The oldest Righteous Among the Nations living in Ukraine, Nina Bogorad, has died in Kyiv at the age of 98.
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Bogorad was recognized by Yad Vashem as a Righteous Among the Nations, the title given to non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews from the Holocaust, after she saved a Ukrainian soldier of Jewish origin during World War II and did not hand him over to the Germans. The wounded soldier came to her, but revealed to her that he was Jewish. If she had turned him in, he would have been executed, but she decided to protect him despite the personal risk. In the end the two fell in love with each other and at the end of the war they got married, and became parents to two children.
When the Russia-Ukraine war broke out, Jonny Daniels, the founder and CEO of the From The Depths association, called her and offered to rescue her by bringing her to Israel. However, Bogorad refused and told him: "I have already been through some difficult things in my life and I will not leave them alone in the war." Bogorad's grandchildren are fighting against Russia as soldiers in the Ukrainian army.
Bogorad could have received asylum in Israel. According to the law, the State of Israel allows Righteous Among the Nations to enter the country and obtain citizenship.
Daniels said that at the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war there were 12 Righteous Among the Nations in Ukraine. He helped one of them to get out. During the war, another 2 died and today there are eight more Righteous Among the Nations living in Ukraine, most of them in Kyiv.
"Nina loved the State of Israel very much. She was an amazing woman. During the war, I visited her four times. The last time was a few months ago. I brought her food, medicine and everything she needed to stay safe during this terrible time," he said.
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The Garden of the Righteous Among the Nations at Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem
(Photo: Yad Vashem)
"In 1942, when she was 17 years old, a young, wounded Ukrainian soldier, who miraculously escaped twice from the Germans, came to her home. Shortly after he arrived, as a result of his injuries, his condition deteriorated greatly. Nina wanted to take him to the underground doctors, but he refused and explained to her that he was also Jewish, and that anyone could give him up to the Nazis. She took care of him while taking great risks. During the period when he was recovering and she was hiding him, they fell in love and got married after the war; they had two children and many grandchildren," according to Daniels.
Her husband died in 1984 and she continued to tell their story.
"Even recently when we sat down, she showed me the original love letters he wrote to her, with the most beautiful spark of love still in her eyes," he said.
Bogorad was recognized as one of the Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem in 1992. Of the nearly 23,000 Righteous Among the Nations in the world, only a little over 100 are still alive worldwide.
First published: 20:01, 07.17.23