Donduk Ivan

The peasant Ivan Donduk lived in the village of Strymba, Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Republic (current Odesa region). At the beginning of the occupation, he harbored the 5-year-old girl Sara Karhach in his house. She came to Strymba with her parents and other Jews deported from Bessarabia to the camps in Transnistria. This group of the Jews tried to go to the East, but was caught not far from the village. Most of the Jews were killed, but Sara managed to escape. Then she got to the house of Ivan Donduk.

Sara quickly learned to speak the local dialect of Ukrainian and to behave like the ordinary village girl. Ivan, who lived alone, became deeply attached to Sara and took care of her. Soon, the rumors appeared in the village that the Jewish girl had been hiding in Strymba. Sara was taken for interrogation. There was incredible happiness when she came back home after being interrogated by the police. He met her as a native daughter.

Sara had been hiding in the house of Donduk until the end of the war. In 1945, the uncle of Sara asked Ivan to take the girl back to the family who lived in the town of Orhei. Separation was very hard for Ivan. He kept contact with the girl and often visited her until she migrated to Israel in 1977. They continued correspondence after her departure as well.

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On May 31, 1999, the Yad Vashem recognized Ivan Donduk as the Righteous Among the Nations.