Attempts at Rescue and-Revolt in Yad Vashem Studies, Volume XX

Attempts at Rescue and Revolt - Attitude of Members of the Dror Youth Movement in Bedzin to Foreign Passports as Means of Rescue

The young Zionist leaders from Bedzin were faced with the dilemma of choosing between preparations for struggle or escape through rescue efforts supported from abroad. The examination of Bedzin as a case study is facilitated by the large number of letters, diaries, and testimonies that have been preserved. The rescue possibilities for Bedzin’s Jews were better than in other places due to their proximity to Slovakia, and contacts with Zionist groups from Czestochowa in the Generalgouvernement. The options were emigration to Palestine, escape to Slovakia, or obtaining foreign passports with the aid of the Geneva rescue office. Zariz analyzes the rescue efforts of Dror and other Zionist youth movements during the period of the deportations and Nazi Aktions of 1942/43 and their revolt in August 1943.