Ivashchuk Ivan ; Sister: Maria

Ivashchuk, Ivan Ivashchuk, Mariya Ivan and Mariya Ivashchuk and their two daughters lived in the village of Zelenche, Kamenets-Podolsk District (today Khmel’nyts’kyy District), where they worked on a kolkhoz. Aharon Shvidler, a Jewish bachelor from Dunayevtsy (Dunayivtsi) who lived with his nearsighted sister Estra worked in the farm cooperative. Shvidler was also involved with the management of the kolkhoz, and the life of the local community and was thus known by all the farmers. The Germans conquered the area on July 8, 1941. In the spring of 1942, the Jews of the area were concentrated in Dunayevtsy, from where a large group was brought to Zelenche, for agricultural work. Shvidler and his sister were among these Jews and when the work ended they succeeded in remaining in the village and asked the Ivashchuks to afford them shelter temporarily, until the situation improved. The situation, however, worsened from day to day. The last Jews of Dunayevtsy were murdered on October 18, 1942, and Shvidler and his sister stayed hidden in the Ivashchuks’ home until the arrival of the Red Army, on March 30, 1944. During the summer, they hid in the attic or granary, and in the winter, during the day they hid in the cellar, and at night they came into the house to warm up. Throughout this time, the Ivashchuks fed their wards and provided them with everything they needed. When the area was liberated, Ivashchuk enlisted in the Red Army and Shvidler returned to his job on the kolkhoz. In May 1944, Ukrainian nationalists murdered Shvidler. Estra remained in the area and kept in contact with the Ivashchuks until the day she died. On June 7, 1997, Yad Vashem recognized Ivan and Mariya Ivashchuk as Righteous Among the Nations.