Skerškāne Leokardia

Skerškāne, Leokadija Leokadija Skerškāne, a Catholic, born 1911, lived in Rīga with her husband, Aloizis Skerškans and their baby daughter, and worked as a train porteress. Among their neighbors and friends were Antons Tračuns, a Latvian, and his Jewish wife, Ejda (née Slutski). After the Germans occupied Rīga, on July 1, 1941, Ejda was interned in the Rīga ghetto and after its liquidation, in summer 1943, was transferred to the Kaiserwald concentration camp. Skerškāne knew that Antons Tračuns was preparing a plan to smuggle his wife out of the ghetto, and he carried it out on May 20, 1944. That evening, Antons and Ejda arrived at Skerškāne’s home and asked for temporarily shelter. The Jewish woman was warmly received by Skerškāne and remained in hiding in her small apartment until Rīga was liberated on October 13, 1944. To repay her rescuer in some measure, Ejda helped with the household chores and the care of Skerškāne’s daughter. Ejda’s husband visited her occasionally, bringing food and notifying Skerškāne of any searches being conducted in the city. In time of danger, Skerškāne would take Ejda to a nearby barn, in which the building’s tenants kept wood for heating, and she would hide behind the piles of wood. After the liberation, Ejda returned to her home, and she and her husband maintained their friendship with Skerškane for many years. On April 25, 1995, Yad Vashem recognized Leokadija Skerškāne as Righteous Among the Nations.