Hlovatska Mariia, Chernetskyi Vikentii and Lidiia, Chumak Pavlo

The Nazis occupied the town of Proskuriv (now Khmelnytskyi) on July 7, 1941. A few days later, the shootings of Jews began. Mariia Hlovatska was approached by her neighbor, Hanna Freidzon. The woman, who had managed to escape from the firing squad, was looking for salvation. Mariia sheltered the Jewish woman in her home, despite the risk of being executed herself, and a few weeks later helped Hanna catch a train to the city of Zhmerynka, which was under Romanian occupation. There, Hanna settled in the ghetto, met local Jews who had connections with the underground. One of the underground members, Vikentii Chernetskyi, who helped the ghetto residents with food and medicine, offered her shelter in his home: the fugitive was sick and needed special care. Vikentii's mother, Lidiia Chernetska, agreed to take care of the Jewish woman, telling neighbors that she was her cousin's daughter.

Unfortunately, Hanna's illness progressed and the woman needed hospitalization. Vikentii obtained a false birth certificate for her and arranged for her to be admitted to a local hospital. There, the patient was visited by his friend, an underground member Pavlo Chumak. Having fallen in love with Hanna, he proposed marriage. The young people moved to the village of Kozachivka in the Vinnytsia region and lived there until the Nazis were expelled from the region. After the war, they officially married and later emigrated to the USA.

In 1995, Yad Vashem recognized Mariia Hlovatska, Vikentii and Lidiia Chernetskyi and Pavlo Chumak as Righteous Among the Nations.

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