Oksana Antipchuk

The Deynek family lived on the outskirts of the village.  Uzhachyn, Novohrad-Volynskyi district, Zhytomyr region.  When the war broke out, Mark Timofeevich, a 41-year-old father, worked as a railroader and was not subject to mobilization because he had “armor.”  His wife, Lydia Gerasimovna, worked from home and raised two children, 13-year-old Oksana and 2-year-old son Ananias.

In July 1941, Uzhachyn was occupied by the Nazis, and a “hunt for Jews” began, including the Keselman family.  they were sent to the Novograd-Volyn ghetto and then shot.  On the way to the place of execution, Zina Keselman (Zlata) and her 2-year-old son Naum fled to the forest, where they were found by Taras Mamanchuk, an assistant elder from the village of  Ужачин.  He hid his mother and son with him for a while, and when it became dangerous, he told his godfather Mark Deinek about them.

Marco and Lydia knew Zina’s father, Andriy Keselman, well and left Zina and Naum with them.  Oksana’s parents were well aware of the danger of hiding Jews.

One day in 1942.  Anna’s relative visited the Deineks.  She saw Zina and told the village elders.

Fortunately, the assistant headman warned Deinekov through Oksana about the search.  Zina was hidden in a chest, covered with rows, and Oksana and Naum climbed under the stove.  Lydia told police that her son was ill and that they were not hiding Jews.  The occupiers left the house, warning that if Jews were found, their entire family would be shot.  This forced the family to seek new shelter for Zina and her son.  Marko took them to a nearby village to visit his nephew Mykola Danyuk and his wife Kateryna.  At the request of relatives, he wrote legitimate documents to Zinui Naum.  He persuaded a neighbor who had ties to the guerrillas to take Zina to the detachment.  Nauma promised to return to himself, but childless Catherine asked to leave the boy.

After the war, Zina returned home.  Zina took her son through a court initiated by Deineki, where Marco testified because the Danyuks adopted Nahum and christened him Anatoly.  The Deinek family saved the Keselmans for the second time.

Nahum Kesselman never forgot about the Deinek family who saved his life.  And Oksana, who got married and became Antipchuk, was called her second mother.

On January 6, 2015, Yad Vashem awarded Mark, Lydia Deineko and Oksana Antipchuk the honorary title of “Righteous Among the Nations”.