The film was shot in a remote, wooded area in Lithuania, about a hundred miles away from the real location of the Bielski brothers camp.
The village in the opening sequence is actually a living museum in Lithuania, created during Soviet times.
The film was kickstarted several year's earlier when Edward Zwick was given Zus Bielski's (1912 - 1995) obituary to read from the "The New York Times".
The object the Bielskis take from their house is a mezuzah, a piece of parchment (often contained in a decorative case). A mezuzah is affixed to the door frame of Jewish houses to fulfill the mitzvah (Biblical commandment) to inscribe the words of the Shema "on the door posts of your house". The parchment is inscribed with specified Hebrew verses from the Torah (Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and 11:13-21). These verses comprise the Jewish prayer "Shema Yisrael", beginning with the phrase: "Listen, Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One."
An alternate opening scene would feature an old Tuvia, played by Daniel Craig in make-up, and his son in present-day New York City. The scene was filmed, but was cut by director Edward Zwick. The reason was becuase Zwick felt it would be "too nice" compared to the realism and brutality of the rest of the film.