Shymko Hanna

In June 1941, after Hanna Shymko's husband went to the front she stayed with her two children in the village of Kyshchentsi in the Cherkasy region. In a month, after the Germans occupied the village, all the Jews were deported from there. The only one who managed to hide was 26-year-old Valentyna Holuba.

One night, she knocked on the Shymkos' door and asked for food. It was quite cold outside, so Hanna suggested the Jewish woman stay for the night. Throughout the night they talked for a long time about life, the war, children... The housekeeper felt sincere sympathy for her guest and in the morning made a difficult decision to let Valentyna stay with her. Together, they set up a shelter behind the oven by digging a pit where Valentyna hid when the neighbors came to the house. While Hanna was at work, Valentyna looked after the children and did the housework. But once she was noticed by one of the neighbors. And no matter how much Hanna begged the man not to reveal the secret, rumors spread through the village. In order not to endanger her rescuer and her children, Valentyna left the Shymko's home for a while, and when everything calmed down, she returned. After the Nazis were expelled from the village, she lived with the Shymkos for another year until she got married and moved to Uman. In 1990, the woman emigrated to Israel, but she never stopped helping her rescuer and her family.

/

In 1996, Yad Vashem recognized Hanna Shymko as a Righteous Among the Nations.