Omelianiuk Stepan & Maria

Omelyanyuk, Stepan Omelyanyuk, Mariya Stepan and Mariya Omelyanyuk were farmers living with their three young children on a khutor close to the town of Maciejów, Wołyń (today Lukiv, Volyn’ District). The Germans conquered the area on June 25, 1941, and they immediately began pogroms against the local Jews. The Omelyanyuks told Rubin Grosser, who had worked with Omelyanyuk as a salesman in the cooperative in Maciejów, that he could turn to them if he needed any help. One day in August 1942, Mariya found Grosser with another Jew from Maciejów, Leib Neimark, in her barn. Both men had escaped from the death pits a few hours after hundreds of Jews had been slaughtered there. Neimark stayed with the Omelyanyuks for only another few days but Grosser hid there for almost 15 months. The Omelyanyuks kept the presence of the hidden Jew a secret from their children but one night their eldest daughter, Lidiya, noticed him and, thereafter, the children became involved with the rescue deeds too. They brought Grosser food in a bucket and warned him when strangers approached the khutor. Omelyanyuk provided Grosser with Russian literature and German-language newspapers to occupy his time. For his part, Grosser helped the Omelyanyuks with the household chores. In autumn 1943, Grosser joined a group of Soviet partisans and he was involved in the battle to liberate the area. Following that, he enlisted in the Red Army. In summer 1944, Grosser went to visit the Omelyanyuks and found them living with relatives. The farm had been totally burned down by the retreating Germans and they were left with nothing. Soon after his visit there, Grosser immigrated to the United States, and he only renewed contact with the Omelyanyuks in 1960. On January 27, 1982, Yad Vashem recognized Stepan and Mariya Omelyanyuk as Righteous Among the Nations.