After the German occupation of Armavir, Russia in 1942, Jewish sisters Fira and Masha Litovsky were lucky to be alive. Their parents had been shot in the woods along with the rest of the Jewish population of their hometown of Piatigorsk. The sisters had managed to hide with the Belkov family.When it was too dangerous to stay in Piatigorsk, the sisters escaped to Armavir to seek out the Zagurska family, friends from before the war.
Adel Zagurska and her mother Mihalina immediately took the sisters in and obtained fake documents for them. Although there was the threat of death for hiding a Jew, Adel did not hesitate to provide food and shelter, even if it meant being cramped in a one-room apartment for over 5 months.
Adel and her mother even helped Fira and Masha get jobs at the local hospital. After the liberation of 1943, the sisters returned to their home only to discover that their entire family had perished.
Adel Zagurska passed away in 2001, while her mother had died at an unknown date years earlier.
Edited by Matthew London
