The Story of Halina Czechowska
In 1999, a 77-year-old polish immigrant called Halina Czechowska had a heart attack and passed away a few days later. According to an article we read, she was a retired seamstress and her neighbours knew her as a woman in a red coat. She lived in a village for 30 years, and when she passed the neighbours dedicated a bird bath to her, and gathered to remember her in the garden. Not much more was said about Halina after that, until people starting hearing of her estate being left behind, which was worth more than a quarter of a million dollars. She died with no will, and no known heirs. That’s when Vadmin Tevelev stepped in as an heir hunter. He represented Halina’s closest relatives in court, and almost won the case. That was until his documents and genealogical records were called out as being forgeries. Not only did it cause Tevelev to lose his commission, but it brought 20th century Europe’s darkest parts back into the light. Another thing that came from the court case was Halina’s identity!
Halina Czechowska’s real name was Anna Portianko. She was born in a small village in central Ukraine called Selyshe. This fact first came to light when a brother and sister cleared out an old shed in the village, where they found a stack of letters some of which were half a century old! The first letter had been dated 1959 and addressed to Annas mother. Anna’s mother had not heard from Anna since 1942 when she was snatched by Nazis! The Nazis troops had taken her from the family basement in their home and taken to a forced-labour camp in Germany. Anna was only 20 years old at the time, and one of the 10 million people taken into Auslandereinsatz, the program of capturing conquered nations civilians. The largest number of people were captured in Ukraine. However, by the time the Nazi’s had got to Anna Portianko, she had already lived through terrible times. Ukraine, which was part of the Soviet Union then, had been almost destroyed by famine in the years leading to WW2. In the famine of 1932, millions of Ukrainians died of starvation. This led to Anna being smart enough to know not to go back home when the camps were liberated in 1945. In a displaces-persons camp, during the two years after the war Anna managed to claim the identity of a Polish National. Displaced persons were given the option to settle in Europe or Americas. Anna, now Halina Czechowska, chose to go to England. She spent 12 years in England, and then boarded a ship to America in 1959. When she arrived in America, she finally contacted her family back in Ukraine. As she was scared her letters could get her family in trouble with soviet police, she initially wrote as Halina. The story was, she befriended Anna in a labour camp and wanted to know how Anna’s family was. After an entire year of letters, she told her mother and family the truth, signing her name as Anna for the first time since the war. She said she decided not to come home after the war because of what was said in the camps. Stories of what was happening in their country. Letters we sent back and forth explaining her regret of not contacting sooner, and the guilt she carried as she found a better life elsewhere.
When Halina Czechowska passed away, nobody knew of any family to get into contact with until a letter arrived months after. Her neighbour, Elizabeth Puccini said that the “Mystery of Halina” started when the letter from Ukraine arrived. Elizabeth, took the letter to a local Ukrainian restaurant and got a waiter to translate it for her. The letter was from Anna’s Sister asking why she hadn’t written in a while, and carrying the information of her mother’s passing. Elizabeth and the waiter wrote back, informing the sister of Anna’s Passing, and the $280,000 inheritance. Elizabeth Puccini says she never heard back from Anna’s sister, and for years the only man with a claim was her supposed nephew.
This is where Vadim Tevelev stepped in, representing Halina’s supposed niece in Moscow. Heir Hunters, knows the ins and outs of genealogy and since the commission is received on whatever they’re able to collect they do their homework. After three years dragging through the legal system, Judge Nora Anderson ruled in the courts favour, ordering the money to be released. But in the last second, a New York Lawyer came in with a rivalling claim. He accused the relative of pretending and claimed to have evidence against Tevelev claiming his documents are fraudulent. Glenn Levin, the New York estate lawyer represented the brother and sister who found Anna Portianko’s letters, along with his own testimony destroyed Tevelev’s case. The judge awarded Anna’s legacy to the two siblings to inherit her fortune, who were also her grand-niece and grand-nephew, and some inheritance for the cousin of Anna’s deceased sister. Glenn Levin, called their heir hunting victory a ‘great story of survival and love for family’ and said he was “pleased the process worked out for the rightful heirs of this remarkable woman.”
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