The common view is that the enemy had access to all available sources. On August 14, 1942, in the Polish village of Lenin, Nazi troops murdered 1,850 Jews. Only twenty-seven people were spared because they had useful professions. Since Faye Lazebnik knew photography, the commandant ordered her to work for him.
He gave her a camera and told her to develop the film after the photographs were taken. While looking at the images of the murdered people, she saw her mother, sisters, and brother lying in a large pit in one of the photographs being developed.
At that moment, Faye Lazebnik escaped from the horror by grabbing the camera and running into the forest. She took several more film plates with her and disappeared into the woods.
Faye became part of the Molotov brigade, a military unit of partisans who fought against the Nazis. Life as a partisan was difficult, and she survived because of her nursing skills. She helped the wounded and managed to get enough sleep while guarding the camp. Despite fear and hunger, Faye continued taking photographs of partisan attacks, camps, and battles.
With her camera, she managed to preserve evidence of the Holocaust and spread the message that the Jews did not surrender and continued fighting until the end. After the war, Faye married a partisan named Morris, and they moved to Canada. In 1995, she published a book containing all the photographs she had taken during the war.
She passed away from complications related to diabetes at nearly 100 years old.
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