Melnichuk Yakov & Varvara

Melnichuk, Yakov Melnichuk, Varvara Farmers Yakov and Varvara Melnichuk, and their two children, lived in the village of Shpichintsy, Zhitomir District (today Shpychyntsi, Zhytomyr District). In early May 1942, Varvara met four Jews – Eli Likvornik, his wife, Polina, and their daughters, Betya and Sofya, residents of nearby Vcherayshe (Vchorayshe) – who were hiding in a haystack in a field. The Likvornik family had fled their home during a pogrom in the town and had been hiding in this place for a few days without food or water when Varvara found them. She immediately brought the Jews some provisions and later that night she returned to their hiding place in order to escort them back to her village. The family then hid in the Melnichuks’ home for a week, after which they decided to return to Vcherayshe so as to cease endangering their hosts. About six weeks later, there was another pogrom in Vcherayshe and this time the Likvorniks escaped and headed straight for the Melnichuks’ home, where they were warmly welcomed. After only a few days, rumors began to spread that the Melnichuks were hiding Jews and so the Likvorniks decided to leave the village. Varvara gave Betya her identity papers, with which she proceeded to wander around Kiev, where she found work in people’s homes. She was later sent to do forced labor in Germany. In the meantime, Betya’s parents and sister returned to Vcherayshe and worked as slave laborers with other local Jews. In late August 1943, the police surrounded the Jewish homes in the area. Sofya and her friend Liza Klets managed to escape and they reached the Melnichuks’ home. The Melnichuks took care of the girls for two weeks, providing for all their needs. Sofya then left and after some time she found work on the Lebedintsy (Lebedyntsi) kolkhoz, some 10 km from Shpichintsy. There, she introduced herself as a Ukrainian, and no one discovered her real identity until after the liberation, in January 1944. Liza, in the meantime, headedback to her hometown in search of relatives. She was later caught and killed. After the war, Sofya and Betya Likvornik moved to the United States and, after locating their wartime rescuers, they maintained contact with them for many years. On July 21, 1997, Yad Vashem recognized Varvara and Yakov Melnichuk as Righteous Among the Nations.