Oshurko Mykola, Maria, Ivan, Petro, Anna, Yakiv, Mykola and Maria

Mykola Oshurko (born in 1887), his wife Maria, and their six children – Ivan, Petro, Anna, Yakiv, Mykola, and Maria – lived on their farm in Yurkove, near the village of Borove in Volhynia (now in the Rivne region).

Before 1939, the village of Borove was under Polish rule, but after the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the territory of Volyn was annexed to the USSR. Problems arose as the new authorities were unfriendly towards religious people.

The Oshurkos were Baptists, and every Sunday, the head of the family would visit surrounding villages, preaching love and respect for the children of Israel to fellow believers. Mykola had to balance between not wanting to provoke repression from the Soviet authorities and seeing meaning in his preaching.

Mykola continued to preach even during the German occupation. Moreover, since the local Jews became aware of his love for their people, the Oshurko’s house became a transit point for many fleeing from the Nazis.

Among those saved were Oleksandr Shvartsblat, Shmuel Rozman, Israel Rozman, and many others.

In September or October 1942, three Jews from the village of Rafalivka, about 30 km from Borove, came to the Oshurko family’s house. It was Sunday, and the family head was not at home, but his wife and children invited the guests into the house, fed them, and then put them to sleep in the barn.

The next morning, the Oshurkos invited the Jews to share a family meal with them. After listening to each one’s story about what they had experienced, Mykola advised one of them to return to the family still in Rafalivka. He suggested another try living under a false name, and the third Jew, Oleksandr Shvartsblat, who had lost his entire family, was invited to stay under their roof.

Oleksandr was hidden in the threshing barn, where he spent most of his time. He only came to the Oshurko’s house to join the family meals.

He was treated well in this home, feeling that the family members considered it an honor to shelter a Jew. With the onset of winter, Oleksandr moved into the house and hid only when strangers appeared.

In total, the fugitive stayed in the Oshurko’s house for eight months. Then Soviet partisans arrived, and he joined their ranks. He remained with the partisans until March 1944, when the region was liberated from the Nazis. In the late 1940s, Oleksandr Shvartsblat moved to Israel.

Reestablishing contact with the Oshurko family in 1987, he invited two of Mykola and Maria's children to visit him.

On July 27, 1988, Yad Vashem awarded the honorary title "Righteous Among the Nations" to Mykola and Maria Oshurko, as well as their children Ivan, Petro, Anna, Yakiv, Mykola, and Maria.