The Light of Days: Women Fighters of the Jewish Resistance – A New York Times Bestseller

The sadly largely unknown stories of female resistance fighters from Hitler’s ghettos of the Second World War. A must read book - but not an easy read. This book takes us back to the time & introduces us to the people involved on a personal level. Very well researched, written, insightful, moving, disturbing, & thought provoking.The events & times it writes of are “difficult” indeed horrible - but I also see courage & most importantly hope. We need to read & learn from this work. At times I could not put the book down, at times I had to put it down.We must honour the memory of those that gave so much, to learn so we know what happened & gain understanding for today & tomorrow. Victory takes many forms, as sadly so does loss. There is a selection of photos, the last is my favourite.It is amazing these stories are not better known. That lack of knowledge speaks volumes about society & indeed us. The ladies are true heros. Do buy a copy & read it & discuss it with friends & family. To the Author I say Thank You.

The powerful images of the suffering of so many Jews particularly those being driven to slaughter gives the impression that the Jews did not resist. At times, over the years, seeing these images one could believe that the Jews did not resist. That is not true. The Jews did resist but very little is written about Jewish resistance in comparison to Jewish suffering. This book, The Light of Days, helps to rectify this incorrect impression. The story of the courage of so many women, up to now neglected, is well researched and well told. Judy Batalion has written a powerful story which reminds us that resistance did happen and can be in many forms.

C'est le hasard qui a mis entre les mains de Mme Batalion un petit livre en yiddisch, passé inaperçu et vite oublié après la 2e guerre mondiale. Il parlait des filles des ghettos juifs de la Pologne occupée par les nazis, des filles qui avaient préféré le combat au découragement et à la soumission. Ce n'était pas, pour lors, un sujet très "vendeur". Des années de recherches de Mme Batalion permettent de sortir de l'ombre et peut-être de sauver de l'oubli les noms de quelques-unes de ces filles, dont certaines ont vécu leurs derniers instants en faisant feu, parfois des deux mains. Il est bon qu'on rende justice aux braves.

A great and also poignant read. And unputdownable.Highly recommended.

This is a story that fills a gap. In one of the chapters towards the end of the book, the author briefly explores why the gap came to be. This is a story of female resistance. It is about much more than the role that very young brave women played in ghetto uprisings in Poland during the War. It is a story inescapably intertwined not only in the daily horrors of the Holocaust, but also revelatory of the conflicting views on how to react, from political controversies to ethical dilemmas, between fight or flight, collaboration or resistance, aid or profit in the face of human despair, and many other critical life or death choices. Choices that were unthinkable one day and would become unavoidable the next. In the midst of it all, the women whose accomplishments fill this book confronted these choices head-on. This is such a particularly powerful story because it is told through their voices. Not surprisingly, that is what lies at the core of why it has taken so long to be heard. This is a book that is harsh, real, and necessary.