Mariia Zhosul, Mykola and Mariia Stenhach

Mariia Zhosul lived with her four children in the village of Dolynske in the Odesa region. She was the director of the local school. During the Nazi occupation, she helped Jews she was acquainted with to survive, namely hid 10-year-old girl Bella Klevanska.

The Klevanskyi family, along with their children and other Jewish families, tried to evacuate but were rounded up. Several people were shot, and the rest of the fugitives were ordered by the occupants to return to the village. On August 28, 1941, a death squad arrived there. The Jews were driven out of their houses and ordered to move toward the ravines. Mariia Zhosul became an accidental witness of how columns of victims were convoyed through the village streets. Suddenly, a girl appeared in her arms. It was 10-year-old Bella Klevanska. Her mother, Charna Klevanska, pushed the daughter out of the column toward a stranger standing on the roadside. Mariia was not confused and quickly took the girl to her house. At home, she changed her clothes and fed her. Mariia told her children (the oldest one Liuba was nine years old) that the little guest's name was Masha and that she was to live with them in secret. They hid the Jewish girl in the house, and when large groups of occupants appeared in the village, they understood that there would be raids, and the girls ran to the cornfield.

Then one of the neighbors denounced Mariia. The Germans suddenly appeared in her yard, but fortunately, at that time her children and Masha were playing hide-and-seek in the field. The woman had to feed the uninvited guests and wash their clothes. Everything went well, however, she decided to temporarily give the Jewish child to Mykola and Mariia Stenhach in the village of Florynske. Taking care of the girl, they baptized her because of safety reasons.

In the spring of 1942, the occupants promised that they would leave Jews alone. One Jewish couple, knowing that the Klevanskyi's daughter was hiding at the principal’s place, decided to take Bella. However, all the Jews who came out of their hiding places were arrested. The girl ended up in prison, where she met her grandparents: they had survived last year's shootings. Mariia Zhosul visited the girl and sent her food. Eventually, she managed to bribe the Romanian guards, and they allowed Bella to escape.

The girl returned to the Stenhach family. She lived there for a while, until the neighbors reported to the occupation authorities, and Jewish kid was taken to a camp in the village of Domanivka. A few days later, during the transportation to Pervomaisk, Bella was rescued by a passerby who said that he personally knew her Ukrainian parents. Until the end of the war, she was hiding in the village of Lukashivka under the name of Lidiia Stenhach, where she was taken care of by a few families.

In 1946, Bella was found by her older brother Shai, with whom she moved to Tiraspol (Moldova). Throughout her life, the survivor kept in touch with her rescuers.

In 2015, Yad Vashem recognized Mariia Zhosul, Mykola and Mariia Stenhach as Righteous Among the Nations.