Debora Korolchuk Brenner papers

Debora Korolchuck Brenner was born on 25 December 1937 to Menachem (1895-1965) and Lea (née Frydman, 1895-1984) Korolczuk in Ostrów Mazowiecka, Poland. An older sister, Celia, was born in 1930. With the outbreak of WWII the Korolczuks fled east to Snów (Snoŭ, Belarus), then under Soviet occupation. Menachem, who had previously been a teacher in the town, secured housing for the family in in the rear of a storefront. Following the German invasion in 1941 the Korolczuks were confined to the Snów ghetto on Nieśwież street and experienced persecution by German occupation forces and local collaborators. While detailed to forced labor outside of town Menachem established contact with local partisans. These contacts urged Menachem and others to flee from the ghetto. In September 1942 large pits were dug on the outskirts of Snów under the pretense that they were to be used to house gasoline tanks. In actuality a mass killing action was planned against Jewish communities in the region. The Korolczuks evaded the liquidation of the Snów ghetto by fleeing to the surrounding forests. At this time hundreds of Jews from Snów and nearby communities were shot by German forces and local Belorussian collaborators. To avoid subsequent round-ups of those Jews who had fled, Menachem managed to secure a hiding place for Debora in the home of Ivan Rudkovsky, a former colleague, who lived on a farm with his wife and seven children. After leaving Debora in the care of the Rudkovskys Menachem, Lea, and Celia joined Soviet partisans in the region. While in hiding Debora experienced cruelty at the hands of Mrs. Rudkovsky and the Rudkovsky children. Mr. Rudkovsky, in contrast, protected Debora from maltreatment and denunciation by his family members. He also taught Debora to read and to write. In 1944 Menachem returned to retrieve Debora after serving with the Chapayev brigade partisans. Lea and Celia had also survived the Holocaust among this group. After their reunion the Korolczuks settled in Nieśwież where they remained until the end of the war. By November 1945 the Korolczuks had fled Soviet territory and were living in the Föhrenwald displaced persons camp. The family stayed in Föhrenwald until their departure for the United States in 1947. Ivan Rudkovsky remained in correspondence with the Korolczuks after their immigration to the US, however his letters eventually ceased to arrive and they lost touch. Through Debora's efforts Ivan Rudkovsky was honored as Righteous Among the Nations in 2009.