Czubatyj Rostyslawa (Hrycak); Husband: Danilo

Czubatyj, Danylo Czubatyj, Rostyslawa With the German invasion of the Soviet Union,r Rostyslawa and Danylo Czubatyj, a recently married couple, lived in the town of Brody, Tarnopol (later Lvov) District. During the first year of the German occupation, however, Rostyslawa stayed in the village of Korolivtsy, where she had a teacher's position. At the beginning of 1942, Rostyslawa (or Slawka, as she was called by her friends and family) sheltered 12-year-old Hela Rapaport, the youngest sister of Slawka's good friend from school, Ewa. Both Ewa and Slawka had grown up in the village of Sienkow, Radziechow County, Lwow District. Slawka's parents were still residing there, whereas the whole Rapaport family was forced out of their home and incarcerated in the Radziechow Ghetto. Hela arrived at Slawka's apartment in Korolivtsy with false papers in the name of Stefania Berezanska and was presented to the villagers as a servant girl. At the beginning, people had suspicions about her but Hela played her role smartly. She quickly learned Catholic prayers and attended church services; she was nice and helpful to everybody, so the rumors soon died down. At home, while she was alone with Slawka, she allowed herself to cry and express her grief for the tragic fate of her dear ones. Her only close relative still alive was her sister Ewa, living in Lwow under an assumed identity. Hela and Ewa exchanged letters through Slawka's parents and thus supported each other. A year passed until Slawka found another teaching position in Brody and could move back in with her husband, Danylo. Hela moved with her. Danylo knew about Hela's identity from the very beginning and supported his wife's endeavor. Now he was also risking his life for the sake of a Jewish child. In March 1944, as the Russians were approaching the western parts of Ukraine, the Czubatyjs decided not to stay and wait until the Soviets would take over the area again, but to flee west. They left Hela in theirapartment and bade her farewell. In July 1944, the retreating Germans drew large groups of Brody citizens out of their homes and marched them westward. Hela, who was among that crowd, escaped en route and headed for Lwow, hoping that her sister was still there. Her hope came true and the sisters were reunited right after the reestablishment of Soviet rule in Eastern Galicia. Soon they started their way west and after the war ended up in Israel. Hela (later Peterfreund) never met her rescuers again, but her sister Ewa (later Ringart) reestablished contact with Rostyslawa Czubatyj at the end of the 1990-es, finding her in the U.S.A. On March 1, 2006, Yad Vashem recognized Danylo and Rostyslawa Czubatyj as Righteous Among the Nations.