Vorobei Denis & Yeva

Vorobey, Denis Vorobey, Yeva The farmers Yeva and Denis Vorobey lived with their three children in the Hryczynowicze village, Polesie (today Grychynavichy, Gomel District). One night in autumn 1942, Lipa Topchik and Pawel Wodnicki knocked on the window of their home. The Vorobeys were acquainted with Topchik, a resident of the nearby town of Lenin, but they now met Wodnicki, a Jewish refugee from Poland, for the first time. The two Jews had managed to escape from the Hancewicze (Gantsavichy) labor camp, after hearing about the liquidation of the Lenin ghetto, and before arriving at the Vorobeys’ home they had been wandering around the area looking for shelter. The Vorobeys welcomed the pair into their home and hid them there for some time. After a while, Topchik joined the partisans but Wodnicki stayed with the Vorobeys throughout the winter. At this time, there was intense fighting between German soldiers and local partisans in the area around Lenin and therefore it was particularly dangerous to harbor a Jew. In order to crush the partisans in the area, the Germans often conducted searches in the villages and they also developed an extensive network of informers across the region. Due to the situation, Vorobey thought it would be safer for his ward in the forest, so he built him a hideout there and provided him with food on a daily basis. In February 1943, the Germans began a major offensive against the partisans in the area and as part of this they burned down entire villages, among them Hryczynowicze. The Vorobeys thus moved to Wodnicki’s hideaway and later they joined the partisans with him. After the war, Wodnicki and the Vorobeys maintained their friendship. On July 21, 1997, Yad Vashem recognized Denis and Yeva Vorobey as Righteous Among the Nations.