Nazarenko Moysey, Lukeria, Yefrosynia, Nadiya and Vasyl

Vasyl Nazarenko lived with his parents Moysey and Lukeriya and older sisters Yefrosyniya and Nadiya in the village of Viitivtsi in Vinnytsia region. In 1941 Vasyl graduated the fourth grade of the village school. In September 1941, when the village was already occupied by the Nazis and the "hunt for Jews" began, the father, despite the threat to the family's life, decided to hide at home Ethey Yadushviler, who was sewing winter coats for his children at the time.

Aunt Anyuta (as the seamstress was called by the children of the Nazarenko) said that she was very worried about her daughter Betya. She had seen her when the Nazis created a ghetto in Nemyriv. Yefrosynia and Nadiya decided to find out the girl's fate and went to Nemyriv. They managed to find Betya, who worked at road construction, and help her to escape. They returned to the village together.

The Nazarenko family hid Anyuta and her daughter in their shelter for almost 2.5 years.

"We hid them where it was possible. Depending on the season and circumstances -  in the attic, then in the cellar, then in the barn. When there were raids in the village, they had to live in a haystack in the middle of the field for several weeks.” From the memoirs of Vasyl Nazarenko…

It was the duty of ten-years-old Vasyl to learn about the situation in the village and to carry water and food to the field unnoticed. This continued until the arrival of the Red Army in March 1944. Later, Etey Yadushviler and his daughter moved to Vinnytsia. Throughout her life she maintained friendly relations with the Nazarenko family.

With the arrival of the Red Army, Moysey Nazarenko was mobilized to the front. In 1944-1945 he was a private, storekeeper of the 3rd Company of the 103rd Military Road Detachment. His eldest daughter Yefrosyniya Nazarenko (Sudenko) graduated Vinnytsia State Pedagogical Institute after the war. She worked as a history teacher in Vinnytsia for over 30 years.

After graduating  the village seven-years-school, Vasyl Nazarenko entered the Lviv Railway Technical School and worked as a foreman in repairing the railway track at the Shepetivka railway station. After completing his military service, he decided to link his life with the army. After graduating the Odessa Higher Military Joint Command and Engineering School of Air Defense, he was sent to the Far Eastern Military District. Colonel, Commander of the Anti-Aircraft Missile Training Regiment Vasyl Nazarenko served in the Armed Forces for 34 years. Retired in 1985. He returned to Ukraine with his family. Vasyl Nazarenko lives in Kyiv.

On April 12, 2018, Vasyl Nazarenko and his wife Lidiya celebrated a diamond wedding (60 years of married life).
On January 2, 1995,  Moysey and Lukeriya Nazarenko and their children Yefrosyniya, Nadiya and Vasyl were awarded the title of Righteous Among the Nations.