Wiktor Brillant (1877–1942) was a Polish

pharmacist A pharmacist, also known as a chemist (Commonwealth English) or a druggist (North American and, archaically, Commonwealth English), is a healthcare professional who prepares, controls and distributes medicines and provides advice and instructi ...

from Jaroslaw (

Galicia Galicia may refer to: Geographic regions * Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain ** Gallaecia, a Roman province ** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia ** The medieval King ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

) who was killed by the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hit ...

Family

Wiktor was the eldest son of Henrieta (née Rapaport) (1846–1918) and Karl Brillant from

Tarnopol Ternópil ( uk, Тернопіль, Ternopil' ; pl, Tarnopol; yi, טאַרנאָפּל, Tarnopl, or ; he, טארנופול (טַרְנוֹפּוֹל), Tarnopol; german: Tarnopol) is a city in the west of Ukraine. Administratively, Ternopi ...

, then a part of the Austrian Empire. Wiktor's sister Dora Brillant was born in 1881. Wiktor married Laura Brillant (née Sturmlauf) on August 28, 1904 at Przemysl. They had four sons. Karol-Ludwig, also a pharmacist, was born in 1905 and was killed by the Nazis in 1942. Maximillian, an electrical engineer, was born in 1906 and immigrated to Palestine in 1934. Yohanan-Yan was born in 1914, served in the Anders-Army, and came to Palestine in 1942. Edmond Wilhelm was born in 1916, emigrated to Palestine in 1936, and became a naval architect. After serving in the British

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

in World War II, Edmund became one of the founding fathers of the

Israeli Navy The Israeli Navy ( he, חיל הים הישראלי, ''Ḥeil HaYam HaYisraeli'' (English: The Israeli Sea Corps); ar, البحرية الإسرائيلية) is the naval warfare service arm of the Israel Defense Forces, operating primarily i ...

. The family residence was at May-3 street in Jaroslaw. Wiktor Brillant was a first cousin of Dr. Adolf Sternschuss who is commemorated in Krakow National Museum. and Michał Sternschuss-Staniewski

Professional career

Wiktor earned a M.Sc degree in pharmaceutics. In 1928 he opened a pharmacy at 16 Grunwaldzka Street in Jaroslaw. The name of his pharmacy was "Pod Czarnym Psem" (Polish for "The Black Dog"). In 1908, he won a gold medal in a show in Berlin, and took third place with bronze medal at an industrial exhibition held at the Jaroslaw park now known as the Park of Heroes of Monte Cassino.

World War II

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Wiktor was taken as a hostage by the Nazis. Since he was a prominent Jew, he appeared as the first in the hostages list. He was robbed by the Nazis and was deported with his wife Laura and two sons Karol and Yohanan across the

River San The San ( pl, San; uk, Сян ''Sian''; german: Saan) is a river in southeastern Poland and western Ukraine, a tributary of the river Vistula, with a length of (it is the 6th-longest Polish river) and a basin area of 16,877 km2 (14,42 ...

to the Soviet side. They moved to Tarnopol to the home of Laura's sister, Bronislava Hefter. In Tranopol, Wiktor opened a pharmacy. In 1942 Wiktor, Laura and Karol were killed by the Nazis after their deportation to

Zloczow Zolochiv ( uk, Золочів, pl, Złoczów, german: Solotschiw, yi, זלאָטשאָוו, ''Zlotshov'') is a small city of district significance in Lviv Oblast of Ukraine, the administrative center of Zolochiv Raion. It hosts the administrat ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brillant, Wiktor 1877 births 1942 deaths Jews from Galicia (Eastern Europe) People from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria People from Jarosław Austro-Hungarian Jews Polish civilians killed in World War II Polish pharmacists Polish Jews who died in the Holocaust