If you think your apartment is small, check out the 3-D models of these zemlyankas used by Jewish resistance fighters during WWII. A full third of one of these underground shelters was used for storing a winter’s worth of potatoes, narrates Larry King (who is anything but a common tater…ooh, such a bad joke) as part of the Jewish Partisan Educational Foundation‘s revamped site dedicated to those Jews who fought back against the Nazis.
Contrary to popular notion, not all Jews went quietly to their death during World War II. More than 30,000 Jewish partisans (or resistance fighters) escaped from ghettos and work camps and fought against the Nazis, blowing up trains and bridges and saving thousands of Jews from certain death. Many partisans were teenagers and female.
We dig JPEF’s work to temper the victimization of Jews in history with stories of tough, ass-kickin’ girls and boys. The organization is currently developing a curriculum (Teachers! Download here!) to teach secular and Jewish 7th-12th graders more with their super-savvy interactive materials (seriously, this site is so very cool.)