The rescue of Jewish women by the Sisters of the Studite Rule during the Holocaust

Abstract

The story of the rescue of Jewish women by the Sisters of the Studite Rule belongs to the lesser known pages of the Holocaust history in Ukraine. The issue involves many other female orders and congregations of the Greek Catholic Church as well. The subject, considered from this perspective, is paradoxical – in fact the activity of the Studite nuns provides a most promising area of research because of its source base and contemporary references in the works of Ukrainian historians. The reason for this is that the rescued were primarily adults who left testimonies. Even though other congregations were larger in number and had better material resources, they hid children of a very young age who remembered very little. This is why we have a paucity of recollections. Mother Yosyfa (Witer), the Abbess of the Sviato-Pokrovskyi (Holy Protection) monastery, played a leading role in providing Jewish women with a place to hide. By the authority granted to her, she utilized virtually all the affiliated houses to shelter Jews. She also personally played an active role in developing plans for hiding Jews and in this way implementing the vision of Metropolitan Andrew Sheptytskyi and personally supervised the care of those entrusted to her. It is noted that the Abbess was notable for her deep empathy for the victims’ situation and for her attempts to support them. It is stated that the most vivid recollections were left by Faina Lacher (who later joined the Sisters of the Studite Rule and became Schema-nun Maria), Neham Kagane and Lili Stern-Pohlmann. They left detailed descriptions of their pre-war lives, life in the ghetto, escape from the ghetto and final rescue in their memoirs. It is emphasized that the fact that they left written accounts and testimonies in their lifetimes іs of great importance, as it allows to approach their stories from a historic perspective. In summary, we may claim that the subject of the Greek Catholic Church’s female congregation’s hiding of Jewish women during the Holocaust warrants further research. It is a complex subject that requires thorough archival investigation coupled with modern Holocaust research methodology. But it is very necessary. It will offer a broader look at the response of the Greek Catholic Church to the needs of the Holocaust victims. Keywords: The Sisters of the Studite Rule, Jews, women, the Holocaust, hiding