Jukalo Walter

Ukalo, Walter Korolczuk, Mr. Pacholska, Mrs. Before the occupation, Walter Ukalo, who lived with his family in the town of Brody, in Eastern Galicia, was on friendly terms with his neighbor, Dorothy Taub, and her family. When the Germans occupied the city in 1941, the ties between the two families grew stronger, and when the eight members of the Taub family had to leave their apartment, Ukalo hid them in his family’s apartment, until he found a better hiding place for them. He hid them with an Ukrainian women named Pacholska, and then later with another Ukrainian man named Korolczuk. In 1943, Ukalo joined Zegota (the Council for Aid to Jews) in Lwow and Brody, and supplied the Jewish refugees with “Aryan” documents, found them hiding places, and gave them money for their upkeep. Ukalo’s rescue operation saved the lives of at least eight people: Dorothy Taub and her daughter, Sabina, Klara Chotiner and her daughter, Bronia Roth, Frieda Ahl, Herman Halpern and Ian Lustig. In risking his life for the Jewish refugees, Ukalo was guided by humanitarian considerations and a friendship that triumphed over adversity, and never expected anything in return. After the war, Ukalo married Dorothy Taub and they immigrated to the United States. Jan Lustig immigrated to Australia and the other refugees immigrated to Israel. On September 21, 1978, Yad Vashem recognized Walter Ukalo as Righteous Among the Nations. On November 30, 1978, Yad Vashem recognized Pacholska and Korolczuk as Righteous Among the Nations.