Tatunets Varvara, Kozel Hanna, Domanska (Kozel) Lidiia, Tsymbaliuk Olha

Varvara Tatunets lived with her four children in the village of Khmelyshche in Zhytomyr region. During the German-Soviet war, she hid in her house the Jewish woman Hanna Kravets and her four-year-old daughter Olha, who escaped from the city of Zhytomyr.

The regional center was occupied on July 9, 1941. The first shootings in the region were recorded on July 19. That day, 100 Jews were exterminated in the city. Murders were periodically repeated, and during another “action” the husband of Hanna Kravets was executed. Therefore, she and her daughter decided to seek salvation in the villages. In January 1942, Hanna asked to Varvara Tatunets' house. The women got along because they had a similar fate: the hostess's husband died at the front in the first months of the war. For several weeks, the Jewish women hid on Varvara's side, and then moved to her neighbor Hanna Kozel. There they were looked after by Hanna's eldest daughter Lidiia, who entertained little Olia so that she would not cry or act out. Closer to spring, the runaways were relocated to Olha Tsymbaliuk, who lived near the church in the center of the village.

In the spring of 1942, raids became more frequent, so it was dangerous for Jews to stay in Ukrainian homes. Then Hanna and her daughter decided to move to the forest. However, the rescuers did not abandon them to their own devices. According to the agreement, each of them took turns visiting the fugitive, bringing various provisions to prearranged places.

After the retreat of Wehrmacht units from Zhytomyr in January 1944, Hanna Kravets returned to the regional center with her child. During two years of occupation and wandering, she found her best friends for life. After Hanna's death, her daughter Olha Rudnytska emigrated to Israel.

In 1999, Yad Vashem recognized Varvara Tatunets, Hanna Kozel, her daughter Lidiia Domanska and Olha Tsymbaliuk as Righteous Among the Nations.