Portrait of E. Borisovich, 1943

E. Borisovich

E. Borisovich was a Partisan under the Command of Sydir Kovpak (1887 – 1967). Kovpak was a prominent Soviet partisan leader in Ukraine during World War II. 

Haim Bargal (1922 – 1985)

Haim Bargal was born in Korzec, Poland (now Koretz, Ukraine) and received a Zionist Jewish education. His father, Dov, was among the founders of the Tarbut school and he worked in a potter's factory. In 1940, Haim began studying at the Zhitomir Academy of Arts but he was forced to leave due to the Nazi invasion. Following the outbreak of the war, his family was deported to the Korzec ghetto. On 21 May 1942, his mother Roza was murdered with hundreds of other Jews from the city. In September 1942, he and his father fled to the forests, where they tried to join the partisans, but his father was not accepted due to his age. Haim joined a unit of the Kovpak brigade.

At the war's end, and after much searching, Haim and his father were reunited. Haim began studying in the evenings at the Lviv National Academy of Arts while also working as clerk. In 1946, he went on board the illegal immigration ship Katriel Yaffe, which was intercepted by the British, and he was diverted to a detention camp in Cyprus. In 1947, he immigrated to Eretz Israel (Mandatory Palestine) and settled in Kibbutz Sha’ar Hagolan. He fought in the War of Independence, and in 1948, he brought his father to Israel. In 1950, he started his studies at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design. His works have been displayed at numerous exhibitions in Israel.