Polina Khomut was married to Isaak Khomut, a Jewish grain merchant. They had two daughters, Hanele and Laura, and lived in Tuczyn (today Tuchyn).
When German troops attacked the region in July 1941, Ukrainian nationalists carried out pogroms against the Jews. Polina Khomut and seven-year-old Laura were beaten brutally and seriously injured.
In September 1942 Polina, Isaak, and Laura Khomut had to move into the Tuczyn ghetto. The older daughter was taken in by a non-Jewish family. Polina and Laura Khomut were soon able to flee with the help of their Ukrainian friend Pawel Gerasimchik, and they hid on his farm in Szubków (today Shubkiv). Isaak Khomut joined them later. Just a short time later, all Jews from Tuczyn were shot. Polina Khomut, her husband, and their daughter spent 18 months in an underground hiding place in the barn. The Gerasimchik family supplied them with food.
After the region was liberated in February 1944, Polina Khomut and her family returned to Tuczyn, where they learned that the older daughter Hanele had been murdered. The family emigrated to the United States in 1949 and changed their name to Emmet.