Maleyev Peotr & Maleyeva Tatiana ; Daughter: Sinolitsina Nina (Maleyeva)

Maleyev, Pyotr Maleyeva, Tatyana Sinolitsina-Maleyeva, Nina Pyotr and Tatyana Maleyev, farmers, lived with their only daughter, 10-year-old Nina, in the village of Virovka (today Virivka, Donets’k District). Pyotr’s brother, Vasiliy, who lived in the nearby town of Dzerzhinsk, was married to a Jewess, one Hana Rontal. The couple had three sons. When Germany invaded the USSR in June 1941, Hana’s sister, Rachel, brought her six-year-old son, Grisha, to Hana and Vasiliy, since both Rachel and her husband, David Shreiber, were conscripted to the Red Army. Shortly after the occupation of Dzerzhinsk on October 28, 1941, the family understood that Jews were being severely persecuted by the Germans, so it was decided that Hana and her nephew would hide. As for Hana’s sons, Vasiliy believed that they would be safe from harm being that they bore Russian names and were not circumcised. And so, in November, Pyotr and Tatyana welcomed Hana and Grisha into their home. Both Hana and Grisha were hidden from the neighbors and from the village authorities, and only very close friends knew about their existence. In the meantime, in Dzerzhinsk, someone informed the police that Vasiliy’s sons were Jewish. This led to the boys being taken to a temporary camp for Jews and later murdered, together with other victims. Only the oldest of the three brothers, Georgiy, managed to escape. At that time, Grisha was sent, together with Nina, to another village temporarily, to some elderly relatives. There, Nina not only cared for little Grisha, but prevented him from mingling with the village children. She even kept the fact that he was of Jewish origin a secret from their hosts. On September 5, 1943, Dzerzhinsk and the area were liberated by the Red Army, and Hana and her nephew returned home. Some time later, Grisha’s mother, Rachel, returned from the front; his father, David, had died in battle. Rachel was grateful to the Maleyevs for keeping her only son safe, and she maintained closedcontacts with them for many years after. On January 27, 2003, Yad Vashem recognized Pyotr and Tatyana Maleyev, and their daughter, Nina Maleyeva-Sinolitsina as Righteous Among the Nations.