Stek Marko

Sheptytskyi (Szeptycki), Kliment Stek, Marko Abbot Kliment Sheptytskyi (Szeptycki) was the younger brother of Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytskyi (Szeptycki), who was head of the Greek Catholic (Uniate) Church in western Ukraine. In August 1942, Kliment Sheptytskyi welcomed Kurt Lewin into his home after Lewin’s father and mother had been murdered. His father had been a prominent rabbi in Lwów (today L’viv). Sheptytskyi obtained a baptismal certificate for Lewin as well as identity papers in the name of Roman Mytka. Sheptytskyi then sent Lewin to a monastery in Łyczaków, on the outskirts of Lwów (Lychakiv, presently a district in L’viv). Until the liberation of western Ukraine in summer 1944, Lewin studied there and in other monasteries. Throughout this time, Sheptytskyi maintained contact with him and ensured that his true identity remained a secret. During the war, other Jews also found shelter in the monasteries affiliated with the Greek Catholic Church. Among the Jewish men, women, and children helped by this Church were Natan Lewin, Kurt’s younger brother; Rabbi Chameides’s sons; the Podoszyn family; and Mrs. Abraham and her daughter. These and other Jews were dispersed among the monasteries in western Ukraine by the priest Marko Stek, who received orders from Sheptytskyi, who was also involved with moving Jews between monasteries. After the war, in November 1945, Kurt Lewin helped Stek to flee westward, and he eventually settled in Canada. Lewin went to study in Israel and later moved to the United States. The two remained friends for many years. On February 14, 1995, Yad Vashem recognized Kliment Sheptytskyi (Szeptycki) and Marko Stek as Righteous Among the Nations.