Rusiński Zbigniew

Rusiński, Zbigniew During the occupation, Zbigniew Rusiński was a resistance activist in the vicinity of Brzeżany (Tarnopol district). At the age of 13, Rusiński belonged to one of the scout clans known as the “Gray Ranks” (Szare Szeregi) that were affiliated with the AK. Because of his youth and his fluency in Ukrainian, Rusiński was coopted into the extensive underground activity in the area. Among other things, he organized the smuggling of food into the Brzeżany ghetto. In 1943, in one of his forays into the ghetto, Rusiński was fired upon by a Ukrainian policeman and suffered head and hand injuries. Jews concealed him in the synagogue and treated his wounds. After he recovered, he was removed from the ghetto in a cart used to evacuate the dead. In the course of his activity, Rusiński set up a scout group in the ghetto and these youngsters, along with an older Jewish teenager, obtained food from peasants in the vicinity and slipped it back into the ghetto. Rusiński received no remuneration for his activities and, despite the danger, kept up his efforts to save Jews in Brzeżany until the ghetto was liquidated for good. On October 22, 1981, Yad Vashem recognized Zbigniew Rusiński, as Righteous Among the Nations. File 2145o