Svitlana Suprun (Kryvkovych)

The Kryvkovych family lived in Kyiv, on Velyka Zhytomyrska Street. Svetlana’s father was the school principal, her mother worked as a teacher. Maria Maksymovna Halperina, her mother’s friend, also worked at the same school. When the war broke out, Svetlana’s father evacuated the family, but Ryma Mitrofanovna, Svetlana’s mother, was convinced that the Germans would never capture Kyiv, and returned to her home with her daughter.

One day Rymma Mitrofanivna saw a crowd of Jews moving along the Great Zhytomyr towards Babyn Yar from the window of her apartment. Among them she saw her friend Maria. Rimma Mitrofanivna immediately ran out of the apartment, because she guessed what might happen to those who were going to Babyn Yar. The woman immediately grabbed her friend and took her home.The first days Maria Maximovna hid behind a closet where there was a chest that became her bed. It was dangerous to go out so that no one would find out that someone was being buried in the Kryvkovych Apartment. The mother warned Svetlana that if someone else found out that Maria lived in the house, she would never see her mother and it was not known what would happen to her daughter. All the time, Svetlana did not tell anyone about Maria.When the Germans came with a search, Svetlana was playing with dolls. The Germans ordered no one to leave the room, but finding a moment, the girl quietly slipped away and ran to the kitchen, where Maria was at that moment, to warn her. Maria immediately went through the back door, but left the door open. After a few seconds, the Germans asked why the door was open, and Svetlana said she had opened it. “As?” – The policeman was surprised, because the latch was too high for the child. Then the girl brought a stool, which stood in the kitchen, climbed on it and reached for the latch.The further fate of Maria Maximovna was difficult. She survived the occupation, but suffered severe mental trauma as a result of the ordeal and died in hospital after prolonged treatment.On February 23, 1994, Rima Kryvkovych and Svitlana Suprun were awarded the honorary title of “Righteous of Babyn Yar”. From Lipnyagov Nikita