Czubak Genowefa

Czubak, Genowefa In February 1942, Dr. Olga Goldfajn was summoned to a convent in the town of Pruzana, in the Polesia district, in order to attend to Genowefa Czubak, a nun who was taken ill. From that day, a bond evolved between the Jewish doctor and the nun. When the situation in the Pruzana ghetto deteriorated, Czubak hid Goldfajn in her convent cell, without the Mother Superior’s knowledge. After hiding in Czubak’s cell for about a month, Goldfajn’s presence was discovered, and she was sent back to the ghetto, while Czubak was severely reprimanded. In January 1943, when the Germans destroyed the Pruzana ghetto, Dr. Goldfajn managed to escape from the transport. Having nowhere else to go, she returned to the convent, where once again she was turned away by the Mother Superior. Czubak, unable to accept the Mother Superior’s decision, dressed Goldfajn in a nun’s habit, and left the convent – her home for 18 years – together with her. The two women wandered through the surrounding villages, staying in farmers’ houses, and living off donations. Somehow or other they survived until the area was liberated in July 1944 by the Red Army. After the war, Dr. Goldfajn emigrated to France, while Czubak, who was not allowed back into the convent, moved to Lodz. On June 27, 1980, Yad Vashem recognized Genowefa Czubak as Righteous Among the Nations.