The unlikely story of a Jewish engineer and musician from Ukraine<\/a> who became a World War II guerilla war hero \u2014 and the discovery of resistance songs he left behind \u2014 is the latest subject of a book by a UNC Charlotte professor.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The book by musicology professor James Grymes<\/a> was released on Tuesday, Jan. 27, to coincide with International Holocaust Remembrance Day<\/a>. What\u2019s more, you can hear that music next month in Charlotte, including songs that have not been heard publicly since they were written in the midst of the Holocaust over 80 years ago.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Grymes\u2019 book, \u201cPartisan Song:<\/a> A Holocaust Story of Resilience, Resistance, and Revenge,\u201d focuses on Moshe \u201cUncle Misha\u201d Gildenman, a civil engineer and musician from the tiny village of Korets, Ukraine. Gildenman led one of the most successful partisan units to help liberate Ukraine from Nazi control during WWII.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Partisan resistance fighters in WWII, civilians or former military members who were not part of the regular armed forces of the Allies, used guerilla tactics to fight Nazis behind enemy lines.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The music that animated Gildenman\u2019s life and that of his fellow partisans is also at the heart of Grymes\u2019 new book.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Two nights of storytelling and music inspired by Grymes\u2019 research will take place in the next couple of months. Grymes will share selections from his new book and the University Chorale of UNC Charlotte<\/a> will perform songs in Yiddish and Russian \u2014 including two pieces Gildenman wrote from the ghetto and forest urging others to take up arms against the Nazis.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Grymes reconstructed those works and arranged other popular war songs for the chorale to perform.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The first concert takes place Feb. 26 in Charlotte at Temple Beth El.<\/a> The event is free; advanced registration is required.<\/a> The second concert is on March 9 at the Center for Jewish History<\/a> in New York City.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Grymes spoke to The Charlotte Observer recently about Gildenman, \u201cPartisan Song\u201d and how the book\u2019s themes of hope and perseverance during the darkest of times continue to resonate.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n For most of his life, Gildenman (1898-1958) was a pacifist and civic leader in Korets. He wrote operettas and musicals for the local theater group, and conducted the band and orchestra at the village\u2019s Jewish school.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He had never even picked up a weapon before the Nazis invaded his homeland in 1941<\/a>. Then, on a single day in May 1942, the Nazis murdered 2,200 Jews in his village, including Gildenman\u2019s wife and daughter.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Convinced his own days were numbered, Gildenman vowed revenge.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n A few months later, Gildenman managed to escape the ghetto and headed into the forest with a small group of people, including his son and nephew. When they left, the dozen partisans only had one revolver, five bullets and a butcher\u2019s knife between them.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Over time, though, they acquired more weapons through ambushes and attacks. The group grew slightly but gained an outsized reputation because of their successful attacks.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Eventually, the members joined up with Soviet partisans. Gildenman was given his own detachment to command, which became known as Uncle Misha\u2019s Jewish Group. Although the name and separate unit were more likely signs of antisemitism than respect, the group wore the distinction as a badge of honor, Grymes said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Gildenman\u2019s story, and that of the men, women and children partisans he led during the war are at the center of Grymes\u2019 book. They went on more than 150 combat missions involving sabotage, espionage, propaganda and, later, strategic rebuilding of bridges for the Soviet Army on the way to Berlin.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The book is also a look at the enduring power of music: how it inspired and connected Gildenman and the partisans in the forest, how they used it as a form of propaganda and what it signified as an expression of their culture.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Grymes took the title from a famous Jewish resistance song written in Yiddish in 1943 in the Polish ghetto of Vilna, \u201cZog nit keyn mol<\/a>.\u201d It means \u201cNever Say That You Are Walking the Final Road\u201d and became known as \u201cThe Partisan Song,\u201d an anthem of perseverance and defiance for Jews across Europe.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"Moshe](\"https:\/\/www.charlotteobserver.com\/public\/latest-news\/s9xc26\/picture314461317\/alternates\/FREE_1140\/Gildenman_in_Uniform.jpg\" "\\"Gildenman_in_Uniform.jpg\\"")
![\"UNC](\"https:\/\/www.charlotteobserver.com\/public\/news\/local\/2kgvg6\/picture314434008\/alternates\/FREE_1140\/clt_jaygrymes004_12326.jpg\" "\\"clt_jaygrymes004_12326.jpg\\"")
Who was Moshe Gildenman?<\/h2>\n
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![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.charlotteobserver.com\/public\/latest-news\/wvlg8p\/picture314449825\/alternates\/FREE_1140\/09A%20-%20Attack%20by%20Soviet%20partisans.jpeg\" "\\"09A")
![\"Soviet](\"https:\/\/www.charlotteobserver.com\/public\/latest-news\/kudbsp\/picture314449851\/alternates\/FREE_1140\/08B%20-%20Soviet%20partisans%20setting%20up%20an%20ambush.jpg\" "\\"08B")