“I want people to know that there was resistance. Jews did not go like sheep to the slaughter. I was a photographer. I have pictures. I have proof.” — Faye Schulman

Few individuals left behind such powerful visual evidence of Jewish resistance during the Holocaust as Faye Schulman. A photographer, nurse, partisan fighter, survivor, and educator, Schulman devoted her life to ensuring that the world understood that Jews resisted Nazi persecution in countless ways. Through her courage and determination, she preserved a unique photographic record of Jewish partisan life in Eastern Europe during World War II. Her photographs and testimony continue to challenge misconceptions about Jewish passivity during the Holocaust and serve as enduring proof of resilience, resistance, and survival.

Faye Schulman was born Faigel Lazebnik on November 28, 1919, in the town of Lenin, Poland, now located in Belarus. Lenin was a small town of approximately 10,000 residents, nearly half of whom were Jewish. Jewish life flourished there through religious institutions, businesses, schools, and community organizations. Schulman grew up in a warm and close-knit family as one of six children. Her father, Yakov, was a businessman known for his generosity toward those in need. Her mother, Rayzel, worked as a cook, earning income by preparing food for Polish military officers stationed in the area.

From an early age, Schulman displayed curiosity, determination, and creativity. Her older brother Moishe owned a photography studio and recognized her interest in the profession. When Schulman was just ten years old, Moishe began teaching her the technical aspects of photography. She learned how to prepare photographic chemicals, develop film, and assist in the darkroom. These skills were uncommon for a young girl in a small Polish town, but Schulman mastered them quickly. By the age of sixteen, she was entrusted with operating Moishe’s photography studio in the nearby town of Luniniec. Photography became both her profession and her passion, though she could never have imagined that these skills would one day save her life.

The peaceful world of Schulman’s youth was shattered by the outbreak of World War II when Nazi Germany invaded Poland in September 1939. Initially, Lenin came under Soviet control, but in June 1941, Germany launched Operation Barbarossa, breaking its non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union and invading Soviet-held territories.

The Nazis quickly occupied Lenin and imposed harsh anti-Jewish measures. Jewish residents were forced into a ghetto, stripped of their rights, and subjected to increasing persecution. Like countless other Jewish communities across Eastern Europe, the Jews of Lenin faced an uncertain and terrifying future.

That future arrived with devastating force on August 14, 1942, when German forces and their collaborators carried out the mass murder of the Jews of the Lenin Ghetto. Approximately 1,850 Jews were rounded up and executed. Among those murdered were Schulman’s parents, her sisters, and her younger brothers. Nearly her entire family was wiped out in a single day.

Only 26 Jews were spared. Schulman was among them.

The Nazis recognized the value of Schulman’s photography skills and decided to keep her alive. In a cruel and horrifying irony, they ordered her to develop photographs documenting the massacre they had just committed. Forced to process images of the murder of her own community, Schulman confronted unimaginable trauma. Amid this horror, she resolved that if she survived, she would bear witness to what had happened.

Life after the massacre was precarious. The remaining Jewish survivors were kept alive only because the Germans believed they could be useful. Schulman understood that survival under Nazi control was temporary. Escape was the only chance.

An opportunity came during a partisan raid on the town. Soviet partisans attacked the area, creating confusion and opening a path to freedom. Under cover of darkness, Schulman and several others fled into the forests surrounding Lenin. The forests of Eastern Europe had become a refuge for thousands of resistance fighters, escaped prisoners of war, and Jews seeking survival.

Reaching the forest was only the beginning of another struggle. Life as a partisan was harsh and dangerous. Food was scarce, shelter was primitive, and German anti-partisan operations posed a constant threat. Schulman eventually joined the Molotava Brigade, a partisan unit composed largely of escaped Soviet Red Army prisoners of war. Schulman faced another challenge in the Molotova Brigade, as her detachment, Shish, had many antisemitic members. Forced to conceal her Jewish identity, she lived in daily fear of discovery. Nevertheless, during Passover, she avoided eating bread, even knowing that this might reveal her Judaism to others and result in expulsion from the group or worse.

At first, the brigade hesitated to accept her. Most partisan groups were military organizations focused on combat, and resources were limited. However, Schulman’s brother-in-law had been a physician, and the group desperately needed medical assistance. Though she had no formal medical training, she was accepted into the brigade as a nurse.

From September 1942 until July 1944, Schulman served as a medical caregiver to wounded partisans. The camp’s doctor was trained as a veterinarian, highlighting the desperate conditions under which the resistance operated. Schulman learned quickly and adapted to her responsibilities. She treated wounds, assisted with surgeries, cared for the sick, and helped save lives under primitive and often dangerous conditions.

Yet nursing was only one of Schulman’s contributions. During a raid on Lenin, she managed to recover photographic equipment and supplies—including cameras, film, chemicals, and other materials—from her former studio. Realizing the historical significance of what she was witnessing, she resumed her work as a photographer.

Photography in the forest was difficult and risky. Equipment had to be hidden during military operations. Schulman often buried her camera and tripod before missions to protect them from damage or capture. Developing photographs required ingenuity. She processed negatives under blankets to create makeshift darkrooms and used sunlight to produce prints during the day.

Despite these challenges, Schulman photographed life among the partisans for nearly two years. She documented fighters preparing for missions, tending to wounds, resting around campfires, celebrating victories, and mourning losses. Her photographs captured moments of humanity amid the brutality of war. Unlike many wartime images taken by governments or military organizations, Schulman’s photographs offered an intimate view of resistance from within.

Most importantly, Schulman’s photographs provided visual proof that Jews fought back. The images challenged one of the most persistent myths about the Holocaust—that Jews passively accepted their fate. In reality, Jewish resistance took many forms, including armed struggle, sabotage, underground education, cultural preservation, rescue efforts, and spiritual defiance. Schulman’s photographs became powerful evidence of armed Jewish resistance in the forests of Eastern Europe. Today, she is recognized as one of the only known Jewish partisan photographers of World War II.

As the war turned against Germany, Soviet forces advanced westward. In July 1944, the region where Schulman’s brigade operated was liberated. After nearly two years in the forest, she emerged alive.

Liberation, however, did not erase the pain of loss. Returning home meant confronting the destruction of Jewish communities that had existed for centuries. Entire families, neighborhoods, and traditions had vanished.

After the war, Faye married Morris Schulman, a fellow Jewish partisan survivor. Together, they attempted to rebuild their lives. Faye returned to Pinsk as a photojournalist, and Morris became a high-ranking government accountant. Although they enjoyed respect as decorated Soviet partisans, remaining in Poland proved emotionally difficult. The towns and cities where they had once lived were filled with memories of murdered relatives and destroyed communities. Schulman later described the region as feeling like “a graveyard.” 

Seeking a new beginning, Faye and Morris left Poland and moved to the Landsberg Displaced Persons Camp in Germany. Like thousands of Holocaust survivors, they spent several years waiting for an opportunity to emigrate. Life in the camps was challenging, but it also offered hope for a future beyond the devastation of Europe.

The Schulmans first hoped to emigrate to British Mandate Palestine, but, like many Holocaust survivors, they were denied entry. In 1948, they immigrated to Canada and settled in Toronto, where they built a new life and raised a family. They had two children and eventually six grandchildren.

For many years, Schulman focused on family and community. Yet she never forgot her responsibility as a witness. As public interest in Holocaust history grew, she increasingly shared her experiences with students, educators, scholars, and community groups.

Through lectures and interviews, Schulman spoke about the destruction of her family, her experiences as a partisan nurse, and the importance of documenting history. In 1995, Schulman published her autobiography, A Partisan’s Memoir: Woman of the Holocaust. 

Schulman’s message remained remarkably consistent throughout her life. She wanted people to know that Jews resisted. She wanted people to know that courage existed even in the darkest circumstances. And she wanted people to know that photographs could preserve truth when memory alone might not be enough.

Schulman often emphasized that her camera was a weapon against forgetting. Every image she captured represented an act of defiance against Nazi efforts to erase Jewish lives and communities. The photographs preserved faces, friendships, struggles, and acts of resistance that might otherwise have disappeared from history.

To share her images with a worldwide audience, Schulman partnered with the Jewish Partisan Educational Foundation to curate a traveling exhibition of her photographs, Pictures of Resistance: The Wartime Photography of Jewish Partisan Faye Schulman, which has traveled the world from Cape Town to Seattle. In 2023, the Jewish Partisan Educational Foundation broadened access to her photographs with its virtual display of the exhibit, narrated by Schulman and award-winning actor Jason Isaacs, and now offers an accompanying classroom lesson plan for educators.

As one of the last surviving Jewish partisan photographers, Schulman became a vital link to a generation that witnessed and resisted genocide firsthand. Her work has been featured in books, documentaries, museums, and Holocaust education programs around the world. Educators frequently use her photographs to teach students about resistance, survival, and the importance of preserving historical evidence.

Faye Schulman died on April 24, 2021, in Toronto, Canada, surrounded by her family. She was 101 years old.

Today, Faye Schulman’s legacy endures through both her photographs and her words. Together, they form an irreplaceable historical record of Jewish resistance during the Holocaust. The Nazis attempted to destroy her family, her community, and her people. Instead, Faye survived, fought back, and created a visual testimony that continues to inspire and educate. Through her lens, the world can see not only the tragedy of the Holocaust but also the courage, determination, and resilience of those who resisted.

As long as her photographs are viewed and her story is told, Faye Schulman’s mission continues: to ensure that the truth is remembered and that the world knows that Jews fought back.