In 1938, Leo Bretholz, age 17 , fled, hid, crossed and recrossed national borders, was captured, escaped, recaptured, sent on the death train to Auschwitz, escaped again and finally fought the Nazis as a member of "La Sixieeme", a Jewish resistance group in France , until WW II ended in 1945. A seven year E&E in an evil hostile environment. He died March 8, 2014.
Bretholz's 1999 autobiography, "Leap into Darkness: Seven Years On the Run In Wartime Europe" , is a gripping textbook of survival in a European ( read Western Civilization), mostly urban , 20th Century world, gone collectively sociopathic.
If, heaven forbid, the SHTF in the U.S. or another Western nation, life is likely to be analogous to Bretholz 's 1938-1945 world. Forget your Mad Max, escape to wilds, live off the land scenario. This is the real deal.

Thanks, I've now got this one on my list of books to buy.

Bummer, no Kindle edition

Russ, thanx for the correction. Sorry that detail slipped past me. I'll make the correction.

I've got my copy ordered.

Not necessarily, this is the real deal as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1cM9wJo1Lc

With some more "real deal" detail on one of the partisan groups in Belarus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lE46oEXXs58

When they finally disbanded, there were about 1200 men, women and children in their partisan band.

I am very familiar with the history of the Bielski Otraid. They were guerrilla partisans, who lived with the assistance , willing and unwilling, of the rural peasant farmers surrounding them and supplied and were supplied by Soviet (non Jewish) partisan groups. They were led, thank providence, by four very tough Jews , who were experienced as farmers, millers, woodsmen, fighters and smugglers , an honorable profession, just ask John Hancock and many of our other Founding Fathers.

Unknowingly, they followed Mao's dictum that the guerrilla lives as a fish supported by the sea of peasants, albeit they were neither communists nor socialists in the common understanding of those ideologies. The Otriad recreated a small industry based Jewish shtetl , in the midst of the forest, fought to defend it and saved more Jews than even Oscar Schndler. But, they did not live off the "land" as in the bug out fantasy scenarios we keep hearing from "survivalists".

I suggest to you two fine books detailing the history of the Bielski Otriad. The earliest academic history by Professor Tec, titled "Defiance". This book was the basis for the fine movie of the same name. Also, a much later work, that had additional sources available, titled, "The Bielski Brothers". Both read like adventure novels.

Recently, I was fortunate enough to attend a speech given by Aaron Bielski's daughter, speak with her after the speech and even page thru a family scrapbook. It was an amazing experience. By the way, Aaron is still with us, living a well deserved retirement in Florida.

I suspect historical situations probably give a more realistic idea of what a societal collapse might look like. After studying a few, I started thinking that perhaps how some survivalists imagine disaster to be has more to do with the fears in contemporary cultural undercurrents and with their view of the land/country. For example, very few are concerned with an invading army (or a domestic army that has "turned on" the people) -- common occurrences in the rest of the world that will be a real challenge to you and your self-reliant farm in the middle of nowhere.

Acropolis, I'm glad you got a chance to meet some members of the Bielskis. Those were some tough guys and gals.

Well said. That's why I love ETS and disdain many of "survival" sites that are primarily survivalist. I just don't think their ideas are realistic for the reasons you point out. They have this fantasy of living a secluded existence "off grid" where a couple rifles will magically protect them from the unwashed masses. That's probably not a viable position to hold. Likewise, speaking just for myself, I'm not sure I want to survive an "EOTWAWKI" situation. I like civilization quit a bit. Not sure if a hardscrabble existence living like an animal is worth it to me. Not permanently that is.