Darmoroz Ivan and Liubov, Baranetska Emiliia

Ivan and Liubov Darmoroz with their three children lived in the village of Chorna in Khmelnytskyi region. The couple worked in a local collective farm.

During July 1–17, 1941, the region was occupied by Hitler's troops. Already at the end of the summer, the occupiers brought a group of Jews from the village to the settlement Smotrych (current – settlement Smotrych of Kamianets-Podilskyi district) for agricultural work. During the harvest, Liuba met a young Jew, Sara Beitelman. The women became friends, and Sara shared her family's tragic story. She comes from the town of Kamianets-Podilskyi, her parents, sisters, brothers and little nephews were shot by the Nazis before her eyes, and she was miraculously lucky to escape the massacre that day. Later, she ended up in the Smotrych ghetto, and from there she was transferred to the village of Chorna. Like the rest of the Jews, Sara was aware that they would be shot at the first opportunity.

Liuba sympathized with the fate of the Jewish woman and, after consulting with her husband, offered her shelter in her home. Darmoroz family arranged a hiding place in the attic of the barn, but they could not hide the fugitive for a long time. The occupiers arrested Liuba's brother, suspecting him of underground activities, and began searching all his relatives. So the Darmoroz family immediately transferred Sara to their neighbor Emiliia Baranetska. The woman lived in a dilapidated house with two children, and the husband was at the front. Ivan and Liuba promised to take over all expenses related to the support of the ward. Emiliia agreed, because she lived very poorly and was always at work on a collective farm, while Sara looked after her children. Later, Emiliia brought home another Jewish woman – Sima Kapuzo – and by the end of the occupation she was already hiding two people.

After the war, the rescuers and the rescued maintained friendly relations, and later their children did the same, even after emigrating to Israel.

In 2001, Yad Vashem recognized Ivan and Liubov Darmoroz and Emiliia Baranetska as Righteous Among the Nations.

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