Malyshevska Vira

Vira Malyshevska lived with her husband in Zhytomyr. In 1941, their son Valentyn turned two years old. A few months later, the German-Soviet war began. Vira's husband went to the front. Soon after, the woman received a notification about his death.

The town of Zhytomyr was occupied on July 9, 1941. Several Jewish families, Vira's neighbors, remained to live at home until the order of the occupation authorities to resettle them in the ghetto. Vira was friends with the family of Anatolii Bordalenko and Blium Rakhman. According to the order, a Jewish family with three children – 13-year-old Henia, 7-year-old Sasha and newborn Mytia – was forced to leave their home. In the fall, Vira learned that the Jews from the ghetto were being led out in convoys to the forest and shot. The woman tried to find out about the fate of her neighbors and one day went to their house, which had already been ransacked at that time. To her surprise, Vira found a frightened Henia there.

The girl said that when they were being taken to be shot, her mother pushed her out of the column and ordered her to run away. Henia did not know where to run, and ran to her former home out of fear. Vira Malyshevska decided to save the Jewish girl and took her home. She understood that she was risking the life of her little son, so Henia hid in the basement of a nearby destroyed house. There were many rats, in search of food, they rummaged through the basement and even grabbed her fingers, but the girl had to endure. Sometimes she stayed there for several days. At night, Vira brought her food and water. When the situation in the city became calmer, Henia returned to the Malyshevskyis' family house, helped with the household and looked after little Valentyn. Danger lurked every minute, because there was a policeman among the neighbors who, without even thinking, would have handed both of them over to the occupation authorities. But, fortunately, everything worked out, and after the expulsion of the Nazis from the city of Zhytomyr, Henia stayed to live with Vira. None of her relatives survived the Holocaust.

Already in adulthood, having her own family, Henia Sokolovska financially supported her second mother, and Vira took care of Henia's son.

In 2009, Yad Vashem recognized Vira Malyshevska as Righteous Among the Nations.

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