Petrik Aleksey & Maria

Petrik, Aleksey Petrik, Mariya Shpak, Yekaterina Aleksey Petrik, b.1903, a poor farmer, and his wife, Mariya, b.1912, were living with their three young sons in the village of Krasnosielce (now Krasnosil’tsi), not far from the town of Zbaraż (Tarnopol District, today Ternopil). In order to raise their income Mariya would occasionally work as house help for some of the wealthier families, among them the Jewish Kanczuker family from Zbaraż. After the German Army invaded the area on July 6, 1941 and a number of killing operations were carried out in Zbaraż, Mariya made a visit to the Kanczukers, who were still living in their house, and offered them her assistance in case they would need it. Shortly after that meeting, a ghetto was established in the town and the Jews were relocated into it. Leon Kanczuker, his wife, Miriam, their daughter, Nusia and son, Misza, survived there until April 7, 1943, the day that the remainder of the Jews in the ghetto was wiped out. In the weeks before the extermination was carried out, the Kanczukers contacted Mariya, who came to town accompanied by her sister-in-law, Yekaterina Shpak. First they took 11-year-old Nusia with them, and then, a day later, they returned to take seven-year-old Misza. As they were walking along the streets of the town they heard shots in the vicinity. In panic, the two women fled area, and Misza returned to the ghetto. Two weeks later, Miriam and Misza successfully escaped from the ghetto. Shortly thereafter Leon and his niece, Nusia Weinstein, originally from Podwoloczyska, joined the rest of the family hiding in the Petriks' attic. Although the Jewish fugitives brought some money with them to cover their expenses, it was by no means enough and the rescuers had to share with them their scarce and very meager food supply. On March 6, 1944 the Red Army liberated Zbaraż and the area, but the Petriks kept their wards for another couple of weeks, fearing that the Germans might come back. Then the Kanczukersand their niece secretly left. Two years later the Kanczukers moved to Poland and from there to the U.S.A., while Nusia Weinstein immigrated to Israel. From the late 50s and on, the rescued were in contact with the Petriks, Yekaterina Shpak, and their offspring, but only recently did Nusia (by then, Nancy Yeger) and Misza (by then, Michael) Kanczuker apply to Yad Vashem asking to honor their rescuers. On July 18, 2005, Yad Vashem recognized Aleksey and Mariya Petrik, as well as Yekaterina Shpak, as Righteous Among the Nations.