Shnaidruk Yemelian & Fekla

Shnaidruk, Yemelyan Shnaidruk, Fyokla Yemelyan and Fyokla Shnaidruk resided in the village of Kosakovka, Lipovets County, Vinnitsa District. They had a private house and a garden, worked at the local kolkhoz, and raised a son and three daughters. In 1941, on the eve of the German invasion, Yemelyan turned 40, and his wife 30 years old. In rhe summer of 1943, at the end of the second year of the German occupation, the Jewish Zaidel family approached the Shnaidruks asking for help. Aharon Zaidel, his wife Polya and daughter Bronya had been living in Vinnitsa when the war reached the Soviet Union. They miraculously survived while almost all their relatives and friends perished. In 1942, the Zaidels started hiding with villagers in Lipovets County since Polya Zaidel was born in that area, in the village of Vakhnovka, quite close to Kosakovka, and knew many local people. Though the Shnaidruks were not among her acquaintances, Polya knocked at their door hoping to get a piece of bread and some milk for her daughter. The Shnaidruks felt pity for the persecuted and said they could stay. A potato pit, situated in their courtyard, became a shelter for the three Jews for some weeks. The pit was deep and dry, with potato sacks piled up over the opening. Fyokla Shnaidruk and her elder children provided them with simple peasant food that consisted mostly of potatoes, beets and pumpkin, trying to keep their presence secret from other villagers. In October, when it became too cold in a pit, the Jews were secretly transferred into the house’s attic, where they were supplied with warmer clothes and blankets for the winter. Once in a while, after the younger children had fallen asleep, Aharon, Polya and Bronya would descend to the dining room and dine with their protectors, warming up near the fire, and discussing the news and gossip. The Shnaidruks confided in their closest neighbors but kept their secret from others, especially from the village authorities – by 1943, theGerman attitude toward Jews and the severe punishment accorded their helpers were already public knowledge. After the liberation of Kosakovka by the Red Army, in the early spring of 1944, the survivors went back to Vinnitsa, trying to rebuild their life. Aharon started working in a big factory, Polya managed the household and Bronya started her studies, but with a three-year delay. They met with the Shnaidruks on holidays, helping and supporting each other as need arose. After the deaths of her parents, Bronya Zaidel (married name, Orgish) immigrated to Israel. On November 11, 2008, Yad Vashem recognized Yemelyan and Fyokla Shnaidruk as Righteous Among the Nations.