Ozarchuk Anton & Pelageja (Mironchuk); Daughter: Kornienko Nadezhda (Ozarchuk); Daughter: Bichkovskaya Maria (Ozarchuk); Daughter: Chernushok Marta (Ozarchuk)

Ozarchuk, Anton Ozarchuk, Pelageya Ozarchuk, Nadezhda Ozarchuk, Mariya Ozarchuk, Marta Anton Ozarchuk and his wife, Pelageya (Palaya) were devout Baptists and owned a private khutor not far from the town of Tuczyn, in the district of Wołyń (today Tuchyn, Rivne District). Ozarchuk often sold the surplus produce from their farm to Jewish traders in Tuczyn, among them Yakov Zilberberg, who owned a grocery store. When the Germans conquered the area, business relations between Jews and the rest of the population were interrupted. One year later, in August 1942, Zilberberg appeared at the Ozarchuks’ home and asked if they would be prepared to hide him and his family should it become necessary. On the eve of the Day of Atonement, in September 1942, the area’s Jews were ordered to gather in a specific area, and Zilberberg decided instead to flee the town with his family. After two families that they had previously paid money to for shelter refused to let them into their homes, Zilberberg, his wife, Asya, and their three children reached the Ozarchuks’ home, exhausted and starving. They were warmly welcomed inside and promptly hidden under a haystack in the threshing room. Two days later, the Zilberbergs were told that the ghetto in Tuczyn had been totally burned down. On the night it happened, Eliyahu Shtaingold, his wife and children also found shelter on the Ozarczuks’ property. When winter set in, Ozarchuk dug a bunker for the two Jewish families he was sheltering under the floor of the barn that was three meters long, two meters wide, and one-and-a-half meters deep. The bunker was lined with straw; the entrance was from inside the barn and was concealed by a haystack. Every day before sunrise, Ozarchuk brought his wards soup and bread and, with the help of his daughters, Nadezhda (Nadya), Mariya (Marushka), and Marta he emptied their waste bucket. Ozarchuk’s other children – some very young and others who were married and lived away from home – did not knowabout the hidden Jews. Pelageya frequently visited the hidden Jews and took tender care of them, particularly Zilberberg’s children, 13-year-old Izhak, 11-year-old Aharon, and eight-year-old Yosef. One day, she offered to move the hidden children inside the house but her husband, who was especially careful about keeping the Jews well hidden, opposed the idea. This precaution was worthwhile: the Ozarchuks later heard about a local Ukrainian family that had been slaughtered with the Jews that had been discovered in their home and this news strengthened Ozarchuk’s resolve to keep the wards well hidden. This story also alarmed him, but his deep faith helped him to overcome his fears and to persist with his courageous rescue efforts. After the liberation in January 1944, Ozarchuk insisted that his charges remain in his home until the region stabilized, and thus they were there for an additional three weeks. When they eventually left their hideaway, Ozarchuk returned a gold ring to Zilberberg that he had been safeguarding and the Zilberberg family returned to Tuczyn. The survivors later immigrated to Israel, from where they maintained contact with the Ozarchuk family. On July 17, 1991, Yad Vashem recognized Anton and Pelageya Ozarchuk, and their daughters, Nadezhda, Mariya, and Marta Ozarchuk, as Righteous Among the Nations.