In early 1940, Eta started working as a clerk in an employment agency. Soon she began resisting the occupation by forging false identity papers for Jews. In October 1942, Eta’s ghetto was ‘liquidated’ and the Jews were exported to concentration camps. During the transition, Eta and her father managed to escape into the woods.
Eta organized an all-Jewish partisan unit of close to eighty people. Her unit stole most of their supplies, slept in cramped quarters, and had almost no access to medical attention. Eta’s unit set mines to hinder German movement and to cut off supply routes.