Volodymyr Chernovol

Volodymyr Chornovol was born in 1921 in the village of Vodyana, Dobrovelychkiv district, Kirovohrad region. In 1930, his family – wealthy peasants – were deported by the Soviets to Siberia, where they died. Their property was confiscated. After the death of his parents, Volodymyr was raised in an orphanage, completed teacher training courses and began teaching in a village in Zhytomyr region. And when the Nazis captured the territory of Ukraine in the summer of 1941, Chornovol decided to return to his native village in the Kirovohrad region.

On the way to his village he met a man of his age – Hryhoriy. He told Volodymyr that he was a military pilot, his plane was shot down by the Germans, but he managed to escape. The men continued on their way together, and when it came time to part company, a new acquaintance confessed that his real name was Hryhoriy Lanzman, that he was a Jew and that his entire family had been murdered, but he was the only one who survived.

Chornovol, without thinking for a moment, invited Lanzman to continue the way together. That’s how they got to Vodyana. Volodymyr well remembered the village of his childhood, and they quickly found his parents’ former home, where Lanzman found a shelter.

He introduced himself as Chornovol’s friend from the orphanage. Despite the fact that the village headman believed this story, he demanded that Volodymyr’s friend receive documents from the local commandant confirming his identity and a residence permit to stay in the village.

The next day, Chornovol and Lanzman went to Dobrovelichka, where the headquarters of the local military command was located.

The secretary-translator of the commandant remembered Volodymyr Chornovol and his parents and signed the necessary documents. So Lanzman received a certificate in the name of Hryhoriy Kovalenko that allowed him to stay in the village and earn his living by performing various agricultural jobs.

Lantzman was captured in 1943 to be sent to forced labor to Germany. He managed to escape from the echelon on the way to Nikolaev. A few days passed and he, exhausted and hunger, reappeared in Vodyana. This time Chornovol had to hide Lantzman. Some time passed and neighbors learned about escapee. Chornovol had to pay a local policeman to keep silent.

In March 1944, immediately after the Nazi escape, Lanzman joined the Red Army and fought until victory. Hryhoriy ‘s father, sister and other relatives had been murdered during the occupation, so Chornovol remained his closest friend for the rest of his life.

Lantzman settled in Vodyana after the war, later he lived in Kyiv and Lviv. Hryhoriy passed away in 1990.

On November 10, 1996, Yad Vashem recognized Volodymyr Chernovol as Righteous Among the Nations.