During the darkest hours of World War II, three Russian bothers achieved the impossible: they transformed persecution and violence into an incredible tale of affirmation and survival. Living in the Soviet Republic of Belorussia, Tuvia, Asael, and Zus Bielski fled to the woods to escape the Nazis. There they built an elaborate village for rescued Jews. The forest haven included a bakery, communal bath, synagogue, and even a theater company. Although they mounted guerrilla attacks against the enemy, their priority was saving their people. Tuvia often declared he would "rather save one old Jewish woman than kill ten Nazis."

The Bielskis saved 1,200 men, women, and children-easily the largest rescue of Jews by Jews during World War II-but until now their story has gone largely untold.

Including interviews with Bielski Brigade survivors in the United States, Israel, and Great Britain, History recognizes three of the greatest heroes of the Holocaust.