Pendo Konstantin & Aleksandra ; Son: Ivan

Pendo, Konstantin Pendo, Aleksandra Pendo, Ivan Konstantin and Aleksandra Pendo lived and worked on a khutor close to the village of Wsielub, in the Nowogródek District (today Uselyub, Grodna District). They had three children and Ivan, the eldest, was 18 years old. The Pendos were friendly with the Berkowski family, residents of Wsielub for many years. After the Germans occupied the Nowogródek District, they murdered most members of the Berkowski family. Only Gita Berkowska (Berkovskaya) and her 31-year-old daughter, Sonya Zabielinska (Zabelinskaya) survived and were interned in the Nowogródek ghetto. For several months, the Pendos helped the Berkowskis by regularly taking them food and clothes. In mid 1942, after a Belarusian policeman warned the Jewish mother and daughter about a planned Aktion, they escaped and found shelter with the Pendos. Despite the poverty and cramped conditions in their one-room home, the Pendos did everything they could to make their wards comfortable. None of the neighbors knew about the Berkowskis’ presence in the Pendos’ home, but the possibility of their discovery grew day by day. In late spring 1942, some policemen broke into the Pendos’ home to look for the hidden Jews, who had managed to hide in the attic just in time. They were not discovered. Following this incident, the Pendos moved the Berkowskis to another khutor, from where they contacted and joined the Bielski partisans. After the war, the Berkowskis returned and discovered that all their possessions had been stolen and that another family had moved into their home. The Pendo family came again to their assistance and helped them to the best of their ability. The two families remained friends for many years thereafter. On November 10, 1995, Yad Vashem recognized Konstantin and Aleksandra Pendo, and their son, Ivan Pendo, as Righteous Among the Nations.