All Quiet On The Western Front
Hebrew-language video reportage by Israel Prize laureate journalist Jacob Ahimeir, who was a guest at the Limmud FSU conference in Lviv, Ukraine in November 2014, juxtaposed the current war in eastern Ukraine with the placid tourist center in western Ukraine. The calmness is deceptive however. Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi remarked, “Many soldiers who fell in this war came from Lviv, so we have this pain in our hearts.” Sadovyi went on to state he was looking forward to Israel changing its neutral stance towards Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.
The video recounted a tragic episode in Lviv’s history, namely the story of ten Jews who hid from the Nazis for fourteen months in the city’s sewer system during the Second World War. The Polish film In Darkness, directed by Agnieszka Holland, portrayed this dramatic event. The video posed the question if anyone in modern Lviv knew of this story and the need to raise the question of a memorial plaque commemorating the event.
The video also featured Stefania Didukh, a righteous savior of Jews during the war, embracing the grandchildren of the survivors. Stefania's grandson said that it's natural for his family and for Ukrainians to help one another, no matter their ethnic origin.
The journalist and Channa Pechnik-Vinnik, whose family member was saved by the Didukh family, spoke about Stefania's economic situation. Pechnik-Vinnik says: “It's bleak, on the border of poverty. Despite that, it was Stefania who raised her grandkids.” The journalist asked if it isn't the responsibility of the Jewish state to provide a pension for a person who saved Jewish lives during the Shoah. Pechnik-Vinnik noted there are such support programs for the Righteous Among the Nations who reside in Israel, but she never heard about such an initiative for those abroad. She hopes however that someone will advance this idea, especially taking into consideration the fact that there are very few such people still alive in the world.
By Miriam Feyga
The Hebrew-language video (with segments in English and Ukrainian) can be seen here.
