Serediuk Onufrij & Zosia

Seredyuk, Onufriy Seredyuk, Zosia In the 1920s, Zosia worked as a housekeeper for the Kupferwasser family in Tarnopol (today Ternopil’), capital of the district. When she married Onufriy Seredyuk, a shoemaker, as a token of their gratitude, the Kupferwassers rented a home for the young couple, which included a room from where Seredyuk could work. After some time, the Seredyuks purchased a plot of land in Koniuchy (Konyukhy), close to Tarnopol, where they built a home with a small agricultural plot. Even after they moved there, the couple kept in touch with the Kupferwassers. The Germans conquered the area in summer 1941, and despite the danger, the Seredyuks offered the Kupferwassers shelter in their home should it ever be necessary. During the years 1941 and 1942, most members of the Kupferwasser family were killed but the son Yakov (Jakub) remained alive in the Tarnopol ghetto. When the ghetto was liquidated in June 1943, he fled to the Seredyuks’ home. They built him a hideaway in their yard and took care of all his needs. At Kupferwasser’s request, the Seredyuks found his prewar girlfriend, Mariya Leshchishin* who lived in the same village and the latter helped the Seredyuks care for him. The Seredyuks were Sabbatarians and their faith helped them in their courageous rescue deeds. In late March 1944, Kupferwasser was forced to leave the Seredyuks’ home after the entire population of the area was ordered to evacuate because of the approaching front. He hid in the neighboring village of Janowka (Ivanivka) with the Mazarski family* (see volume Poland) until the liberation of the area, on April 15, and then enlisted in the Polish army. Kupferwasser later immigrated to Israel. On June 29, 1995, Yad Vashem recognized Onufriy and Zosia Seredyuk as Righteous Among the Nations.