Aranđelović Vera (Čoaš)

Arandjelović, Vera Vera Čoaš (later Arandjelović) was a widow who lived in Pirot, near the Bulgarian border. When Germany and its Axis allies invaded Yugoslavia, Bulgarian occupied Macedonia and the Pirot province of Serbia. Leon Avramović lived with his wife, Nora, and son, Borivoje (Borko) next door to Čoaš and they shared a courtyard. One night in 1943, Čoaš was awakened by the noise of heavy army boots climbing the stairs. She heard Bulgarian soldiers shouting outside and then a quiet knock on her door. Standing at the door was her neighbor Nora Avramović with her five-year-old son. She asked Čoaš to take her son to her sister who lived in Kočani, a town in Macedonia. Nora kissed her son and left. Through the window, Čoaš watched them take away Borko’s mother, father and grandmother. Two days later, the Bulgarians discovered that Borko was missing and returned with his mother to search all the apartments in the building. They entered Čoaš’s apartment and found the young boy there, but were unable to ascertain his identity, as his mother denied that he was her child. Eventually, the Bulgarians gave up and left. A few days later, Čoaš took Borko by train to Kočani, about 250 km from Pirot, to Borko’s aunt, Melita Weiss. She was considered essential labor and had been sent by the Bulgarians to work as the manager of the pharmacy in Kočani. Čoaš left Borko with her, and after the war, he immigrated to Israel with his aunt. Borko later changed his name to Baruch Arbel and maintained contact with his rescuer for many years. “I did not do anything spectacular,” Arandjelović later commented. “Borko was small and helpless and I loved him.” On March 20, 1991, Yad Vashem recognized Vera Arandjelović as Righteous Among the Nations.