Budnik Stepan ; Son: Semyon ; Granddaughter: Maria ; Granddaughter: Anna

Budnik, Stepan Budnik, Semyon Polyukhovich (Budnik), Mariya Polyukhovich (Budnik), Anna Stepan Budnik owned an isolated khutor near the towns of Serniki and Zarzecze, Wołyń (today Sernyky and Zarichchya, Rivne District). He and his family were Sabbatarians, whose religious doctrine held Jews and Judaism in high esteem. Before the war, many Jews resided in Serniki, among them the extended family of Shmuel Feldman, a butcher and ritual slaughterer and a good friend of Budnik’s. In early 1942, the Jews of Serniki and the nearby villages were concentrated in a non-fenced ghetto in town. Over time, these Jews were systematically murdered, and Feldman was among the first to perish. At the beginning of September 1942, when rumors spread that the ghetto was about to be liquidated, Sara Feldman, her daughters Chava and Rachel and her grandchildren, Nechama, Beni, and Michael escaped and fled to the Budniks’ home, as had been previously arranged. The Jews were hidden in the hayloft in the barn. The members of the Budnik family – in particular the grandchildren, Mariya (16) and Anna (14) – took care of the Jews, bringing them food, drink and water for their hygiene. After some time, the Budniks’ neighbor noticed one of the hidden Jews and told Budnik he had discovered their secret. Budnik promised to expel the Jews from his home and, that very night, he and his son Semyon went out to the fields and built a dugout, concealed with hay, to hide the wards. Before dawn, Budnik accompanied the six Jews to their new hideaway, where Semyon and his daughters brought them food at night. When farmers worked the fields, the hidden Jews were compelled to remain absolutely silent during the day and only at night could they move around a little and exercise their muscles. One evening, at the end of work, one of the workers approached the haystack covering their hiding place and thrust a sickle into the hay, shouting: “Jews, Get Out!” He waited a while and then left, but the Jewsrealized that their hideout was no longer secure. They fled to the forests and then Semyon set the haystack on fire in order to conceal the signs of people having stayed there. Rachel and Nechama were later murdered by Ukrainian collaborators but the others joined a group of Soviet partisans. After the war, the survivors immigrated to Israel, from where they maintained contact with their wartime rescuers. In June 1997, Michael visited Serniki and met with members of the Budnik family. On October 15, 1998, Yad Vashem recognized Stepan Budnik and Semyon Budnik as Righteous Among the Nations. On May 26, 1999, Yad Vashem recognized Mariya Polyukhovich (née Budnik) and Anna Polyukhovich (née Budnik) as Righteous Among the Nations.