Defiance

         Stankiewicze was the Bielski family's place of birth. They were raised here until they were old enough to marry and leave. This small village was also home to Belorussians. Later, the Bielskis were threatened by these Belorussian neighbors which forced some Bielskis to leave Stankiewicze. 

     Today, Stankiewicze has no main attractions and is probably a small village with a small population.

           Nowogrodek was the town in which Chaja Bielski, Asael's wife, lived before the establishment of a ghetto in this town. Once a ghetto was established in Nowogrodek, Chaja escaped to the Christian world where she was protected by friends. Later, she joined the Bielski otriad. Nowogrodek had a large ghetto established in which many Jews were kept. This ghetto, like the Lida ghetto, was the site of large, disastrous Atkions that resulted in a mass number of Jews murdered. 
     Today, Nowogrodek is called Navahrudek and it still has ruins of castles, burial mounds, monuments, and old cemeteries. Also, it is predominantly rural.

        The Nalibocka Forest was the site of the Bielski otriad community from the beginning of the year 1943 until their liberation in mid-year 1944. It was in this forest that Tuvia Bielski succesfully eluded the enemy and then proceeded to build a large community, complete with a headquarters, workshops, kitchens, homes, and bath houses. Although sometimes threatened by forces from outside and sometimes even from the inside, the Bielski otriad maintained a sense of calm and eliminated these threats. These things made the Bielski community in the forest a place where Jews could feel safe again.
       Today, Naliboki Forest with its surroundings, is one of the few regions of Belarus that has preserved certain features of pre-Soviet and pre-Russian culture. It is famous for its nature and rich history.

    

     In Defiance, Lida was the site of a large ghetto in which Jews were kept during the Russian-German War. Life was very difficult in ghettos such as this one. All Jews, whether man, woman, or child, were forced to do laborious work for long hours with no pay. Most of the time, these Jews would die due to starvation, exhaustion, overcrowding, or from just giving up and not wanting to go on anymore. Some Jews attempted to escape the ghetto. Attempts such as these during the day meant suicide. Night was an escaping Jew's best friend. Many Aktions occured in the Lida Ghetto. An Atkion was an un-announced, random murder of the ghetto residents. The Lida Ghetto Atkions in this story sometimes amounted up to thusands of peoples murdered viciously. Lida was a major ghetto in the story and one that Tuvia Bielski made numerous rescues from.

    Lida in present day is home to the Holy Cross Day Cathedral. Lida is also the site of Lida Castle, which was built in 1323 and still is today a popular tourist attraction. This castle is open all seasons and in the summer, kinghts' torunaments are held while in the winter, it becomes an ice skating rink.