Stella Krentsbah
UkraineEarly Life and Education
Stella Kranzbach was born into a Jewish family in Bolekhiv, Ukraine. Her father was a rabbi, and she attended the local gymnasium before graduating with a degree in philosophy from Lviv University in 1939.
World War II and the UPA
On the eve of World War II, Stella was scheduled to join her parents in Palestine. However, the annexation of Western Ukraine by the Soviet Union prevented her from leaving. In 1940, she became the target of the NKVD and was forced into hiding.
Olga, a classmate and the daughter of a Greek Catholic priest, provided Stella with refuge. During the German occupation, Stella lived under an assumed name and worked as a seamstress. Olga, who had connections with the Ukrainian underground, introduced Stella to the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA).
Stella joined the UPA and underwent a six-month training program as a medic. After the Red Army reoccupied Ukraine in 1944, she worked as a secretary to the chief of police in Rozhniativ while secretly providing support to the UPA.
Arrest and Escape
In 1945, Stella was arrested while meeting with a UPA liaison. She was sentenced to death but escaped during a UPA raid on Rozhniativ. She joined the UPA forces in the Carpathian Mountains and worked in a field hospital.
Post-War Life
After the UPA was defeated in 1946, Stella escaped to the British occupation zone in Austria. She eventually settled in Israel and worked in the Foreign Ministry.
Legacy
Stella Kranzbach's story has been recounted in various publications, including Zhanna Kovby's "Humanity in the Abyss of Hell" and a French translation in the journal "L'Est européen." Her experiences as a Jewish member of the UPA have shed light on the complexities of resistance and collaboration during World War II.
