Career
He was also known as Arczyk Bielski. The youngest of the four Bielski brothers, he is the only one still living (Asael died in 1945, Tuvia in 1987, and Alexander ("Zus") in 1995). The Bielski family were farmers in Stankiewicze near Navahrudak in present-day Belarus, an area that at the beginning of the Second World War belonged to the Second Polish Republic.
In September 1939 was seized by the Soviet Union, which was then allied with Nazi Germany.
After German Operation Barbarossa, Aron"s brothers created a notable resistance organization, the Bielski partisans group. Nechama Tec, who wrote a book about them, had the following to say about Aron: "Occasionally in the forest he acted as a guide.
Those I spoke to agree that his participation and impact on the life of the Bielski otriad was minimal, almost nonexistent." While Nechama was not able to interview Aron, he was interviewed by Peter Duffy in Duffy"s book That author, in the second authoritative book about the Bielski partisans, mentions Aron about 30 times and lists him as one of the important sources for the book
Duffy also interviewed Bell for the article "Heroes Among Us" (2000) published in The New York Times.
After the war, Bielski returned to communist-dominated Poland but soon afterward immigrated to the British Mandate of Palestine. He drove and then owned two trucks in New York City. In February 2008, they reached a plea deal whereby they agreed to pay $260,000 back to Zaniewska, who was able to return to Florida.
George MacKay portrayed Aron in the film Defiance (2008), which has been criticised in Poland due to its omission of the alleged involvement of the Bielski group in a massacre of Polish civilians conducted by Soviet-aligned partisans in Naliboki.
The Bielski partisan group was the subject of an official inquiry by the Polish Institute of National Remembrance"s Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation after witnesses testified that Bielski partisans were among the perpetrators of the Naliboki massacre. However, the investigation found no conclusive evidence linking the Bielski group to the crime.
