It was located between Lida and Navahrudak (called Nowogródek in Polish), both of which later housed Jewish ghettos during World War II.

[4] When Operation Barbarossa broke out, Tuvia, Zus and Asael were called up by their army units to fight against the Nazi German occupiers.

In early July 1941, a German army unit arrived in Stankiewicze, and Jewish residents were moved into a ghetto in Nowogródek.

In the film Defiance (2008), Asael (portrayed by British actor Jamie Bell) is the third of four brothers and seems to be about 20 years of age, or perhaps younger.

There was also controversy about the alleged involvement of the Bielski group in a massacre of Polish civilians conducted by Soviet-aligned partisans in Naliboki.