Tragedy on International Holocaust Remembrance Day as Survivor Freezes to Death in Kyiv
Yevgenia Bespamilnaya who survived the horrors of the war as a child was found frozen in her apartment during a severe cold wave and prolonged blackouts
Yevgenia Mikhailivna Bespamilnaya, a Holocaust survivor born in Kyiv, was found frozen to death in her apartment in the city during mid-January. The discovery was made amidst an extreme cold wave accompanied by prolonged electricity and water outages. Her death was only revealed after a pipe burst caused flooding in the building where she lived, as reported by the "Novaya Gazeta" website in Ukraine.
A Life Defined by Survival
Bespamilnaya, known to her neighbors as "Baba Zhenya," survived the Holocaust in Ukraine as a child. Following World War II, she was sent to an orphanage where she was given the unusual surname "Bespamilnaya," which translates to "without family." She lived alone with no known relatives and spoke only Yiddish and Russian.
Neighbors described her as introverted and reserved. She rarely opened her door to others but was known to regularly attend the nearby synagogue.
Discovered After a Pipe Burst
Concerns for her safety arose on January 13, after neighbors noticed she had not been seen for some time and was not answering her phone. That same night, a water pipe burst in her fourth-floor apartment. The water began to flood the building and quickly froze in temperatures that had dropped to minus 18 degrees Celsius.
Police only agreed to break into the apartment following heavy pressure from the building's residents. Inside, they found the woman lifeless, her body completely frozen, with the entire apartment covered in ice. Police estimated she had passed away several days prior.
A Community in Shock
Her neighbor, Yulia Khrimchak, said that residents used to bring Baba Zhenya groceries and look after her as best they could. "No one asked when the water or electricity would return; everyone was just sorry for her," she said. "We are a community that holds on together, even when it is difficult."
According to neighbors, the case highlights the harsh reality of life in Kyiv during the current winter, where residents are contending with extreme cold, collapsing infrastructure, and continuous disruptions to power and water systems. Thus, Baba Zhenya, who survived the horrors of the Holocaust, met her death alone in the freezing cold of the Ukrainian winter.