History of Sorts

Joanne D. Gilbert, M.Ed., is an acclaimed author, sought-after educator, and captivating public speaker. Raised in the close-knit community of Oak Park, Michigan—a predominantly Jewish suburb of Detroit—Joanne was surrounded by individuals whose lives bore witness to extraordinary resilience. Many of her neighbors were Holocaust survivors who had courageously defied the Nazis. Their poignant and powerful stories ignited a lifelong passion in Joanne to uncover, honor, and share tales of triumphant resistance against the Third Reich.

Joanne grew up in Oak Park, Michigan, a vibrant, predominantly Jewish suburb of Detroit that became a refuge for many Holocaust survivors after World War II. These courageous individuals carried with them stories of survival, resilience, and defiance that profoundly shaped Joanne’s worldview.

At the heart of her inspiration was her beloved grandmother, Millie Wineman Ron. Millie had escaped Vilna, Lithuania, just before the Nazis annihilated its Jewish community—a narrow survival that haunted her with guilt over the family she left behind. Her vivid recollections sparked in Joanne a deep curiosity about her relatives’ fates, their possible acts of resistance, and whether their non-Jewish neighbors had tried to intervene.

In 2012, driven by a quest for answers, Joanne embarked on a transformative journey. Her research and interviews took her across the United States, Canada, and Europe, uncovering hidden narratives of bravery and resistance. The culmination of her work was her first book, the award-winning Women of Valor: Polish Jewish Resisters to the Third Reich, published in 2014 to widespread acclaim. Its second edition, released in 2018, continues to garner praise.

Joanne’s second book, A Victory for Miriam! The Little Jewish Girl Who Defied the Nazis, published in 2019, also received outstanding reviews for its compelling storytelling and historical significance.

Now, Joanne is preparing to release her third book, Women of Valor: French Resisters to the Third Reich, set for publication in 2025.

Through her work, Joanne is passionately dedicated to preserving the legacies of the young women who bravely—and successfully—defied the Nazis. These extraordinary women not only survived the horrors of the Holocaust but also went on to lead long, loving, and meaningful lives devoted to their families and to ensuring the remembrance of their experiences.

-Taken from “Women of Valor: Polish Jewish Resisters to the Third Reich”-

“Let us not go like sheep to the slaughter—The only reply to a murderer is resistance. . . it is better to die as free fighters than to live at the mercy of killers. Resist, resist, to our last breath.” — ABBA KOVNER (1918-1987) JEWISH PARTISAN LEADER, WRITER, POET DESPITE BEING LABELED HISTORICALLY—AND INACCURATELY—AS “THE weaker sex,” women have had a long history of resisting oppression and fighting successfully for survival, even against seemingly impossible odds. Countless role models of courageous, strong, and successful women stand in striking contrast to their image of being weaker and less brave than men. It is particularly evident in circumstances that involve protecting themselves and their loved ones against a deadly enemy. For almost 1,000 years, Polish Jewish and Gentile and Gentile women grew up near each other, albeit in many ways, worlds apart, within a country that had a long and rich history of valiant women. The following very brief overview of the cultural legacies of these heroic women provides insight into what might have influenced them to defy the Nazis.

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