Lviv ceremony honors three Ukrainians who risked lives to save Jewish children from Holocaust
The descendants of a Greek Catholic priest, his wife, and a brave Ukrainian woman received Israel's highest honor for their ancestors who sheltered Jewish children from Nazi persecution, adding to Ukraine's remarkable legacy of Holocaust rescue.
On 30 January, a ceremony in Lviv posthumously honored three Ukrainians with the title of Righteous Among the Nations, Israel’s highest award for those who saved Jews during the Holocaust. The recognition was bestowed upon Greek Catholic priest Yaroslav Myrovych and his wife Severyna, who saved Mania Rebhan, and Kateryna Fashtryha, who rescued Sonia Zurger, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has reported.
Ukraine ranks fourth in the world for the number of Righteous Among the Nations, following Poland, the Netherlands, and France. During World War II, six million Jews perished at the hands of the Nazis, including 1.5 million from Ukraine.
Relatives of Yaroslav Myrovych, Severyna Myrovych, and Kateryna Fashtryha attended the ceremony in Lviv. Their granddaughters, Liubov Karpinska and Veronika Fashtryha, received medals, honorary certificates, and the right to inscribe their ancestors’ names on the Wall of Honor in the Garden of the Righteous in Jerusalem. Under Israeli law, Righteous Among the Nations are granted honorary citizenship posthumously.
Yaroslav and Severyna Myrovych sheltered 10-year-old Mania Rebhan in 1941 during the Nazi occupation. The Greek Catholic priest and his family lived in Rypnyky, a Lemko village in what was then Poland’s Krosno Voivodeship.
Mania’s father was taken for forced labor but later was killed after escaping. Her mother and brother were executed by the Nazis, while her father managed to hide her before his capture, instructing her to seek help from Father Yaroslav. Mania later married a Russian citizen and lived in Russia but maintained lifelong ties with her rescuers.
Kateryna Fashtryha saved Sonia Zurger by posing as her mother in the village of Obertyn, Ivano-Frankivsk region. She hid the Jewish girl in a wardrobe to shield her from Nazi persecution.
Yaroslav and Severyna Myrovych and Kateryna Fashtryha now join the 2,707 Ukrainians recognized as Righteous Among the Nations, commemorated for risking their lives—and the lives of their own children—to save Jews during the Holocaust.
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