Sorensen Randi

Ingvild Furre Randi Sorensen Roas Paikin-Tankus was born in 1923. In October 1942 her father Isja and brother Ivar, aged 16, were arrested in the roundup of Jewish men and taken to a camp in Berg, 100 km from Oslo. One month later they were put on the Ship Donau and deported to Poland. Both perished in Auschwitz. At the very time the ship with the deported men left Oslo, the arrest of Jewish women and children began. On 25 November, at 11 p.m. at night, Ingvild Furre knocked on the door of the Paikin family on Brugatan no. 9. They had never met the woman before, but she introduced herself as a neighbor of their aunt. Rosa, her mother and her 14-year-old sister decided to flee. A doctor friend arranged for them to spend the night at the Ulleval hospital. Rosa took a taxi, brought her mother and sister to the hospital, and went on to her Jewish friends, the Levinson family, and told them to escape. The family had nowhere to turn to and stayed in their home. Soon after the parents and three of their children were arrested and murdered. Rosa continued with the same taxi and returned home. When they reached her home, the driver refused to take money from her, and urged her to flee. He told her that a rumor had spread among the Oslo taxi drivers that a roundup would take place the following day (Jews were being picked up by taxis and brought to the assembly point) and asked her to promise him to cross over to Sweden. The following day Ingvild Furre came to pick Rosa up. The two went on to take Rosa's sister. The two sisters stayed at Furre’s home until evening, when they were brought to the home of Ingvild's aunt, Randi Sorensen. There they stayed until December 1. That day a man came to pick them up. They were told to follow the underground's envoy as he lead them through the snowy streets in roundabout ways. They finally reached a place where 14 Jews were already waiting. From there they were taken in freezing cold of minus 28 Celsius across a lake andthrough the mountains, until finally two days later they heard the words “welcome to Sweden”. The two sisters stayed for the remainder of the war in Sweden. Their mother was kept in the hospital, and Randi Sorensen would visit her regularly. After the end of the war the two Paikin sisters returned to Norway. For many years there was no contact between them and their rescuers. Only when a Norwegian author wrote a book about women in war and included an interview with Rosa in the publication, did her publisher realize that the two rescuers were his relatives. Once contact was re-established Rosa Paikin-Tankus applied to Yad Vashem to have them recognized as Righteous. On 1 June 2010 Yad Vashem recognized Ingvild Furre and Randi Sorensen as Righteous Among the Nations