How a former NYPD detective unraveled the stories of the Galician Jews who survived the Holocaust in caves in western Ukraine
2023Get email notification for articles from  Viktoria Greenboim Rich   FollowJul 22
a boy and his friends ventured into a cave near their home
in the Borshchiv district of western Ukraine
they lowered themselves into Verteba Cave and began to explore
Whole chambers in the cave had been turned into living spaces
It seemed that people had camped there for some time
the boy saw unfamiliar letters on the cave wall
Who were these people who had made the cave their home
The curious kids asked their parents and locals
who told them that Jews had hidden in the cave during World War II
Open gallery viewWriting  on the wall in Priest’s Grotto.Credit: Sokhatskyi Mykhailo  Open gallery viewWriting on a wall in Verteba Cave: “Hashomer” – a Jewish defense organization in Palestine.Credit: Sokhatskyi MykhailoThe boy grew up and went on to study speleology and archaeology
Mykhailo Sokhatskyi has been the director of the Borschivskyy Local History Museum
which is devoted to history and archaeology
Verteba Cave had been occupied for over 6,000 years
Through scientific excavations that began in 1829
it has proved to be a crucial source of knowledge about the prehistoric Cucuteni-Trypillia culture
which ranged over a large swath of eastern Europe as long ago as the seventh millennium B.C.E
Since it isn’t the most hospitable of caves
Sokhatskyi – who himself has been excavating the site using modern means since 1996 – and other scholars suspect that over the millennia
In the course of exploring and researching the Verteba Cave complex
Sokhatskyi found more and more clues left by the elusive modern-era people whose traces he first encountered as a child
and he sought clues by learning about the history of the Jewish community in the area
but all led to a dead end – he heard rumors
a 42-year-old speleologist and former New York Police Department investigator decided to visit western Ukraine both in search of his family’s roots and to explore the area’s stupendous gypsum caves
one of the longest gypsum caves in the world
Christos Nicola – like the young Sokhatskyi nearly three decades earlier – stumbled upon modern artifacts
On the floor of a large gallery that he reached after crawling some way through the cave’s narrow labyrinths
but the shoe particularly got him wondering: Who was the girl – and might she still be alive
Suddenly he wondered if there might be a documentary film in all this
Open gallery viewChris Nicola inside Priest's Grotto.Credit: Christos Nicola  Open gallery viewA girl's shoe inside the Verteba Cave.Credit: Peter Lane TaylorLike young Sokhatskyi and his friends three decades earlier
but these were the days just after the fall of the Iron Curtain and the locals were wary of talking with the “alien” American
he ran into an old lady outside the cave who told him that Jews had lived there during the war
Nicola embarked on a mission to find the survivors
While Sokhatskyi was uncovering more and more artifacts left by the people in Verteba Cave over the decades
Nicola was researching and documenting the findings from Priest’s Grotto and also searching for survivors
They certainly didn’t know that they were looking for the same people
Nicola shuttled between New York and Ukraine
interviewing locals and doing research in libraries and archives in the United States
“Holocaust cave survivor” or “Jewish cave,” but nothing surfaced
Open gallery viewBottles found in Verteba Cave.Credit: Sokhatskyi MykhailoThen he had an idea
“If this rumor I was investigating is true
perhaps one day a relative would be doing genealogical research
and if I used the right keywords while advertising my [caving] websites
maybe somebody would find his way to me,” he explains
as he was starting to think about giving it all up
Nicola received an email with the subject “Jewish cave survivors,” from a man whose father-in-law
survived the Holocaust with 37 friends and relatives underground in a cave in Ukraine
Sol Wexler lived only seven miles away from Christos Nicola in New York
Bil’che-Zolote and Borshchiv before the war
in western Ukraine – a region known as Galicia
Altogether Nicola interviewed 14 survivors
Some of those people had spent a total of 511 days living in the caves
The families’ experiences could fill a book
Some of the memories became blurred in time
Open gallery viewChris Nicola with Sol Wexler in 2003.Credit: Christos NicolaThe Jews of Galicia
today a region split between Ukraine and Poland
the Jewish population of Galicia (then controlled by the second Polish Republic) was among the largest in all of Europe
Verteba and Priest’s Grotto Cave are located near the city of Borshchiv
in and around which Jews began settling in the early 18th century
the Jewish communities in the villages of the area
which included Korolivka and Bil’che-Zolote
reaching a combined population of about 12,000
There had been occasional pogroms beforehand
most notoriously during the Khmelnytski Uprising
and such developments as the Russian occupation during World War I and the Russian Revolution that followed
took their toll on the Jewish communities in the Borshchiv region
Many moved away from the villages and small towns to the big cities in Galicia
some communities continued to maintain schools
the village of Korolivka had 500 Jewish families
compromising about 40 percent of the total population
Korolivka had two synagogues and a Jewish boys school; the girls went to other local schools
Ukrainian and Polish seventh-graders on a school trip near Bil’che-Zolote
the German invasion of the Soviet Union began.Credit: Sokhatskyi MykhailoAmong Korolivka’s Jews were Esther and Shabsy Stermer
and the family lived in a big house and had both Ukrainian and Polish neighbors
The Jewish community in the nearby village of Bil’che-Zolote was smaller
but most of the Jews in Bil’che-Zolote buried their dead in nearby Korolivka.The two communities had family ties
two decades after Christos Nicola first began to meet the survivors in the United States and Canada
he came to Israel for a visit and we met at a coffee shop at Tel Aviv University
where he told Haaretz all about the survivors
they connected the people and their stories to the artifacts they left behind
but the shoe in particular got him wondering: Who was she – and might she still be alive
these survivors and their stories were little known to the world
“We Fight to Survive,” which was translated into English and published in that language in 1975
at age 95.) Sol Wexler also set down his story in writing
His tale was documented by a team from the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration at the Kloster Indersdorf children’s displaced persons camp in Germany
a number of the cave survivors taped their stories for Steven Spielberg’s Visual History Archive
There were also small mentions of cave survivors in the American and Ukrainian press
But nobody connected the dots linking the two caves and the people who hid out in them until Nicola found that shoe in 1993 and
Open gallery viewThe Stermer family with documentary producer Peter Lane Taylor
Also pictured: Sima Dodyk (second from left)
brothers Saul and Sam Stermer.Credit: Christos NicolaIn 2003
Nicola and producer Peter Lane Taylor began working on a documentary about the story
They showed the survivors and their families slides of the cave and the items found inside
which showed names inscribed in Polish on the cave’s wall
The children and grandchildren of the survivors had tears in their eyes
they had heard stories about the war and life in the caves
the children and grandchildren of the survivors explained to Nicola and Taylor
even ones with numbers tattooed on their arms
they had first physical evidence of the survivors’ presence in the cave – proof that the stories were true
The names had been written by Mundik Reibel
But he wondered why the survivors’ names were written using the Polish alphabet
according to Nicola: “If we didn’t get out
the Western world would know we were there.” 
The cavers didn’t know if they or if the Jews and Judaism in general would survive
They didn’t think anyone would understand it
Open gallery viewNicola reading the names written in Polish in Priests Grotto.Credit: Stephanie JasperThe winds of hate
dark winds of hatred began to start spreading over Europe
As the danger became increasingly palpable
Esther and her family had their papers ready and planned to leave on a boat from Poland to Canada on September 8
Sol’s father had already moved to the United States a year earlier and had arranged for his family to join him
a week after Germany and the Soviet Union signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
in which they agreed to partition Eastern Europe between them
the USSR invaded Poland too and within weeks
an influx of Jewish refugees from western Poland bearing information about the German atrocities reached Borshchiv
“We felt the black clouds were blowing our way,” Esther wrote in her memoir
so they could travel to the United States through Russia and Japan
But their plans to leave were stymied again
when the Germans violated the nonaggression pact and invaded Russia
thus giving them control over most of Ukraine
the Germans established a ghetto and a Judenrat
Open gallery viewSol Wexler.Credit: Courtesy of Anna AndlauerBy the time the Soviets arrived
some of the Jewish families had dug bunkers under their homes and barns as a precaution
the Stermers and some others used these spaces to hide when necessary
and send them off to death camps or take them outside town and shoot them on the spot
Similar scenes were taking place in other towns in Ukraine
“The sadistic criminals particularly enjoyed torturing and killing Jews on Jewish festival days
only lone individuals remained; other families disappeared from the roots up,” she grieved
but the villages were left to the local police to handle
asked once while watching animals in the yard: “How come the dog and the chickens can walk around freely
Open gallery viewSaul Stermer with his granddaughter Erin and Cliff
visiting the Cave in 2010_ Photo Larisa Chocovskaya.Credit: Larisa ChocovskayaVerteba Cave
When the order came in 1942 requiring any remaining Jews in the area to move into the Borshchiv ghetto once and for all
Yet some Jews who owned horses and wagons could still work as junk collectors
for which purpose they purchased a special badge
allowing them to stay in town and move about with relative freedom
procured such badges and began looking for a safer hideout
who had also been looking for a suitable place for his family to hide
ventured with their belongings into the cave on the night of October 28
In total they were 28 people hiding in the first cave
Open gallery viewThe entrance to Verteba Cave.Credit: Sokhatskyi Mykhailo  Open gallery viewSokhatskyi documents a large pot during the 2023 season in Verteba Cave.Credit: Courtesy of Sokhatskyi MykhailoVerteba Cave was in the valley just next to Bil’che-Zolote
thanks in part to its stalagmites and stalactites
and had attracted both locals and people from all over Europe
There were maps of the cave and its tunnels
Esther recalls in her memoir how a teacher told her about the cave
saying that archaeologists had found ancient artifacts and even human remains inside
She even remembered hearing about a pot as big as a barrel being found there
A similar pot was found inside the cave this past spring
Today the cave is a well-known archaeological site and contains its own little museum
which is preparing an exhibition about the lives of the survivors
in one of the galleries where they resided
the fugitives had to slide through the narrow cave mouth on their backsides
Initially they used ropes when moving around the cave’s vast system of tunnels so they wouldn’t get lost
but gradually they learned their way around
A dental technician even arranged a working station in the cave
Then the residents took to creating light using small bottles filled with kerosene
They became nocturnal: sleeping during the day and active at night
and each tried to adjust to the cave life as best they could
Open gallery viewEmpty medicine bottles in Verteba.Credit: Sokhatskyi MykhailoEach family had a designated person responsible for bringing them food and provisions from the outside
They even obtained a tin stove for the families to cook on
although poor air circulation in the cave made meant fumes were a problem
Over time they found a solution for that too
people believed spirits and ghosts lived in ruins and in caves
Now we could see that there were none here
The devils and the evil spirits were outside
not in the grotto,’ wrote Esther Stermer in her memoir
They found places where water dripped from the stalactites and down the walls of the cave
and collected it in small bottles and pots
It was easier in winter because they could melt snow
There were also other dwellers in the cave: bats
“the children were the light in the darkness”: For example
thereby breaking up the monotony and relieving the anxious atmosphere inside the cave
As the winter grew to a close and spring approached
the cave-dwellers began to worry that with the coming of warmer days
They decided to move deeper inside and dug another exit in case anyone discovered them and blocked the main entrance
a German near the cave entrance noticed some potatoes
It turned out that someone had slipped during the winter
and the bag of potatoes they were carrying had torn
with her husband Herold Dodyk.Credit: Christos NicolaThe cavers are discovered
The Gestapo was informed and several days later
the people inside the cave heard German-language shouting from outside: “We found the place.” They rushed to hide deeper in the tunnels
In their interviews with the Visual History Archive
and their conversations with Christos Nicola
Sam Stermer and others described how Esther confronted the Gestapo before she managed to break away from them: “Do you think that unless you kill us
Leave us here.” Sonia thinks her grandmother did that in order to buy the others more time to hide
recalled in his interview how he drew courage from her words
As the Gestapo was leading the prisoners out of the cave
Open gallery viewA spoon left in Verteba.Credit: Sokhatskyi MykhailoWhen Esther and the other two rejoined the remaining cavers in the depths
her son Saul was found unresponsive in the dirt
All made for the second exit and fled in different directions into the wintry cold
Esther described carrying her unresponsive son for miles as the wind and rain beat at her face
It was for the better that the remaining Jews fled the cave
because the Gestapo sent the local police back to search for more
But all they found were the possessions the cavers had left behind
watched by villagers who had heard the strange tale of the Jews in the cave
The five Jews caught by the Gestapo were handed over to the local police for execution
because when the Jews learned of the transfer
they offered money to the police chief to let the five detainees go
they say: Five bodies would be exhumed from the Jewish cemetery in Bil’che-Zolote in advance of the planned execution
the prisoners would be brought to the cemetery and the executioner would shoot in the air – and let them flee
when the chief of police realized that Leiche
lest she be recognized and the strange truth emerge
Out of five bullets supposed to be shot into the air
the last two were aimed at Sol’s mother and little brother
The survivors who escaped Verteba Cave roamed for weeks
in a field that belonged to the parish priest
The cave had only one small opening and had to be entered feet first
they crawled deeper into the tunnel – which opened into a large hall
Beyond the hall they found a large tunnel suitable for their camp
they found underground freshwater lakes and no traces of human habitation
a group of Jews left for the Priest’s Grotto
Nissen gave his horse and wagon to a friend and disappeared with the others into the darkness
Open gallery viewChris Nicola examining a lamp found in Priests Grotto Cave in 2010.Credit: Fabio BurtinAs they grew accustomed to the dark
each family settled in a different place in the tunnel
They designated a place near the water and far from their sleeping areas for cooking
Nicola had hoped to elucidate where exactly every family resided in the cave and what was where
but the surviving survivors had just been kids back then
Lane Taylor and Nicola documented all the artifacts they found
photographed and mapped the location of their finds
Like in archaeological research of ancient cultures
the pottery turned out to be a valuable tool
when Nicola showed them the pottery fragments
the survivors recognized the dishes that their families had brought to the cave; each had china with a different design
Open gallery viewPottery shards from Priest’s Grotto.Credit: Peter Lane TaylorPriest’s Grotto had better air circulation than Verteba
buying them from friendly farmers or crafting whatever was necessary
Saul made a wooden sleigh and Nissen made Esther a wooden spinning wheel for flax
The Stermer brothers even stole a millstone from a resident of Bil’che-Zolote who they believed had bilked them in the past
That was the basis on which they built a mill inside the cave; thus
the families in the cave could grind the grain into flour
which was a lifesaver under the circumstances
when Saul Stermer talked with Christos Nicola for the first time
his first question was: “Is my millstone still there?” Nicola laughed: “It weighs 100 pounds; it’s not going anywhere.” 
Open gallery viewA cup found in Priest's Grotto.Credit: Peter Lane Taylor  Open gallery viewChris Nicola and the Stermers' millstone.Credit: Stefanie JasperAfter some months in the Priest’s Grotto
the Jews were discovered by hostile locals
who came with shovels and filled in the single entrance to the cave with soil
presumably being disinclined to squeeze their way in feet-first and risk encountering resistance from the Jews inside
They presumably thought the Jews inside would starve to death
the survivors later rationalized in their memoirs and interviews
dug another exit and created a camouflaged covering for it
They also reduced their night missions to the bare minimum
even though they were always hungry – cautiously eating only enough to stave off starvation
and keeping aside provisions for the months ahead
not knowing how long they would have to stay in hiding
explained the children and grandchildren of the survivors
they had heard stories about the war and about life in the caves
Saul and Sam Stermer both described how they and about 10 others would pilfer potatoes
and spend the night running back and forth between the fields and the cave
and blocked it from the inside for good measure
the potatoes were piled up and the corn was hung to dry
for grinding into flour that was used to make mamaliga porridge
“The bowl of porridge tasted better than the most delicious food today,” Esther wrote
each cave-dweller had specific responsibilities
Esther’s duties included tracking the phases of the moon
They had a prayer book and would observe the holy days
The families stayed in the cave until April 1944
by a Jewish boy who had survived under the protection of a local farmer
after living in the dark for hundreds of days
They had become physically accustomed to living in the dark
the daylight felt like pins being stuck in their eyes
they found the locals gazing at them with surprise
“They hadn’t thought any Jews were still alive.” One gave them cookies
or hiding in forests or silos or wherever they could all this time
Open gallery viewSaul and Sam Stermer  in 2010
next to a well where their mother's birth house once stood in Bil'che-Zolote.Credit: Sokhatskyi MykhailoThe Stermers celebrated their freedom by cooking verenike dumplings and eating their fill
The war was continuing in the West and the end of the fighting locally didn’t mean the bloodshed had stopped
together with Yosel Dodyk and his wife (Norman Kittner’s biological parents)
none of the Jews who sheltered in the caves talked about it in public
and they left behind the possessions that kept them alive – for fear they might need to hide there again one day
the Stermers and their extended family jumped at the opportunity
where they stayed in DP camps until late 1949
Sam Stermer and Mykhailo Sokhatskyi at the entrance to Priest’s Grotto
while filming “No Place on Earth” in 2010.Credit: Courtesy of Mykhailo Sokhatskyi  Open gallery viewChristos Nicola with Saul Stermer (L) and Sam Stermer.Credit: Courtesy of  Christos Nicola When Sol Wexler
climbed out of the cave he looked so bad that when two drunken Russian soldiers noticed him
they wanted to shoot him to put him out of his misery
he told the staff at the DP camp; he repeated the story later in his interview with the Shoah Foundation
His survival story was also later mentioned by the historian Anna Andlauer
who published a book on the camp and the fate of the children
Wexler joined his father in New York in 1946
opened a restaurant and became a stockbroker
But the memory of his mother and brother’s murders never ceased to haunt him
Another survivor from the cave was Ulo Barad
he would be the only survivor of his immediate family
he fled to the forest and when his aunt Yetta Dodyk learned that he was alive
the cave dwellers found him and brought him back with them
including the famous Edison Hotel in New York’s theater district
Open gallery viewChris Nicola with Ulo Barad.Credit: Courtesy of Christos NicolaIn her memoir
Esther writes: “If the cave was now in the hands of the Allies
it would be possible to make a film about our life in this grotto
which would have surpassed the fantasies of screenwriters in showing how human beings can survive under such conditions
But now the area is under Soviet control.” 
Christos Nicola and Peter Lane Taylor made such a film
National Geographic broke Nicola’s tale of the survivors in 2004
Nicola and Lane Taylor published a children’s book telling their tale
“The Secret of Priest’s Grotto: A Holocaust Survival Story,” leading to the production in 2013 of the 84-minute long documentary that Esther thought could never be made: “No Place on Earth.”
Six million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust
Hearing the stories drove it home for Christos Nicola: There were six million personal stories of parents
Open gallery viewCredit: Christos Nicola / Kar-Ben Publishing“I’m very happy Nicola found the survivors
documented their story and brought it to the public
so that our current generations will know about the horrors that happened during the war
so it never happens again,” Sokhatskyi said
Some credited Nissen Stermer’s military training: He had served in the Polish cavalry before the war
Others ascribed it to the strong matriarchal leadership of Esther Stermer
the survivors visited the caves with their families and friends with Christos Nicola
Norman Kittner had been just a toddler while living in the cave
When they reached the area in the cave where the Kittners used to sleep
could hear the family reciting Kaddish – the prayer recited by mourners
Open gallery viewEsther's tombstone.Credit: Christos Nicola
HOT: <a href="https://www.novinite.com/poll">&raquo; What kind of news would you like to see more of?</a>
Ukrainian forces have successfully targeted the Kombinat Kristal oil storage facility in the city of Engels
Numerous explosions were reported in the area
with a large-scale fire breaking out at the site
Local authorities confirmed that an industrial facility had been struck
but further details are still being gathered
The Ukrainian General Staff revealed that the oil depot supplied fuel to the Engels-2 military airfield
which is home to Russian strategic aircraft
The attack has created logistical challenges for the Russian military
especially concerning their ability to conduct missile strikes against Ukrainian cities
coordinated by Ukraine's Defence Intelligence and Unmanned Systems Forces
has hampered the strategic aircraft's operational capacity
thereby reducing Russia's ability to target Ukrainian civilian areas
the German building materials manufacturer Knauf has announced the construction of a new plant in Ukraine
The facility will be situated in the town of Borshchiv
and is set to produce drywall and dry building mixtures
The project is valued at €150 million and will have a production capacity of 30 million square meters of drywall and 320,000 tonnes of dry mixtures
This marks Knauf’s second facility in Ukraine
following the operation of a plant in Kyiv
The new Borshchiv plant is strategically located near a gypsum stone quarry
ensuring a long-term raw material supply for the company's production needs
continues to operate at a capacity of 25 million square meters of plasterboard and 200,000 tonnes of dry mixes
Ukrainian officials are working to address issues surrounding the 155th Brigade
which has faced challenges following its formation
has reported to President Volodymyr Zelensky on the situation within the brigade and the steps being taken to resolve the problems identified
Drapatyi explained that while the brigade's formation in collaboration with France was a first
the process faced several unique challenges
making it difficult to foresee all the issues involved
The commander emphasized that most of the systemic shortcomings have been analyzed
and measures are being taken to stabilize the unit
including manning it with experienced officers and providing necessary support
Drapatyi also mentioned the introduction of a special hotline for soldiers to directly communicate issues
ensuring that decisions are effectively addressing their needs
is expected to improve with time and effort
President Nicolás Maduro announced the detention of seven foreigners accused of being mercenaries
were allegedly plotting to disrupt his upcoming inauguration on January 10
and three individuals reportedly linked to the war in Ukraine
Maduro claimed that the group was involved in planning terrorist activities
The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not yet commented on whether any of the detainees are Ukrainian citizens
This development follows the announcement that US President Joe Biden hosted Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo González
who continues to contest the results of the July 28 elections
the opposition maintains that González was the rightful victor
based on their claims of a near-total vote count
calling for the full release of the election results
We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria
According to Bulgaria's Military Intelligence Service report for 2023
Russia remains the dominant destabilizing force in global security
The European Commission has strongly condemned the circumstances surrounding the death of Ukrainian journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna
European countries are struggling to mobilize even 25,000 troops to Ukraine for a potential peacekeeping mission
South Korea's intelligence agency has reported that approximately 600 North Korean soldiers
President Donald Trump has made mixed statements regarding Russian President Vladimir Putin’s intentions in the ongoing war in Ukraine
The European Union is considering the possibility of separating Ukraine and Moldova in their EU accession processes due to Hungary's opposition to Ukraine's membership talks
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has rejected Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement of a short-term "ceasefire" from 8 to 10 May
Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced a so-called "humanitarian" truce to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II
Google Street View Cars Return to Bulgaria for Major Mapping Update
Housing Prices Soar in Bulgaria’s Major Cities as Demand and Supply Strain Increase
Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker