Gertrude Boyarski
Born in 1922 in Derechin, Poland, Jewish teenager Gertrude Boyarski enjoyed a normal life with her family-until the German’s invaded. They were then incarcerated in the local ghetto-until on July 24, 1942, the Nazis began a massacre of 3000 Jews. Gertrude’s family, who lived close to the entrance, managed to escape and join partisans in the forest.
But the resistance took their toll and over the next few months, Gertrude watched as every member of her family died before her eyes while resisting the Nazis. Alone, Gertrude went to look for a group that would take on a female combatant. She finally met with a Russian partisan group who were willing to do so. The commanding officer was initially unwilling to take on a woman but when Gertrude told him: “I want to fight and take revenge for my whole family,” he agreed to test her resolve.
Gertrude was left alone on guard duty for two weeks. Situated in the forest a mile from the partisans’ camp, she had nothing but a gun to protect her. Although afraid, she did not give in. Gertrude passed the initiation and lived and fought with the group for 3 years.
Gertrude was true to her word about her revenge. She helped burn down bridges, impeding the German movement of people and supplies. Despite being fired upon by German soldiers while firing a bridge, Gertrude and her companion helped it along by tossing pieces of the burning bridge into the river.
Gertrude married a fellow partisan after the war and moved to the United States.