Bator Aleksandr & Maria

Bator, Aleksandr Bator, Mariya Aleksandr Bator was living with his wife, Mariya, and their two young sons, Miroslav and Piotr, in the town of Skała Podolska (today Skala Podil’s’ka, Ternopil’ District). While they worked their own plot of land, Aleksandr did occasional odd jobs as well, usually in construction. When the Soviets occupied the area in 1939, Aleksandr started working at the local mill where he became acquainted with Mendel Ringel, a Jewish man of his age, and the two became friends. When, in the summer of 1941, control of Skala Podolska passed from the Soviets to the Hungarians, and then again to the Germans, the persecution of the Jews began. At this time, Mendel and his relatives asked Aleksandr to take some of their belongings to keep them safe. After some time, Mendel and his family were forced to move to the ghetto of Borszczów (now Borshchiv) and Aleksandr lost contact with them until January 1944, when Mendel knocked at his window. Mendel was not alone; he was accompanied by Abraham Brandes, his 22-year-old brother-in-law – they were the only survivors of their families: Mendel’s wife and two little children had perished in Borszczów in March 1943; Abraham’s parents, two brothers, and sister (Mendel’s wife) had been killed under various circumstances in Skała, Lwów (today L’viv), and in the Bełzec death camp. Risking their lives the Bators hid the Jews in the attic of their barn. After hiding for many months in abandoned homes and cellars, the Bators’ barn seemed to be good accommodations for them. Aleksandr and his wife shared their meager supplies with the men in hiding and even Miroslav and Piotr, in spite of their young age, participated in the act of rescue, keeping it secret from their friends and neighbors. After the Red Army first liberated the town on March 25, 1944, Mendel and Abraham were conscripted and left Skała Podolska never to return. After the end of WWII, Mendel settled in Israel while Abraham (later, Tracy) immigrated tothe U.S.A. They never met their rescuers again. On February 13, 2005, Yad Vashem recognized Aleksandr and Mariya Bator as Righteous Among the Nations.