Emilia Rusina, 1958.
IHMEC: courtesy of Valentina Parkhomov.
Emilia Rusina, 1958.
IHMEC: courtesy of Valentina Parkhomov.

Emilia Rusina & Fyokla Popeskul

Tatyana Rashkovskaya, a Jewish orphan in Odessa without living relatives, was imprisoned at the start of the war before being moved to the Ghetto. She escaped while being marched to a camp and went into hiding with a former schoolmate’s mother. When the mother, Fyokla Popeskul, could no longer hide Tatyana, she asked Tatyana’s friend, Emilia Rusina, to take her in. Tatyana stayed with Emilia for nearly two years, until the liberation of Odessa on April 10, 1944. Tatyana remained friends with both Fyokla and Emilia for many years. On June 30, 1999, Yad Vashem recognized them both as Righteous Among the Nations.

Edited from Yad Vashem, Righteous Among the Nations

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