Miholap Stephanida and her daughter Galina

Miholap Stephanida and her daughter Galina Bobruisk Saved by Matz Ginya The year of the award In 1941 Galia graduated from school. June 22 was a beautiful sunny day. Yesterday her parents agreed to go to the river to rest. The beach was at the end of Sotsyalka. Warm water, yellow silky sand beckoned. I did not want to think about anything. Not even bothered by the talk of war that was going on everywhere. Germany had occupied Austria, the Czech Republic, France, Poland. It was somewhere far, far away, in another world. I wanted to live, laugh, love, and couldn’t believe that life could change in an instant.

We gathered some food and wanted to go — it was ten o’clock in the morning. Suddenly, the door opened, and on the threshold appeared Misha, the boy next door, all frightened, his eyes wide open. He stood looking and could not say anything. — Misha, what happened? Why are you silent? — Aunt Masha, — he squeezed out. — Haven't you heard anything? The war, the war. The Germans attacked the Soviet Union. A tense silence hung in the air. In an instant, in an instant, the world changed. Galya ran home. Mom sank back in her chair without energy, drops of sweat appeared on her forehead. After a little while, she got up heavily, and went into the next room, where Daddy worked. He was a tailor. — Haim, du gerst, a melhome! (Haim, do you hear, war! (Yiddish). A melhome, Haim, a melhome! Voe dafmen ton? (War, Haim, war. What shall we do? (Yiddish). Surprisingly, the news didn’t throw Daddy off balance. — Malka, calm down. Everything will be all right. He, like many people, thought that the Germans would not touch anyone and that the Red Army would quickly liberate everyone. But mother could not calm down, she nervously walked from corner to corner, and everything fell out of her hands. Already on June twenty-fourth the Germans were bombing Bobruisk. The day began with the heartbreaking howl of air-raid sirens. The explosions of the bombs shook the air. Fear, anticipation of trouble gripped Ghenya’s parents. Always so energetic, for some reason they did nothing. People were running, leaving everything and going somewhere out of the city which seemed to come over them in a daze. On June 28 the Germans entered Bobruisk. And immediately the order: "The Jews were ordered to sew the yellow six-pointed stars of David on their sleeves, backs and chests. In another week they were ordered to move to the ghetto. It was on Shosseinaya Street (now Baharova Street), on the left side of the road in the direction of Slutsk, from the marmalade factory to the exit from the city. Rumors of the first shootings spread through Bobruisk. Galya ran to her friend’s house. — Genka, did the Germans come to you? Take my cross, may God save you. They hugged each other, cried, and could not even assume that the storm would break out so quickly. The raids and pogroms began. The German gendarmes and policemen went round every house. It was impossible to remain unnoticed. — Tochter, leif zu Stesche (Daughter, run to Stesche (Yiddish). Genya jumped out into the vegetable garden and ran. And here, all of a sudden, as if from under the earth, there was a German in front of her: -Yude?! (Jewess (German). — No, no, mister, I am Russian, — said Genya and showed the cross on her neck. He looked incredulous and let go. God helped Gena this time. And Mom and Dad were shot. But Gena did not know that. When Aunt Steps saw her, she grabbed her hands: — Daughter, come quickly into the hut. Go to the basement. A German officer, the commandant’s servant, was living in their house at that time. mother was very afraid that Nelia, Galina’s 7 year old little sister, would let somebody know that a Jewish girl was hiding in the basement. — Bite your tongue, Nelya, if you tell anyone, they will kill you all! At that moment a gendarme came in: -Woman, is there Judas? Steshë turned pale, and her speech became speechless. She looked at the gendarme, shook her head, and could not utter a word. Fortunately there was a German lodger at home, who heard the question and saw the silent answer. He got up, came out of his large room and approached the gendarme. They talked briefly about something, and he left. For three long months Gania remained in the cellar, going out only at night. During this time Galya managed to obtain documents for her friend under the surname Borodich. The nurse, Tanya Borodich, worked in the "Ambulance Service" and allegedly lost her passport during a bomb attack while assisting the wounded. Through acquaintances and for money Galya arranged for the clerk’s office to issue Tanya a certificate to replace the lost documents. Borodich knew Genya well: they had studied together in the medical school and then worked together. She gave her the certificate. Galya and Genya pasted over the photo, and the Jewess Ginya Matz became the Russian Tanya Borodich. But it was impossible to stay in Bobruisk. So her friends sent Ginya to Minsk. No one knew her there, and she got a job in a German hospital — first as a kitchen worker and then as a nurse. She was connected with the partisans, passed them medicines, and then became a liaison… After the war Ginya lived in the Saratov region. Never lost touch with her rescuers — she wrote letters, repeatedly came to Bobruisk. In 1950, during another visit, she learned that Nelya, Galya’s younger sister, was ill with tuberculosis. Ginya found a doctor she knew at the tuberculosis dispensary, who treated the girl for a long time, and she recovered. She died in 1986. Galina Filimonovna Miholap lives in Israel with her daughter. Galina Filimonovna turned 81 in 2005. Rubinstein L. They Saved the World.