Babak Maria

Maria Babak Around 300 Jews were living in the town of Glusk in the district of Polesye (today Mogilev) when Nazi Germany occupied the area. Early in the morning, on December 12th, 1941, the local Jews were ordered to report to the town square with their documents and possessions. Knowing that several days earlier, the local fire brigade had started digging trenches on the outskirts of town, people realized that a mass killing was being planned. Some of the Jews attempted to escape, but the town was surrounded by policemen who shot the escapees on the spot. Others tried to find some shelter, but were caught by collaborators who dragged them out of barns and cellars, marching them at gunpoint to the square. The Aktion continued for three days. Maria Babak, a resident of Glusk, was able to save several of the town’s Jews from death. Haya Katzman and her children Yakov, Yuriy and Anatoliy - the youngest was not yet two years old – made it to Babak’s place. During their escape Haya had lost sight of her husband and her two eldest children. Late at night on the second day of the Aktion Maria brought her good news: her relative, who had buried the dead, informed her that Haya’s husband and children were not among the dead. Several days later, after the end of the massacre, Abram Katzman and the children Hasya and Iosif joined their mother and other siblings at Maria’s home. Maria also gave shelter to Hiena Mekler, her daughter Emma and her nephew Mendel Rubinson. Thirteen-year-old Mendel had lost his parents and younger brothers while escaping the massacre; As they were running away and passed Maria’s cowshed, they spontaneously decided to seek refuge. The ten Jewish fugitives stayed at Maria’s place for three days and three nights, while the whole town was thoroughly searched. They then secretly left Glusk, crossing the frozen river, the main road and going into the forest, hoping to find Soviet partisans. All of them were able to survive during thefollowing two and a half years until the liberation. Mendel Rubinson became a member of a fighting brigade; the others stayed in the forest with the so-called partisan family camps or were sheltered by local farmers. After the liberation some of the survivors returned to Glusk, while others moved to the larger cities of the USSR. Once a year they would all come to Glusk to commemorate the dead and to thank Maria for her courage. On May 5, 2007, Yad Vashem recognized Maria Babak as a Righteous Among the Nations.