Gertner Maria (Chodin)

Gertner, Maria (Chodin) During the occupation, Maria Chodin lived with her elderly aunt in Krasne, a suburb of Luck, in the Volhynia district, near a labor camp for Jews from the local ghetto, which had been liquidated in mid-1942. One day, Josef Gertner, a ghetto inmate, met Maria, an acquaintance of his, near the ghetto fence. Gertner, who knew that the camp was about to be liquidated, asked Maria if she would be prepared to hide him in her home. Maria agreed, and after obtaining the consent of her elderly aunt, a devout Catholic, brought Gertner home. A few days later, when the prisoners realized they were doomed, Maurycy Kamienecki, Gertner’s cousin, begged Maria to hide him too. Maria agreed, and hid both of them in her attic, where they were later joined by Isak Halpern. Maria sheltered all three refugees and supported them out of her own pocket. Her resolve never wavered, even when fear of discovery brought her aunt to the verge of a nervous breakdown. When Jew-hunts in the area intensified, and a raid seemed imminent, the three refugees dug a deep bunker under the house for extra safety. Maria herself helped them and, despite her frailty, removed about 60 buckets of earth from the house. Chodin, who was from a poor home, and had experienced hardship and rejection, identified with the plight of the Jews. The three refugees remained in hiding for about fifteen months, until the Red Army liberated the city. After the war, Maria married Josef Gertner, and emigrated with him to the United Sates, where she converted to Judaism. On August 21, 1966, Yad Vashem recognized Maria Gertner (née Chodin) as Righteous Among the Nations.