Kyryliuk Paraskeva

Over 18% of all Ukrainian Righteous Among the Nations were the natives of the Vinnytsia region. This is more than in the other 8 regions of Southern and Eastern Ukraine. What is the explanation of such a big number? For centuries, the Jewish community was a big part of the total population of the region and had close connections with the other ethnic groups in cities and villages. Therefore, during the Holocaust, these connections became saving: neighbors, friends, colleagues or just acquaintances tried to save the lives of each other.

Except this, during World War II, the Vinnytsia region was separated between two occupation regimes: the Northern part with the city of Vinnytsia was included to the Reichskommissariat Ukraine and was controlled by the German authorities. The Southern part was annexed to the Governorate Transnistria under the Romanian occupation. This situation caused some conditions for the rescue of the Jews, as there was an opportunity to take them to the Romanian-occupied territory, where they had some better chances to survive.

One of the Vinnytsia residents, Paraskeva Kyryliuk, shared her destiny with the Jewish family of Dykler. During the hunger and ruin of the 1920s, Paraskeva went from her native village to the city of Vinnytsia seeking a job. Soon, she found a home and job as a nurse in the Jewish family of Dykler, being with them in the happy and tragic moments of life. In 1932, the mother of the family died, and 5 years later her husband Illia Dykler married Basia Tolchynska, so Paraskeva took care of four children – Lazar and Fira (Illia’s children from his first marriage) and Semen and Buma (children of Basia from her first marriage. Then another boy was born – Hryhorii.

Illia Dykler did not see his children growing: just a few weeks after the birth of the youngest son, Illia was arrested. He was convicted of the anti-Soviet agitation, participation in the counter-revolutionary groups and sentenced to 8 years in camps. Only in 1946 it became known about the death of Illia Dykler.

After the outbreak of the German-Soviet war, Lazar, Fira and Semen were drafted into the Red Army. All this time Paraskeva supported Basia Tolchynska in her grief and took care of children. They were together when the German troops entered Vinnytsia. Paraskeva had to witness her beloved ones being humiliated and beaten, excluded from the social life. Basia and her children had to wear the special marks – the stars of David. The same sign marked the houses of all the Jews in the city (houses of the Ukrainians were marked with crosses).

On the night of September 19, 1941, the first raid against the Jews started in Vinnytsia. That night, their houses were intruded, people were kicked out of their houses, many of them just in underwear. Until 10 a.m. they had to stay in the yards, in the middle of the streets, in the panic fear of the unknown. On that day, nearly 10,000 Jews were shot dead in the Piatnychanskyi forest, in particular the people from the nursing home and the young Jewish mothers from the maternity hospitals of the city. Among the murdered people were Basia with her son Buma, who refused to leave his mother. Little Hryhorii was timely left with Paraskeva.

SInce that, Paraskeva Kyryliuk had to hide in order to save the life of the child. She went to another district of the city, where nobody could recognize Hryhorii Dykler, and never let him walk alone. Paraskeva told everyone that he was her little son, but not many people believed her. During one of the raids she was ordered to come to the police with the boy. They wanted to identify Hryhorii.

Paraskeva and Hryhorii were extremely fortunate: the medic who examined Hryhorii told them that the boy was not the Jew and let the boy go home.

Only in March 1944, after the expulsion of the Nazis from Vinnytsia, Paraskeva managed to come back to the Dykler house. Then the brothers and sister of Hryhorii joined them. She decided to devote her life to the boy and adopted him. She was always near him, took care of him and brought up the grandchildren.

On January 18, 2004, the Yad Vashem recognized Paraskeva Kyryliuk as the Righteous Among the Nations.