Kovner'' (Palo Alto, Stanford University Press, 2009). {{ISBN|978-0804762489}}.
pp. 76=105</ref>


The goals of the FPO were to establish self-defense in the ghetto, to sabotage German industrial and military activities and to join the partisan and ]’s fight against the Nazis.<ref>, ] Collection, 1996.</ref> ], the movement's leader, and 17 members of the local Zionist group ], stationed at a Polish Catholic ] for an order of ], sheltered from the Nazis by Mother Superior ],<ref name="yadvashem"> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181030125903/http://www1.yadvashem.org/righteous_new/Borkowska.html |date=October 30, 2018 }} '']''</ref> who was the first to supply hand grenades and other weapons to the Vilnius ghetto underground.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=1135969507|title=The Encyclopedia of the Holocaust|last1=Rozett|first1=Robert|last2=Spector|first2=Shmuel|publisher=Routledge|year=2013|isbn=978-1-57958-307-1|location=New York City|pages=152}}</ref>
⚫ When the Nazis came to liquidate the ghetto in 1943, the members of the FPO again congregated. Gens took control of the liquidation so as to rid the ghetto of the Germans, but helped fill the quota of Jews with those who would fight but were not necessarily part of the resistance. The FPO fled to the forest.

==Crushing of the revolt==
The FPO did not succeed in its mission. In early 1943, the Germans caught a resistance member in the forest. The ], one of the widely used administrative agencies imposed by ], in response to German threats, gave Wittenberg over to the ]. The ''Fareynikte Partizaner Organizatsye'' organized an uprising. The FPO was able to rescue Wittenberg through an armed struggle and then set up a small ].<ref>], '']'', ], 2017, pp. 85–86.</ref> The Judenrat did not tolerate this, because the Nazis gave them an ultimatum to end the resistance or face extermination. The Judenrat knew that Jews were smuggling weapons into the ghetto and when a Jew was arrested for buying a revolver, they finally gave the FPO an order to withdraw.{{fact|date=November 2024}} The Judenrat turned the people against the resistance members by making them seem like selfish enemies who were provoking the Nazis.{{fact|date=November 2024}} ] emphasized the people's responsibility for one another, saying that resistance was sacrificing the good of the community.{{fact|date=November 2024}} As the Germans demanded that Wittenberg should be handed over to them, the Judenrat and Gens convinced the majority of the inhabitants of the ghetto to acquiesce to that request, arguing that tens of thousands should not be sacrificed for the sake of one man. As people assembled insisting that Wittenberg should be given to the Germans, he agreed to surrender to the Gestapo and was found dead in his cell on the next morning, having committed suicide according to most accounts. Discouraged by the attitude of the population of the ghetto, the FPO decided not to resist there and began to gradually relocate to the forests.<ref>'']'', ], Pan Books, pp. 637–638, </ref><ref>, Rodopi, Robert van Voren, pp. 102–104</ref>

⚫ When the Nazis came to liquidate the ghetto in 1943, the members of the FPO again congregated. Gens took control of the liquidation so as to rid the ghetto of the Germans, but helped fill the quota of Jews with those who would fight but were not necessarily part of the resistance. The FPO fled to the forest, where most were able to reach ] units. FPO members participated in the ] led by the Soviet army in July 1944.<ref name="Yad Vashem" />

==Survivors==
Fania Brantsovsky, 22 May 1922 - 22 September 2024 (aged 102), was the last known surviving member of the Fareynikte Partizaner Organizatsye. Remaining in Lithuania after the war, she served as the Vilnius ] Institute's librarian, and a beloved teacher there, lifelong advocate for the memory and legacy of the culture and heritage of the once illustrious Jewish Lithuanian community.<ref>https://www.jta.org/2024/09/23/obituaries/fania-brantsovsky-vilna-ghetto-survivor-and-partisan-resistance-fighter-dies-at-101</ref>


== See also == == See also ==
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==References== == References ==
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⚫ * ], '']'' vol. 2, pp. 470-472. Illustration.

== Further reading ==
⚫ * ], '']'' vol. 2, pp.&nbsp;470–472. Illustration.


== External links == == External links ==
* from an online exhibition by ]
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* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060618080005/http://www.holocaustcenter.org/Holocaust/resistance.shtml |date=June 18, 2006 }}
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{{Holocaust Lithuania}}
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Latest revision as of 11:54, 25 November 2024

Jewish resistance organisation in Vilna Ghetto during World War II

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Abba Kovner (back row, centre) with members of the FPO in Vilna

The Fareynikte Partizaner Organizatsye (Yiddish: פֿאַראײניקטע פּאַרטיזאַנער אָרגאַניזאַציע‎; "United Partisan Organization"; Lithuanian: Jungtinė Partizanų Organizacija; referred to as FPO by its Yiddish initials) was a Jewish resistance organization based in the Vilna Ghetto in Lithuania that organized armed resistance against the Nazis during World War II. The clandestine organisation was established by communist and Zionist partisans. Their leaders were writer Abba Kovner, Josef Glazman and Yitzhak Wittenberg.

Establishment of the FPO

The FPO was formed on January 21, 1942, in the Vilna Ghetto. It took on the motto: "We will not allow them to take us like sheep to the slaughter." This was the first Jewish resistance organization established in the ghettos of Nazi-occupied Europe in World War II, followed by Łachwa underground in August 1942. Unlike in other ghettos – where the underground resistance was coordinated to some extent with the officials of the local Jewish establishment – Vilna's Jacob Gens, head of the ghetto, cooperated with German officials in stopping armed resistance. The FPO brought together Socialist Zionists, right-wing Revisionist Zionists, Communists/Marxists and Bundists. It was headed by Yitzhak Wittenberg, Josef Glazman, and Abba Kovner.

The goals of the FPO were to establish self-defense in the ghetto, to sabotage German industrial and military activities and to join the partisan and Red Army’s fight against the Nazis. Abe (Abba) Kovner, the movement's leader, and 17 members of the local Zionist group Hashomer Hatzair, stationed at a Polish Catholic convent for an order of Dominican Sisters, sheltered from the Nazis by Mother Superior Anna Borkowska (Sister Bertranda), who was the first to supply hand grenades and other weapons to the Vilnius ghetto underground.

Crushing of the revolt

The FPO did not succeed in its mission. In early 1943, the Germans caught a resistance member in the forest. The Judenrat, one of the widely used administrative agencies imposed by Nazi Germany, in response to German threats, gave Wittenberg over to the Gestapo. The Fareynikte Partizaner Organizatsye organized an uprising. The FPO was able to rescue Wittenberg through an armed struggle and then set up a small militia. The Judenrat did not tolerate this, because the Nazis gave them an ultimatum to end the resistance or face extermination. The Judenrat knew that Jews were smuggling weapons into the ghetto and when a Jew was arrested for buying a revolver, they finally gave the FPO an order to withdraw. The Judenrat turned the people against the resistance members by making them seem like selfish enemies who were provoking the Nazis. Jacob Gens emphasized the people's responsibility for one another, saying that resistance was sacrificing the good of the community. As the Germans demanded that Wittenberg should be handed over to them, the Judenrat and Gens convinced the majority of the inhabitants of the ghetto to acquiesce to that request, arguing that tens of thousands should not be sacrificed for the sake of one man. As people assembled insisting that Wittenberg should be given to the Germans, he agreed to surrender to the Gestapo and was found dead in his cell on the next morning, having committed suicide according to most accounts. Discouraged by the attitude of the population of the ghetto, the FPO decided not to resist there and began to gradually relocate to the forests.

When the Nazis came to liquidate the ghetto in 1943, the members of the FPO again congregated. Gens took control of the liquidation so as to rid the ghetto of the Germans, but helped fill the quota of Jews with those who would fight but were not necessarily part of the resistance. The FPO fled to the forest, where most were able to reach Soviet partisan units. FPO members participated in the Vilnius Offensive led by the Soviet army in July 1944.

Survivors

Fania Brantsovsky, 22 May 1922 - 22 September 2024 (aged 102), was the last known surviving member of the Fareynikte Partizaner Organizatsye. Remaining in Lithuania after the war, she served as the Vilnius Yiddish Institute's librarian, and a beloved teacher there, lifelong advocate for the memory and legacy of the culture and heritage of the once illustrious Jewish Lithuanian community.

See also

References

  1. ^ Yad Vashem Shoah Resource Center, The International School for Holocaust Studies. United Partisan Organization, Vilna.
  2. Israel Gutman. Resistance. The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1998. P. 104-105
  3. "Łachwa Jewish community. History". Virtual Shtetl. Museum of the History of Polish Jews. Archived from the original on April 2, 2012. Retrieved May 26, 2012.
  4. Dina Porat, The Fall of a Sparrow: The Life and Times of Abba Kovner (Palo Alto, Stanford University Press, 2009). ISBN 978-0804762489. pp. 76=105
  5. Oral history interview with Nusia Dlugi, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, 1996.
  6. The Righteous among the Nations: Anna Borkowska. Archived October 30, 2018, at the Wayback Machine Yad Vashem
  7. Rozett, Robert; Spector, Shmuel (2013). The Encyclopedia of the Holocaust. New York City: Routledge. p. 152. ISBN 978-1-57958-307-1.
  8. Asael Lubotzky, Not My Last Journey, Yedioth Ahronoth, 2017, pp. 85–86.
  9. Final Solution: The Fate of the Jews 1933–1949, David Cesarani, Pan Books, pp. 637–638, Read online
  10. Undigested Past: The Holocaust in Lithuania, Rodopi, Robert van Voren, pp. 102–104
  11. https://www.jta.org/2024/09/23/obituaries/fania-brantsovsky-vilna-ghetto-survivor-and-partisan-resistance-fighter-dies-at-101

Further reading

External links

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