Gnatiuk Teodor

Gnatiuk Teodor In August 1942, during the liquidation of the Krzemieniec ghetto in the Wolhynia region, four young Jews fled the place where the Jews being led to a massacre were being held. These four were: Azriel Goldsman, Dawid Beleguz, Bronia Walberg (later, Szpilfogel), and Niusia (Nehama) Kahana. Led by Azriel, the four arrived at the home of his Ukrainian acquaintance, Teodor Gnatiuk, an ironmonger by trade, who lived at the edge of the city. They hoped he would agree to hide them in his home, and he did not disappoint them. Teodor took the four in and arranged a hideout for them in the cellar of his home. Although it was a very space, the conditions were tolerable, and the four did not complain. At first, they helped pay the cost of their maintenance, but when their money ran out, all of the expenses fell on their host’s shoulders, and this caused a great deal of tension between them. At a certain stage, in desperation, he considered the idea of either leaving the house or moving them to the forest, but he never threatened them in any way nor did he try to force them out of his home. In the end, Teodor was able to find work in a soap factory, and in exchange for the soap he brought from there, he was able to buy food for the wards he was hiding, and the problem of hunger was solved. Thanks to his dedication and humane attitude, the four Jews, most of whom he had never met before, remained safe and survived in his home for nineteen months until the liberation in March 1944. On September 5, 2004, Yad Vashem recognized Teodor Gnatiuk as Righteous Among the Nations. File: 1035