Binkienė Sofija ; Daughter: Mozuriūnienė Lilijana (Binkytė); Daughter: Damijonaitienė Irena (Nacevičiutė); Stepdaughter: Binkytė Eleonora ; Son-In-Law: Varčikas Vladas ; Husband: Binkis Kazys ; Stepson: Binkis Gerdas

Binkienė, Sofija Binkis, Kazys Binkytė-Mozuriūnienė, Lilijana Damijonaitienė-Nacevičiutė, Irena Binkis, Gerdas Binkytė, Eleonora Varčikas, Vladas After the Kaunas ghetto was established in August 1941, Sofija Binkienė, with the approval of her husband, the famous Lithuanian writer, Kazys Binkis, came to the aid of Jews interned there. The Binkis home became a permanent shelter for a number of Jews and in addition it served as a midway station where Jews could receive encouragement and psychological support. The Binkises were also helped by their daughters Lilijana (later Mozuriūnienė), and Irena Nacevičiutė (Sofija’s daughter from her first marriage), as well as by Gerdas Binkis and Eleonora Binkytė, Kazys’s children from a previous marriage. Vladas Varčikas, Lilijana’s fiancé at the time, also provided vital assistance to the Jews. Since Varčikas was not then a member of the family, and his relatives were unknown to their neighbors, the Binkises introduced some of their Jewish guests as Varčikas’s family members. Thirteen-year-old Gita Judelevich, who was given shelter in the Binkis home from 1942, until the city was liberated, in 1944, was introduced as Varčikas’s little sister. This act of saving many Jews, and constantly expressing support for the Jews of the ghetto, involved many risks, and although Binkis himself was very ill, his family members persevered in their help to the Jews solely for humanitarian reasons. Among the Jews helped by Sofija Binkienė and her family were Adina and Shmuel Segal, Dr. Meyer Gink, his wife, Miriam, and son Kama, Rosa Stender and her daughter Margita, Esther Golan and many others. On September 12, 1967, Yad Vashem recognized Sofija Binkienė as Righteous Among the Nations. On December 26, 1988, Yad Vashem recognized Kazys Binkis, Lilijana Mozuriūnienė, Irena Nacevičiutė, Gerdas Binkis, Eleonora Binkytė, and Vladas Varčikas, as Righteous Among the Nations.