Hryhorenko Danylo, Domnikiia and Vasyl

During the German-Soviet War, Danylo and Domnikiia Hryhorenko lived in the village of Mali Khutory (now – part of the city of Vinnytsia). Danylo lost his leg in the battles of the First World War, so he was unfit for service. The couple raised six children. All of them were involved in working on the land from an early age, because they had to survive thanks to what they grew in the fields. Domnikiia sold part of the harvest at the city market. Once in April 1942, returning from the city of Vinnytsia, the woman met Fania Deihina with three children: 11-year-old Polina, 5-year-old Moisei, and a baby girl. The Jewish woman's appearance was so pitiful that Domnikiia invited her to spend the night in their house to bathe and feed the children.

Hearing about the wanderings of the Jewish family, the Hryhorenko family decided to hide her in their homestead. The eldest son Vasyl arranged a hiding place for the fugitives in the attic of the house, and for almost a year and a half Fania and her children lived on a farm in the Vinnytsia suburb. Vasyl learned from rumors about possible raids and helped the Jewess to take refuge in the forest. But one day the village headman unexpectedly came to the the Hryhorenko family and saw the Jewish children. Danylo had to negotiate and promise the headman that if Soviet power returned, he would testify in his favor.

It was dangerous to leave Jews in the house any longer. So the Hryhorenko family helped Fania and her children cross the Southern Bug River to the territory occupied by the Romanians, and they hid Moisei with their daughter Hanna, who lived separately.

Fania Deihina reached the village of Tyvriv (now the village of Tyvriv, Vinnytsia district, Vinnytsia region). On the way, her younger daughter died of illness, and with her eldest, Polina, the mother waited for the arrival of Soviet troops.

In the 1990s, Polina and Moisei emigrated to Israel and testified about their salvation during the Holocaust.

In 1992, Yad Vashem recognized Danylo and Domnikiia Hryhorenko and their son Vasyl as Righteous Among the Nations.