Manilko Mariia and Vasyl, Voitovych-Kushnir Feodora

With the beginning of the German-Soviet war, Mariia Manilko was left alone with three children. Having entered the village of Noskivtsi, where the family lived, the occupiers staged a demonstration massacre of the local population –  her husband became the victim. Peasants had to get used to the "new order".

In the neighboring village of Popivtsi, the occupation authorities organized a labor camp, where they drove Jews from the surrounding settlements. Once Hitla Burshtein approached Mariia with a request to exchange her belongings for food for the children. Despite the personal tragedy, Mariia was very moved by the fate of the Jewish woman and offered help. The next day, Hitla sent her daughter Hanna to the village. However, the girl got lost and accidentally came across boys who were herding cattle in the meadows. She dared to ask how to get to the village of Noskivtsi. One of the shepherds, 14-year-old Vasyl, offered to wait for dusk and drive the cows to the village together. The boys shared their lunch with Hanna, and already in the evening it turned out that, Vasyl is the son of Mariia Manilko. The Jewish woman spent the night in their house and the next day returned to the ghetto to pick up her sisters: 21-year-old Ryva, 16-year-old Yelyzaveta, and 11-year-old Raisa. Since then, the Burshtein sisters sometimes visited Mariia, who prepared a basket with provisions for them, and later arranged for Lisa to look after the two-year-old daughter of her neighbor Feodora Voitovych.

When a typhus epidemic raged in the camp, Mariia and Feodora were not afraid to infect themselves or their children and agreed to take care of the sisters. Hanna lived with the Manilko family, and Ryva lived with the Voitovych. Both women sought different opportunities to negotiate with the Romanian soldiers for the safety of their families.

In 1998, Yad Vashem recognized Mariia Manilko and Feodora Voitovych-Kushnir as Righteous Among the Nations, and in 2004 Vasyl Manilko received this title.

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