In the first such ceremony to take place on the Mount of Remembrance since October 2018, Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, today posthumously honored Yelena Grinchik from Ukraine as Righteous Among the Nations Honored attendees included Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel H.E Yevgen Korniychuk; Chairman of Yad Vashem Dani Dayan; and Galina Grinchik "It is a great honor for me to receive this award in the name of my grandmother Yelena I never dreamed that I would come to Israel and take part in such an event My grandmother was a kind person who did not see people according to categories of religion Today's event began with a traditional memorial ceremony in the Hall of Remembrance followed by the presentation of the certificate and medal to Yelena's granddaughter by Yad Vashem Chairman Dani Dayan in the Garden of the Righteous Among the Nations which is etched into the Wall of Honor so that her selfless acts of kindness to the Warmflash family during the Holocaust will always be remembered "As I see the entire Warmflash family tree here today with all the various branches I am reminded by the phrase from the Talmud 'Whoever saves one life is as though he has saved an entire world' which is emblazoned on the Medal and Certificate of Honor of the Righteous Among the Nations While the stories of Holocaust survivors rescued by Righteous Among the Nations are few in number among the countless atrocities of the Holocaust they nevertheless shine a ray of light on this darkest chapter in human history and are a testament to the ability of human beings to stand up in the face of evil and make the right choice." Dozens of family members of the Warmflash family attended the moving ceremony at Yad Vashem daughter of the late Holocaust survivor Yokhanan Warmflash spoke of her family's experience during the Holocaust: "My grandmother and her three sons were deported from their comfortable home in Bukovina and thrown like abandoned dogs into Transnistria the family searched and searched for salvation Uncle Shmuel knocked on the doors of some of the local Ukrainians in the hopes of finding shelter for the family the host family quickly decided it was too risky and threw them again out into the cold A last ray of light shone on them in their darkest moment of despair when they found refuge in the home of Yelena Grinchik When their hopes and health were restored and their smiles returned to their faces 'Shmil (Shmuel) – these people you brought us to are not human beings Yad Vashem has recognized almost 28,000 individuals from over 50 countries as Righteous Among the Nations Born and raised in the village of Tsibulovka in southern Ukraine Yelena Grinchik was 28 years old when Germany invaded the Soviet Union Grinchik worked in the local kolkhoz and was paid in agricultural products which she used to support her two daughters the Germans and their Romanian allies established a concentration camp in Tsibulovka for Jews deported from Bessarabia and northern Bukovina The native Jews of the town had already been murdered women and children were incarcerated in the camp There were no doctors or medications in the camp Reiza Warmflash and her son Yakov were among those who caught typhus They and their family had been marched to the camp from their hometown of Zastavna After their father perished from hypothermia managed to sneak their mother and brother out of the camp Reiza and Yakov were hidden in a local farmer’s barn to protect them from the elements but eventually changed his mind and ordered them to leave Despite barely making ends meet to provide for her own family Yakov and Shmuel – who had meanwhile joined his mother and brother – with food mostly consisting of grains and vegetables that she and Shmuel begged off of other villagers The warm food and shelter were crucial to Yakov and Reiza’s recovery Yokhanan also joined his family members in Grinchik's home but Grinchik managed to cure him through her knowledge of folk medicine combined with the warmth of her Russian stove She performed all of these life-saving actions knowing that she risked severe and possibly lethal punishment if she were to have been caught the Jewish family returned to the camp and remained there for two years until their liberation by Soviet forces in March 1944 Yokhanan and Yakov were conscripted into the Red Army Shmuel and Yokhanan immigrated to the Land of Israel descendants of the Warmflash survivors travelled to the village of Tsibulovka and met with Yelena's family The Yad Vashem website had recently undergone a major upgrade The page you are looking for has apparently been moved We are therefore redirecting you to what we hope will be a useful landing page For any questions/clarifications/problems, please contact: webmaster@yadvashem.org.il When seven-year-old Oleksandr arrived in Greece as a refugee from the war in Ukraine the language barrier meant he struggled to fit in But thanks to an education programme supported by Theirworld he and thousands of other children and teenagers are learning Greek and English and thriving at their new schools and learning centres it was hard for him to speak with the other children,” said Oleksandr’s mother Tetyana who fled from Zastavna in March and is now at the Schisto refugee camp in Athens “But he learned some Greek in two weeks and could play with the kids from Greece The school here helps him to become more sociable “It is vital to continue education because if the situation in Ukraine continues ,we’ll stay here and my son will have to continue his education here.”  The All Children in Education (ACE) programme was launched a year ago, after Theirworld developed a blueprint that showed how every refugee child in Greece could get access to learning It was adopted by the Greek government and UNICEF who committed to provide a route for 26,000 school-age refugee children into formal education over three years ACE included creating 49 Homework and Creative Activity Centres to provide quality inclusive learning to prepare children from four to 17 to move into the state school system and help them stay there A Theirworld grant supported 16 of these centres on the mainland and islands so we do a lot of things that interest them more It's the dream of a teacher to have this kind of relationship with the children.” there has been great progress and the programme has adapted to support refugees arriving from Ukraine Asked what he would tell his Ukrainian friends Oleksandr said: “When I was in Greece it was wonderful and all the lessons there were so amazing that I would like to stay in Greece forever and just go to this school.”  Another person who has seen a big change in Oleksandr is Eva Mellou ACE Project Area Manager for Solidarity Now one of the partner organisations running the Homework and Creative Activity Centres She said: “He was a silent boy at the beginning Last week I saw him dancing and singing along with the teacher and other children Oleksandr plays with Eva Mellou at an HCAC in Athens (Theirworld/Vasia Anagnostopolou)  “The Ukrainian children have been learning a lot but they are more and more happy here and that’s the objective.”  Learning the language is crucial for children to integrate into the Greek school system and wider society also lives at the Schisto refugee camp and enrolled in the ACE programme last year He said: “During the first days I could not speak Greek with the children If it wasn’t for the school and the teachers Syrian refugee Omer is attending school in Greece as part of the ACE programme (Theirworld/Vasia Anagnostopolou) We are very proud of the role Theirworld has played in establishing the ACE programme Theirworld President Justin van Fleet said: “We thought we could really make an impact and make a difference “We wanted to put forward a blueprint for education for refugee children arriving in the Greek islands and living in mainland Greece the UN agencies and the various organisations working with refugees in the islands We also met with refugees and children themselves to learn about what their hopes were for the future what the capacity was and what was realistic thanks to the players of the Dutch Postcode Lottery Theirworld was able to provide bridge funding to help get the programme off the ground only 42% of refugee children were in school according to UNICEF Education Specialist Panagiota Kaisari Ernst She said: “What ACE gave us was the opportunity to have a holistic approach to ensure that each child finds a pathway to school I’m very proud that the children and their families can find support when they need it.”  Greece has committed to provide every refugee child with an education – using a plan devised by Theirworld The government’s framework follows a blueprint for reform set out in our 2020 report Finding Solutions to Greece’s Refugee Education Crisis A Memorandum of Understanding signed last year by the government and UNICEF commits to providing a route for all 26,000 school-age refugee children in Greece into formal education in a three-year programme expected to cost €34 million Only about 40% were enrolled in Greek schools at the start of the 2021-22 academic year LEARN MORE See all news and ways that you can take action to tackle the global education crisis Theirworld is a global children’s charity committed to ending the global education crisis and unleashing the potential of the next generation the son of the late Kazimierz Przybyla and Antonia (Zastavna) Przybyla including a Tour of Duty in Europe with the 116th Ordnance Medium Maintenance Company He was employed as a hat blocker by Kartiganer Hat Shop in Upton MA and as a weaver by Stanley Woolen Company in Uxbridge two granddaughters Alixandra and Katerina of Brecksville OH; a sister Victoria Poliquin of Uxbridge A Funeral Mass will be celebrated Saturday May 27th at 11:00 am in St He will then be laid to rest with his wife in St There will be calling hours Saturday May 27th from 9:30 to 10:30 am before his funeral Mass in The Roney Funeral Home SOUTH CHAPEL Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker