Savitskaya Tamara (Belko)

Savitskaya-Belko, Tamara After the death of their parents, the Belko sisters, Tamara, 16, and Lidiya, 9, continued to live in their small house in the city of Vinnitsa (now Vinnytsya), under the supervision of relatives. When the city was captured by the Germans, on July 11, 1941, the relatives moved to the village of Yanov, outside Vinnitsa, but the sisters decided to remain in the city. One evening in August, Tamara opened her house to her classmate, Genya Pisarevskaya, and her mother, Etya Stelmakh. The two, who were Jewish, were afraid to remain in their home, as Etya was active in the Communist Party and was its representative on the Municipal Council. By hiding the two, Tamara Belko saved them from the first large-scale murder operation (Aktion) that was perpetrated in the city, on September 19, in which Jews were arrested in the street and expelled from their homes. The Belko sisters’ home was not searched, as it was known in the neighborhood that two Ukrainian orphans lived there. Etya and Genya remained in hiding with Tamara and her sister until the middle of November, when they moved to a different refuge with a friend, who was able to provide for them. Half a year later, on April 16, 1942, the Nazis carried out another Aktion, in which Etya Stelmakh was murdered. From then until October, the daughter Genya took refuge with various friends, and was supported by Tamara and her relatives. On their advice, Genya moved to the city of Zhmerinka, which was under Romanian control, from where, under a false identity, she was transported to Germany as forced labor. She returned to Vinnitsa in 1945 and remained close friends with Tamara and her relatives. On September 3, 2000, Yad Vashem recognized Tamara Belko-Savitskaya as Righteous Among the Nations.