Jewish partisans

For Jewish rebels in ancient Judea, see Maccabees and Zealots (Judea).

Members of the Fareynikte Partizaner Organizatsye, active in the Vilna Ghetto

Jewish partisan in Poland turned Soviet Lt. Charles Thau (center, looking into camera), after linking up with US Army troops, on 25 April 1945 at the Elbe River

Jewish partisans were fighters in irregular military groups participating in the Jewish resistance movement against Nazi Germany and its collaborators during World War II.

A number of Jewish partisan groups operated across Nazi-occupied Europe, some made up of a few escapees from the Jewish ghettos or concentration camps, while others, such as Bielski partisans, numbered in the hundreds and included women and children. They were most numerous in Eastern Europe, but groups also existed in occupied France and Belgium, where they worked with the local resistance. Many individual Jewish fighters took part in the other partisan movements in other occupied countries. Some individual Jewish fighters, like Chaim Thau, a Polish survivor who was discovered by Red Army combatants, actually joined up with the Soviets on their advance to Berlin, linking up with US forces along the way.

In total, the Jewish partisans numbered between 20,000 and 30,000.