Righteous Among the Nations - Anton Sukhinski

“I am the captain of this ship, we either all drown, or we all survive”

Anton Sukhinski

In July 1941, the Germans occupied a small town in Ukraine named Zborów. Many of the town’s Jews were murdered on the day they arrived.[1] The Holocaust survivor Eva Adler, told in an interview to ‘Yad Vashem’, that on the 4th of July the Nazis came and took all the Jewish men to labor camps. Her father and two brothers were taken, and she never saw them again. On the 28th of August, the SS came again and took all the women and children, including Eva’s mother. Eva managed to escape to a little wooden cabin, and after a while, she moved to the Zborów Ghetto.[2]

In 1943, rumors about the killings of Jews in extermination camps around Europe started to spread in the ghetto. Eva, who had been transferred to a labor camp, decided to escape, and joined the Zeiger family. Together they headed to Anton Sukhinski, the Zeigers’ neighbor. [3]  Anton was an Ukrainian farmer who lived in Zborów and was considered as the “village fool” due to his solitude and his love for all living creatures. Anton agreed to shelter Eve and the Zeiger family in an underground cellar, with a 16-year-old Jewish girl, Zipora Stock.[4]

After a while, Anton’s neighbors started suspecting that he’s hiding Jews in his house. They began to blackmail him and threatened that they will inform the police. The Zeiger family had some money, so they decided to pay the neighbors to keep them quiet. As time went by, it was getting harder to keep paying Anton’s neighbors, but they kept their demands until the family refused to give them any more money.[5]

One night on October 1943, they started shooting at Anton’s house, killing one of the Jewish women and wounding Eva.[6] There was great fear that the police will come to locate the source of the shooting, so the Zeigers and Eva decided to run away from Anton’s house and look for a new place to hide in nearby towns. They encountered hostility, and the harsh weather made it difficult for them to stay outside for long.[7]

The Zeigers and Eva decided they must return to Anton’s house. In an interview, Eva described their meeting: “He received us warmly, opened his arms, crying with joy and kissing us: ‘Dears, I am so happy that you came to me. From now on I will not let anyone harass you. From now on no one will be able to discover you”.[8]

This time, Anton hid them in his attic, until he and the Zeiger boys finished building a hideout under his house, where they hid for the next nine months. They only had a small lamp for light and the food that Anton gave them each day.[9] Anton’s biggest fear was that they will be discovered by the Germans, as he also struggled greatly with feeding six people.[10]

The entrance to the root cellar, which led to the hiding place bellow 

Unfortunately, Anton’s neighbors never stopped suspecting him. They reported him and not long after that, German and Ukrainian soldiers came to his house. They wrecked his house, and threatened Anton’s life. Despite the death threats, Anton didn’t reveal a thing until the soldiers left.[11]

On July 24th, 1944, the hideout door opened. Anton declared that the Russians had liberated Zborów and that they don’t have to hide any longer.[12] For some time, they stayed with Anton, until they regained their strength and left Ukraine. The Zeiger family emigrated to the US, Eva to Uruguay, and Zipora to Israel.[13]

After the war, the Zeiger family sent packages of food and clothes to Anton, and the family and their past savior exchanged letters over the years. However, by the end of 1950, Anton stopped replying to the family's letters.[14] The Zeigers did everything they could to trace him, but they could not find his location. His house was empty, and no one knew what had happened to him. They thought that maybe he passed away.[15]

In 1974, Anton Sukhinski was recognized as “Righteous Among the Nations” by ‘Yad Vashem’.[16]

Fortunately, in 1988, in a last attempt to locate him, the Zeiger family finally found Anton’s location through an old friend that visited Zborów. When they found out that their past savior lives in poverty, they flew to Zborów, and made sure he will have a proper house. That year, Zborów had a great celebration in Anton’s honor, and finally the “village fool” became the “town’s hero”.[17]

The villagers of Zbor6w held a ceremony to honor Anton.

In 1992, Anton arrived in Israel together with the Zeiger family, Eva Adler, Zipora Stock and their families, for a ceremony that was held in his honor in ‘Yad Vashem’.[18]

The Zeigers, Eva, Zipora, and their families surround Anton

In 2012, the children’s book “The Secret of the Village fool” was published.[19] The book, which was written by Rebecca Upjohn, tells the story of Anton, the “village fool” who became a hero.

The Secret of the Village Fool book cover.