The Jews living in the forest community take an approach to revenge similar to that of Zus and his men. This is seen in a particularly evocative scene in which a German soldier is captured and brought into camp. But where Zus and his men fight the Germans on equal terms, with guns and mines, most of these Jews match his description as being "too weak and afraid to fight for themselves".
They only feel safe fighting back when the odds are clearly in their favour with little probability of changing. And so, when the unarmed soldier is brought into the camp, the people take out all their rage and frustration against the Nazi regime on this one soldier. They demand justice, and punish him for the atrocities carried out on their own families by Nazis.
Tuvia tries to make his way towards the soldier, but realises there is no point trying to save him. That one German soldier personified all that the Jews loathed. Is it really justice, to beat a helpless man to death? Very likely he himself was responsible for numerous Jewish deaths.
Tuvia holds some deep-seated ideals: to avoid becoming like the Nazis, not becoming murderers or animals. And yet others are not so committed to his ideals. They are presented with an opportunity to vent their frustrations, and they set to with vigour.
Even Tuvia himself does not flinch from killing when the situation demands. In order to maintain the rules laid down by himself, he has to kill a dissident who claims a right to a larger portion of food.
Daniel Craig, discussing his character, says, "He really was a dictator in the camp, yet his rules and regulations may have helped them all stay alive, so it raises a lot of interesting questions."
Revenge and punishment are key themes in the film. Where can we draw the line between them, and do we humans have the right to deal out what we see as justice? Zus quotes Deuteronomy 32:35 and Romans 12:19, saying, "Vengeance is mine. Who said that Tuvia?" His brother responds by asking him, "Oh what? This is God’s work you’re doing now Zus?"
Zus is using God to defend his own actions – actions which spring from his own feelings, rather than any innate knowledge of God’s will. People, who have a vested interest in seeing the punishment of a particular individual or group, cannot dispense unbiased justice. This can only come from God.
The verse in Deuteronomy goes on to say, "Their foot shall slip in due time; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things to come hasten upon them."
God does punish the wicked, but at the same time he demands that we do not avenge ourselves upon them, and that we do not repay evil with evil. Tuvia realises this when he returns from killing the man who had murdered his parents. It did not bring him any sort of fulfillment, and he recognises that there are more constructive ways of expending his energy. And so he spends the rest of the film leading this ever-expanding community of Jews, and keeping them safe in the forest from enemy attack.
How important is one life over another? Tuvia’s position on the matter seems to shift back and forth. Towards the beginning of the film he proposes sleeping away from the rest of the group, so that, were the Germans to stumble upon the main group, he and his brothers would be alerted by the gunshots and escape to safety. But later he defends to Zus the value of the lives he is now responsible for, and takes great risks on their behalf.
