Panchenko Marina ; Daughter: Galina ; Daughter: Kaliverda Polina (Panchenko); Daughter: Movchan Yekaterina (Panchenko)

Panchenko, Marina Panchenko, Galina Kaliverda-Panchenko, Polina Movchan-Panchenko, Yekaterina The Panchenko family was living in the village of Krivaya Ruda (today Kryva Ruda, Poltava District). At the outbreak of the war between Germany and the USSR, Michail Panchenko had been mobilized to the Red Army; he later fell in battle. His wife, Marina, was left behind with their daughters, 19-year-old Galina, 13-year-old Polina, and 11-year-old Yekaterina. Among Marina’s neighbors and friends were Aleksey and Feodosia Kachan. Aleksey was a Ukrainian and native to the village, while his Jewish wife had come to live there following their marriage in 1934. All the villagers knew about her nationality, and when the area was occupied by the Nazis, she was denounced. One day, policemen appeared in the village, forced Feodosia into a cart, and took her to the police station. Aleksey ran after them, fearing to loose sight of his wife and baby daughter, who clung to her mother. The older children, seven-year-old Pavel and one-and-a-half year old Nina, remained with neighbors. The next morning their father, back from Semenovka, took them to the Panchenkos, entrusting them into Marina’s care. He was afraid to keep them openly after his wife and youngest daughter were shot. Later he joined the partisans and the Panchenkos did not hear from him again until after the liberation. Marina and her daughters kept Pavel and Nina indoors, although the closest neighbors were in on the secret. The Panchenkos were visited twice by police looking for the “half-Jewish” children, but they were not found – when the police made these visits, Pavel and Nina were taken down to a hidden room in the cellar. After the liberation, Pavel and Nina were reunited with their father. They remained in Krivaya Ruda, married there and raised their children and grandchildren there. Their rescuers, Yekaterina and Galina, came to Israel in the 1990s after Yekaterina’s only daughter married a Jew. They both livein Yerucham. On December 10, 2001, Yad Vashem recognized Marina Panchenko and her daughters, Galina Panchenko, Polina Panchenko-Kaliverda, and Yekaterina Panchenko- Movchan, as Righteous Among the Nations.