Pozharitski Bronislaw & Pozharitskaya Alima

Pozharitski, Bronislav Pozharitskaya, Alima Alima and Bronislav Pozharitski lived with their three children in the village of Giniewicze, Nowogródek District (today Ginevichy, Minsk District). In 1943, while at a friend’s home in Minsk, the Pozharitskis met Rebekka Gringauz, a mother of three, who was looking for a way to get her children out of the city’s ghetto. The Pozharitskis saw her distress and offered their assistance. Gringauz asked them to take her eight-year-old daughter Genya, which would make it easier for her to flee with the other two children. The Pozharitskis welcomed Genya into their home in Giniewicze and her mother and siblings joined the partisans a few months later. Genya remained with the Pozharitskis for a year, during which time they treated her as a member of the family. During police searches in the village, Genya was moved out of the house and, despite the constant fear of betrayal, she stayed in the Pozharitskis’ home until the liberation. In the summer of 1944, Genya’s mother arrived in Giniewicze and took her daughter back to Minsk. Genya and her wartime rescuers remained friends for many years thereafter. On September 16, 1999, Yad Vashem recognized Bronislav Pozharitski and his wife, Alima Pozharitskaya, as Righteous Among the Nations.