Gunchak Mikhail & Maria ; Son: Vasiliy

Gunchak, Michail Gunchak, Maria Gunchak, Vasiliy The Pistreich brothers, Leon (b. 1921) and Yossel (b. 1924), lived with their parents in Podhajce, in the Tarnopol district of Ukraine. Following the Nazi occupation on 4 July 1941, local Jews endured discrimination, forced labor, and deportations. In the fall of 1942, one thousand Jews were deported, and the remaining 4,000, including the Pistreichs, were herded into a ghetto. A police acquaintance tipped off Leon that the ghetto was scheduled to be liquidated on 6 June, 1943. Armed with this knowledge, Leon, his brother and 23 others escaped from their workplace and scattered into the countryside, seeking refuge. Leon, Yossel, and their friend Eliezer Haber headed seven kilometers away, to Bialokiernica, to find Vasiliy Gunchak, who had periodically conducted business with Leon and Yossel’s father before the war. Not knowing where in town Vasiliy Gunchak lived, the three young men knocked on the first door they saw. As it turned out, it was the home of Michail Gunchak, Vasiliy’s brother. The Gunchak brothers convened, and because Vasiliy was already hiding a Jew in his home, it was decided that the men hide at Michail’s house. Their hiding place was underneath a chicken coop. Leon, Yossel and Eliezer remained there for 14 months until liberation, on 12 July 1944. During the entire period they remained in their hiding place, and did not see the light of day. Only Michail, his wife Maria and their oldest son Vasiliy knew of their presence and took care of the hidden Jews’ basic needs. After the war Yossel immigrated to Berlin and Eliezer to Israel. Leon immigrated to the United States and remained in contact with the Gunchaks, providing them with financial support. Vasiliy’s daughter Halina married a Jewish man and immigrated to the United States, where she and her family are in contact with Leon to this day. On 17 May 2011, Michail, Maria and Vasiliy Gunchak were recognized by Yad Vashem as RighteousAmong the Nations.