New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth R. Hyman was a featured speaker of the Lee and Benard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival on Thursday, Nov. 6 at the Sandler Family Campus.
Hyman shared the story behind her new book, The Girl Bandits of the Warsaw Ghetto, which uncovers the incredible courage of Jewish women who assisted in leading the resistance inside the Warsaw Ghetto. The event drew an audience eager to learn more about the lesser-known female heroes whose bravery helped shape one of the most significant acts of Jewish resistance during the Holocaust.
The author took the audience through the process of how she pieced together these women’s lives through archival materials including letters, documents, and diaries. She described how these young female fighters smuggled weapons, transported letters, cared for the wounded, and played key roles in the uprising.
Hyman spoke about how the women used their youth and gender to move throughout the city in ways Jewish men could not.
Hyman emphasized the emotional weight of working with these materials, noting how every diary entry or fragment of a letter added another layer of humanity to stories that had long remained in the background of Holocaust history.
By the end of her talk, it was clear that Hyman had succeeded in restoring these women to the narrative where they have always belonged. The audience left with a renewed appreciation of their bravery and a deeper understanding of the complexities and sacrifices involved in resistance during one of history’s darkest moments.
The Lee and Bernard Jaffe Family Book Festival is presented by United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and Simon Family JCC.