During the war, Yosef Zilberberg and his family survived in hiding. Anton Ozertchuk, a Ukrainian, hid them on his property. They lived for over a year in miserable conditions, clustered together under a barn that held sheep. While Yosef’s immediate family survived the war, the majority of his family perished. Many of Yosef’s aunts, uncles, and cousins died at the hands of the Germans and Ukrainians.
The Zilberberg family continued to hide with Anton for a time after the liberation of the area by Russian forces.
A sculpture of Anton Ozertchuk bringing water to people in a hiding place under his barn.
By Yosef Zilberberg, Courtesy of Yosef Zilberberg.
The family feared the unstable Soviet regime, but eventually left hiding to move to Rovno. Following the end of the war in 1945, Yosef and the Zilberberg family moved to Lodz and later they went to Austria.
They eventually took part in the “Bricha,” which meant Escape, in which Jews illegally made aliyah, or emigrated, to Israel (then Palestine). They spent two years living in a tent camp there because of the poor economic conditions.
A painting by Yosef Zilberberg depicting the pogrom in Tuchyn.
Courtesy Yosef Zilberberg.
Yosef lived the rest of his life in Israel where he pursued painting and had a wife, children, and grandchildren. While there are no photographs of the Tuchyn massacres, he has illustrated what happened.
Anton Ozertchuk and his family were honored as Righteous Among the Nations for saving the lives of the Zilberberg family. Yosef himself later thanked the Ozertchuks by sending financial support and visiting them.