1904–1988
Olena Viter
Abbess of the Studite convent in Lviv
Under Nazi occupation she hid Jewish children in a convent, and the Soviets arrested her twice. Mother Iosyfa, Olena Viter, was abbess of the Studite sisters' convent in Lviv, spent ten years in the camps and was recognized as Righteous Among the Nations.
Key accomplishments
- A nun from 1922; abbess of the convent in Yaktoriv (1932–1939), where she ran educational societies and a drama group
- Abbess of the Studite convent in Lviv (1939–1940, 1941–1945); organized fundraising for imprisoned nationalists
- With Abbot Klymentii Sheptytskyi, coordinated the rescue of Jews, above all children, in Studite monasteries
- Righteous Among the Nations (Yad Vashem, 1976)
- Survived a death sentence in 1941 and ten years in Soviet camps; later led an underground convent in Skalat
A refuge behind convent walls
Imagine a child who has seen the ghetto and lost their family, and now has to learn someone else’s prayers so as not to give themselves away. That was life for Jewish children in the Studite sisters’ orphanage on the edge of Lviv under Nazi occupation. It was run by the abbess, Mother Iosyfa, born Olena Viter. The nuns fed and clothed the children and taught them Christian customs. If a child caught the eye of the authorities or of farmers visiting the convent, the abbess moved that child to another Studite house.
Rescue alongside the Sheptytskyis
In 1942 Metropolitan Andrei Sheptytskyi agreed to shelter Jews who had asked him for help. The rescue in the Studite monasteries was coordinated by Abbot Klymentii Sheptytskyi and Mother Iosyfa. No one knows exactly how many people she saved: a list drawn up with her help was part of the Soviet criminal case against her and has since gone missing from the archives. The children named among those saved include Lili Pohlmann, Nathan Lewin and Adam Rotfeld. In 1976 Israel’s Yad Vashem memorial recognized Olena Viter as Righteous Among the Nations.
Two Soviet prisons
Olena was born in 1904 in the village of Myklashiv near Lviv, and in 1922 became a Basilian nun. She became abbess of the Studite convent in Lviv in 1939 and raised money for imprisoned nationalists. On 11 June 1940 the Soviet secret police (NKVD) arrested her for working with members of the liberation movement. She was tortured in prison and in June 1941 sentenced to death, but she survived. In October 1945 she was arrested again and sentenced to 20 years. She spent about ten years in camps in Siberia and Mordovia.
A convent that wasn’t supposed to exist
After the camps Mother Iosyfa led an underground Studite convent in Skalat in Ternopil region, despite constant pressure from the authorities. She died in Lviv in 1988.
Why it matters today
Mother Iosyfa showed that even under occupation a life can be saved by someone who refuses to look away. She risked everything for Jewish children who were strangers to her, and her recognition as Righteous Among the Nations reminds the world that in those years there were Ukrainians who saved their Jewish neighbours. Neither a death sentence nor ten years in the camps broke her: afterwards she led a convent again, even if an underground one. Her story shows that faith and conscience can stand up to both Nazi occupation and Soviet terror.
