Life-Saving World War II Story Comes Online, Thanks to Qwest Foundation Grant

Florida Holocaust Museum Hosts Online Bielski Brothers Exhibit, Brings “Defiance” Story to Millions

Courage and Compassion Web Site Home Page

DENVER – Oct. 27, 2009 – A pair of old work boots and a tattered shirt are generally considered junk. But when they were worn by a man who braved one of the most dangerous times in world history and another who stood beside him to save the lives of more than 1,200 people, those well-worn pieces of clothing take on new – and memorable – meaning.

In a new exhibit at the Florida Holocaust Museum, Yaacov Abramovich’s thin-soled boots and Tuvia Bielski’s ragged shirt can be seen alongside photographs, a typewriter and other artifacts used to chronicle Bielski and his two brothers' story of sheltering Abramovich and 1,249 Jews in the forests of their childhood as they fled Nazi occupation of what is now Belarus.

And the Web site built to support the exhibit, called “Courage and Compassion: The Legacy of the Bielski Brothers,” has been funded by a $40,000 grant from the Qwest Foundation.

Qwest employee Brendon Rennert is Bielski’s grandson and the driving force behind the exhibit that features his family’s life-saving legacy. “Because of what my grandfather did, there are generations alive today who wouldn’t have otherwise been here. It’s important to bring life to his story – if people don’t talk about it, they will forget about it.”

A 10-year volunteer with the Florida Holocaust Museum, Rennert spent months convincing his family, as well as survivors of the Bielski family camp – the name for the forest refugee community his grandfather and two great-uncles led from 1941 to 1944 – to donate their artifacts to the commemorative exhibit.

Many of those he approached didn’t think their items were worthy of inclusion. But Rennert persevered, saying, “They’re all a piece of the puzzle. They tell the story.”

Now that the Bielski exhibit is open in Tampa and drawing daily crowds, including schoolchildren who have written to Rennert, saying they’ll always remember his family’s incredible story, the Qwest Foundation donation has funded a new Web site to bring the exhibit to a worldwide audience.

Rennert’s excitement is evident as he contemplates using the Web site as a teachers’ guide, a history tutorial and an online home for the Bielski’s selfless acts. “It’s incredible that Qwest is doing this. It’s going to teach tens of thousands of people.”

The Bielski brothers’ notable heroism is online at http://www.courageandcompassionexhibit.com/. The site recently won the Honorable Mention award in the Website Consumer Category in the 39th Annual Creativity Awards. Winners were selected by a panel representing 36 countries and 32 U.S. states. The entry was considered to be an example of outstanding creativity and design.

The exhibit itself – complete with the typewriter the partisans’ historian used by the camp secretary to record the group’s military orders and actions – will travel across the country, visiting schools and museums.

Though Tuvia Bielski died in 1987, Rennert, who was extremely close to his grandfather, is proud of his family heritage and in awe of his grandfather’s modesty about his history. “My grandfather always said he’d be famous when he was dead. While he lived, he proved that anyone is capable of anything.”

About the Qwest Foundation
The Qwest Foundation's core principle is that investing in people and communities provides lasting value for the future. The Qwest Foundation awards grants to community-based programs that generate high-impact and measurable results, focusing on pre-K through grade 12 education.



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