(Yad Vashem) Kondratiy and Anna Lakotko of Belarus risked their lives to save six Jews during WWII and were recognized by Yad Vashem on Wednesday as Righteous Among the Nations on behalf of the State of Israel and the Jewish people. Their youngest son, Panteley Lakotko, accepted the medal and certificate on behalf of his late parents. In July 1942, two young Jewish men, cousins Kalman and Shimon Kotzer, had been hiding in forests and fields after escaping from the ghetto in Miory on the eve of its liquidation. The Lakotkos were among the few who agreed to share their supplies with the forest-dwelling refugees. At the same time, the Lakotkos also hid four Jews in their stables: Icchak Aron and his sister Gitl, and their cousins Shmuel and Reizl Engel. As winter forced Kalman and Shimon out of the forest, they were hidden in the Lakotko's cellar. In 1943, all of the Jews joined the partisans and fought the Germans until the area was liberated by the Soviet army in the summer of 1944.
2022-05-26 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive