Barbaruk Ivan & Oksenia ; Son: Ivan

Barbaruk, Ivan Barbaruk, Oksenia Barbaruk, Ivan (Jr.) Wolf Patoka (b. 1921) grew up in a traditional farming family in the village of Poginki, near Kowel, Ukraine. The Germans occupied his village on June 24, 1941, and immediately began to murder Jews. Wolf and 100 other Jewish youths were rounded up and sent to perform slave labor. At first he lived at home, but eventually he was forced to live for several months in a shack near the town of Holoby. Initially, his parents and sister, Haike, would visit him when they could, bringing food. The visits ended, however, when the family (except for his older brother, who had joined the Russian Army the year before) was forced into hiding. At the end of 1942, as the Germans liquidated the work camp, Wolf managed to escape. For a few weeks he hid in forests and fields, until he finally returned to his native village. He knocked on the door of the village’s leader, Ivan Barbaruk, and requested shelter. Barbaruk asked him where he had come from; he then told Wolf to leave his home, returning in the direction from which he had come, because the entire village had seen him enter. He told Wolf to return that night and that the stable door would be open for him. Wolf did as he was told, and from that night he hid in the Barbaruks’ barn underneath a pile of hay. His presence was a closely guarded secret—not even the Barbaruks’ Polish housekeeper knew about him. Once a day a member of the Barbaruk household, usually Ivan (Jr.), brought him food. While Wolf hid at the Barbaruks’, his parents and sister were hiding in the area as well, each in a different place. Haike was hiding with a cousin, but the Germans discovered and murdered them both. Ivan Barbaruk found Haike’s body and buried her. Shortly thereafter, Wolf’s father, Josl, was forced to hide in the woods: he was ill and the farmers hiding him grew concerned that his constant coughing would betray his location. He was murdered as well, and Ivan buried him beside his daughter. In the spring of 1943, criminals murdered Ivan Barbaruk. His wife and son suspected that Ivan’s death was attributable to his helping Jews, and Wolf was asked to leave. A few days later he returned, and remained in hiding for the duration of the war, until the liberation in March 1944. After the war Wolf was reunited with his mother, who survived the war but passed away shortly thereafter in a German DP camp. In 1951 Wolf immigrated to the United States. He stayed in touch with the Barbaruk children until 1995, and periodically sent them packages. In honor of the Barbaruks, Wolf named his only daughter Barbara. On June 13, 2012, Ivan, Oksenia, and their son, Ivan, Barbaruk were recognized by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations.