Adomianec Sofija (Lisauskaitė)

Adomianec, Sofija Sofija Adomianec (née Lisauskaitė, 1896) originally from the town of Utena, Lithuania, lived in Daugavpils, Latgale. On June 26, 1941, the Germans occupied the city and a few weeks later a ghetto was established in one of its neighborhoods. Later that year, Adomianec heard about a five-year-old Jewish child, Riva Beder, who was alone in the ghetto. Riva and her parents fled from Kaunas, Lithuania, on the eve of the German invasion, but during an aerial bombardment the girl got lost, and was brought to the Daugavpils ghetto. The child’s story aroused Adomianec’s compassion. She managed to find her and take her out of the ghetto, and then hid her for two months in her apartment. When her neighbors found out, Adomianec decided to flee Daugavpils with her ward. The two moved to the village of Svente, about 10 km away, where Adomianec had friends. There, Adomianec and Riva were presented as mother and daughter, and the authorities had no reason to suspect them. They remained in Svente until the liberation in late July 1944, and then returned to Daugavpils where they continued to live together. After the war, Riva’s uncle returned from the front and invited Adomianec to come with Riva to live in his home in Kaunas. In 1981, the two moved to the United States, and until her death Riva (by then Regina Kab), looked after the woman who saved her life, as if she were her devoted, loving daughter. On June 17, 1987, Yad Vashem recognized Sofija Adomianec as Righteous Among the Nations.