Nadiya Yakovchuk (Shevchuk)

When the war began the Shevchuk family – Yakiv Shevchuk, his wife Natalia, daughters Maria and Nadiya, sons Viktor and Mykola – lived in the village of Malyy Chernyatyn, Kalyniv district, Vinnytsia region.

In the neighboring district center of Kalynivka the Kruglikov Jewish family – Nathan and Anna and their children – 10-year-old son Misha and 4-year-old daughter Rita lived. Nadiya Shevchuk’s mother and grandmother, Khima Lysyuk, were friends with Kruglikovs.

When the persecution of Jews began during the occupation, the Kruglikovs moved to the village of Malyn. They were soon exposed and reported by a village policeman. Nathan was taken to Kalynivka, where he hung himself on his belt to avoid torture and abuse. Misha and Rita were shot by the Nazis in front of their mother, but Anna managed to escape by miracle.

She hid in a shed in the field, where she was found by Yakiv Shevchuk, who worked as a watchman. At night he came and took Anna to his house. She was very cold and shocked, so Yakiv and Natalia rubbed her with vodka. Anna Kruglikova was hidden by the Shevchuk family from March 1942 to January 1944. In summer she was in the attic, and in winter she hid behind the stove. When she went out to walk around the room, the Shevchuks’ children stood by the windows and looked to see if anyone was coming. When they saw someone, they sent Anna either to the attic or behind the stove.

Fighting took place in the area of Malyn village and partisans’ actions were intense. The Nazis decided to evict all village inhabitants. On the eve of the evacuation, Yakiv Shevchuk secretly transported Anna to the Chervonyi collective farm, where she cared about sheeps, though she was a medical doctor. There she stayed until the expulsion of the Nazis.

After the war, the Shevchuks learned that Anna lived in Vinnytsia, where she married a professor and gave birth to a child.

On November 5, 2009 Jewish Council of Ukraine recognized Yakiv and Natalia Shevchuk as Righteous of Ukraine.