Ivan Vranetic with Erna Montilio and Ella Schnitzer share an incredible story of heroism. Ivan was only seventeen when he began to rescue Jews in Yugoslavia, yet he was able to save so many. Ivan attributes his upbringing as the reason for his generous and kind nature as demonstrated in his own words; "we were brought up to love humankind."(226). Ivan and his father, a member of the Partisan army, did what they could to help.
Ivan was so successful in rescuing Jews during the war that he had become known as a man who "helps everybody"(228). When Erna first saw Ivan, she was with her mother, sister, and two year old daughter, Ella. Erna had asked Ivan to find her and her family a place to stay, so Ivan took them in. They had all become so close with one another that they had truly become a family. Ella thinks of Ivan as a father and since 1964 they have been living in close proximity to each other in Israel.
Ivan, Erna, and Ella's story astounds me in it's simplicity. All of the details are complex and heartbreaking of course, but at it's core Erna and her family needed help, so Ivan helped them.
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