Franko Mykyta, Hryhoriy and Maria

The small village of Pysarivka, located not far from Vinnytsia, also experienced the terrors of the Second World War. German forces entered the city of Vinnytsia on July 19, 1941. Hence, for the next three years, citizens of Vinnytsia and nearby villages lived under German occupation. The standard occupation regime was settled, aiming at the exploitation of all local resources for the sake of the Third Reich. The local population was humiliated and persecuted, people were forced to work in Germany or even physically exterminated. During the period of occupation, tens of thousands were killed, including more than 25 thousand Jews of Vinnytsia.

There were two large extermination campaigns on September 19, 1941, and March 16, 1942, which took place in different spots around the city. Many were deported to the local ghettoes. But some managed to survive with a help of the local non-Jewish population.

The family of Frankos: Hryhoriy, Maria, and their son Mykyta, lived in the village of Pysarivka. As faithful Christians, they saved the life of their son’s friend – Oleksandr Fain.

 Before the war, Mykyta Franko and his friend Oleksandr Fain studied in the same school, though boys lived in different villages. In July of 1941, after the region was occupied by German forces, the persecution and mass murders of Jews started.

During one of the anti-Jewish raids, Oleksandr managed to escape. He came to the house of his classmate, where Mykyta and his parents decided to help him without any questions or doubts. The Frankos family, however, was aware of the death penalty for hiding Jews.

Their family was hiding Oleksandr for more than 2 months. Later, because of the suspicions of the local authorities, Franko’s friends from the same village also were sheltering Oleksandr during the occupation. Before the German occupation was ended, there were many perils and dangerous situations, but Oleksandr managed to survive. For whole his life he was grateful to his saviors, who helped him at the time of his greatest need.

On November 6, 2006, Yad Vashem awarded Maria and Hryhoriy Franko, as well as their son Mykyta, with the title of the Righteous Among the Nations.