Kuzik Ivan

Kuzik, Ivan In 1940, 23-year-old Regina Rosen from Zloczow, Eastern Galicia, married Oscar Reiner from Stryj and went to live with him and his parents. A year later, in July 1941, when the area was already occupied by the Germans, Oscar was among their very first victims – he was picked up on the street, put into the city jail and shot a few days later in a nearby forest. Regina stayed on with her husband’s parents, Adele and Maximillian Reiner. Together they moved into the ghetto that was established in late 1941. In order to survive, they sold their belongings, among them the beautiful presents Regina had received for her wedding. She was lucky to have a Polish friend, Helena Nahirna, a young widow with a little daughter. Helena opened a shop outside the ghetto that sold new and second-hand goods of various kinds. Through Helena’s intervention, Regina obtained permission to work at Helena’s shop; she worked there as an employee for almost a year and a half. One day, in May 1943, while Regina was at the shop, her parents-in-law were murdered during one of the final Actions. It was a heavy blow for Regina – they were her only relatives in Stryj. She felt she had no reason to go on living, but Helena her friend did not allow her to give up. Helena knew a Jewish man, not a local, named Jakov Rappaport, who once confided in her that he had a hiding place for his family. She arranged for Regina to meet him and, as she had expected, Jakov Rappaport asked Regina to join him and his relatives in their forest bunker. In June 1943, Regina found herself in a well-camouflaged hiding place, not far from the village of Niniow-Dolny, approximately three km south of Stryj. They were 13 people inside, 10 adults and three children aged 12, 9 and 3. Some of them were Jakov’s relatives – two brothers with their wives and children -- others were brought there by Ivan Kuzik, the local teacher, who provided them all with food and other necessities. The Rappaports promised Ivan their property after the end of the war; others apparently had other arrangements with their rescuer. The bunker was built by Ivan for the purpose of hiding the persecuted Jews; in was deep enough to allow people to stand inside, with the space divided into several cubicles. The ground around was covered with straw; one cubicle contained a pail for excrements. Every couple of days, Ivan Kuzik would bring them bread, soup, potatoes, sometimes even meat. His wife, Katerina, knew about the place. When Regina got ill, the rescuer brought her home with him to recuperate, where she had to be hidden from the couple’s little children. On August 8, 1944, the area was liberated by the Red Army. The survivors moved to Stryj, but some then left for bigger towns. Regina was picked up by Helena Nahirna and lived with her for another year. In 1945, Regina moved to Poland within its new borders. Two years later she immigrated to Australia where she remarried (married name, Neustein). Ivan Kuzik was murdered by Bandera gang people shortly after the liberation, for having helped Jews. His widow and their children moved to another town. In 2009, Regina’s son, born in Australia, reestablished contact with the Kuzik offspring. On May 3, 2009, Yad Vashem recognized Ivan Kuzik as Righteous Among the Nations.