RESIST NOW!
"Let us not go silently like sheep to the slaughter" - Abba Kovner, "The Vilna Ghetto Manifesto" (January 1, 1942)
Hello Dear Folks!
In the midst of our country’s increasingly endangered Democracy, and the existential necessity for us to resist fascism, it was an honor and pleasure to finally meet film producer and director, Julia Mintz in person after years of sharing info on FB about Female Anti-Nazi Resisters!
Simply put, her meticulously researched, powerful, and inspiring film, "Four Winters," is brilliant--and how often do I not find something to criticize? It’s a must-see that will warm your heart and give you hope that "ordinary" people can—and will—resist the perpetrators of death-dealing oppression.
It was particularly powerful for me to see my late friend, former partisan Faye Schulman, who is featured in the film, telling us her story from the big screen—just as she'd told it to me in her lovely Toronto living room so many years ago.
On the screen behind Julia and me, you can see beautiful Faye, 3rd from right top row, wearing the fabulous leopard fur coat that kept her warm and dry throughout the brutal Polish forest winter. For this image, Faye told me that she’d set her camera up on a tree stump and instructed one of her comrades about the exact moment to click the shutter! Her smile indicates that he did it correctly!
As she recounts in her chapter of my book, WOMEN OF VALOR: Polish Jewish Resisters to the Third Reich (2018), Faye’s life-saving leopard coat has an almost surreal backstory:
In the middle of the night following a explosive, fire-filled partisan raid on her now Nazi-occupied village, Faye and two comrades are the only ones walking down a dark, smoke-filled street . . .
“And then, a mystery lady who somehow knew who I was, comes out of nowhere, walks by, and gives me the beautiful leopard coat and hat that the Nazis had taken from me a year before. And this coat and hat would save my life by keeping me from freezing. On more than one morning, I woke up with it frozen to the ground−but I was warm and dry. It became like a protective friend to me.”
In the image below—also set up by Faye and snapped by a comrade—Faye demonstrates what she’s learned about holding a rifle.
{Image courtesy of Faye Schulman}
Here I am with Faye after our presentation to the Toronto Jewish Genealogy Society in 2014. As always, her ageless, penetrating eyes challenge us all to carry on the partisans’ legacy of resisting oppression.
Julia's delightful post-screening talk with the audience provided fascinating stories about her experiences making the film--and what they taught her. As a member of Jewish Nevada's International Jewish Film Festival’s film-selection committee, I am grateful to Festival Chair, Nancy Twining Weinberger, Festival Director, Neil Popish, and my fellow committee members, for bringing Julia and "Four Winters" to Las Vegas! And thank you, Julia Mintz, for devoting so much of your heart, soul, and years of labor to bring this film into the world.
For more info about the film and how you can bring it to your community, please go to: https://fourwintersfilm.com
For more true stories about Faye, as well as other female anti-Nazi resisters, please consider reading my book: WOMEN OF VALOR: Polish Jewish Resisters to the Third Reich (2018), which is available by order through your local bookstore or the usual online vendors. I welcome the opportunity to share their legacy through my books as well as through classroom projects, and speaking to groups via Zoom or in-person. www.joannedgilbert.com
Stay safe and be well everyone—and find out how you can take effective action to RESIST oppression by joining Indivisible. https://indivisible.org. Even if you can’t attend meetings, their informative website offers many outstanding opportunities for implementing resistance actions.
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ⓒ 2025 Joanne D. Gilbert.All rights reserved