Abby H

Meva Mikusz: Inka’s Brave Hero

Abby Heselton

Yarmouth High School, Grade 10

My Unsung Hero is Meva Mikusz. When I was reading her short description on the Lowell Milken Center website, the thing that caught my eye was Meva’s age. I knew that many others bravely rescued people from the ghettos of World War II as she had. But when I saw that Meva was only 15 when she rescued Inka, a two-year-old Jewish girl, I was very surprised. Meva became friends with a Jewish family at the start of the war. Later on, the family was forced into a ghetto. She honorably agreed to sneak into the Czortkow Ghetto to save Inka, the little girl of that family. I connected so much to Meva’s inspiring story because I am also 15 years old and I can try to imagine doing the heroic acts that she did. She is so much more of a role model to me because of her young age. She not only rescued Inka from her dangerous situation, but she continued to raise her as her own during a brutal war which couldn’t have been easy. Meva was a brave hero thrown into a cruel and unfortunate setting of war and did what she could to help her friends and do what she knew was right. This took intense courage, empathy, and selflessness. I am extremely moved by her positive influence and am excited to share her story with others through my artwork. 

One of the most important things about my unsung hero is the war setting that she lived in. It has a huge impact on her story and her actions. When Meva snuck in the ghetto to rescue Inka she had to climb through a small basement window. This is why she was the one who had to save Inka because she was the only one small enough to do this and go unnoticed. Luckily, Meva completed the rescue without any problems. But she risked her life with the chance of getting caught by Nazis. However, she was only focused on keeping Inka safe and getting her out of the ghetto. Even after they had escaped, they stayed in their home with the shades pulled at all times to protect Inka and not have to watch the ruthless fighting. I wanted to portray this in my artwork by showing the reality of the war she was living in in the background. Meva is a Polish girl and her name in Polish means “seagull”. I incorporated this into the painting by giving her wings to represent her protection of Inka and connecting to her name. Meva is a great role model for all young girls. She teaches them that despite your age or your situation, you should always be empathetic towards others and have courage. 

The background of my artwork depicts the Czortkow ghetto from which Inka was rescued and the war-torn world that they were living in. I used muted tones and avoided vibrant colors to portray the dismal mood of war. As described earlier, the wings that Meva has in the picture are a symbol of protection and being the savior of Inka while also paying tribute to the origin of Meva’s name. The colors that Meva and Inka are wearing are vibrant and represent their emotions and also shows how they were separate from their depressing surroundings and made the best of their situations. For example, Meva is shown wearing colors of blue, orange, and brown symbolizing her dependable nature, sadness over the war, and the ruin from which she had escaped from with Inka. Inka also is wearing the meaningful colors of white, pink, and green. They represent her innocence, youth, and hope of a better future. Their expressions and body language are meant to show the comfort small Inka takes in young Meva and the bond that they share. These are the ways that I have presented their story in my artwork. 

Meva has taught me so much with her story. I have learned how empathy can have a huge impact on others' lives. My outlook on life has been altered in the way that I should be thankful for my situation and my issues are not always as big as they might seem. If Meva can show extreme bravery and selflessness during such a difficult time, then I can also implement these kinds of traits into my life. I will get to share my artwork in an art showing at my community library. This will hopefully spread Meva’s story to many others who might not have known about her otherwise. I will also make sure to spread her story by using her as an example whenever possible. She is a true hero and her story should be more well-known. I hope that with this project I can help share it and honor her legacy.