Demydenko Mariia

Demydenko Mariia lived in the village of Kokhanivka in the Odesa region. During the German occupation, she saved the Jewish woman Olena Markus.

19-year-old Olena, her parents Davyd and Holda, and her younger brother Israel found themselves in the Ananiv ghetto during the German occupation. The city was occupied on August 7, 1941, and in early September the first mass shooting of Jews took place. Olena's parents and brother were killed then, but she survived because she was staying with a friend. The girl was in despair, because she understood that by staying with her girlfriend, she would put not only herself but also her in danger. Fortunately, it turned out that one of her father's sisters, Aunt Hana, had survived. She found her niece and helped her get to the village of Kokhanivka, 15 km from Ananiv. Her aunt's old friend Mariia Demydenko lived there, and she was counting on her help.

Mariia Hryhorivna lived alone, had neither sons nor daughters, so she immediately felt Hana's grief when she heard that her children had been shot. The Jewish woman asked her friend to hide Olena, the only one left of her family, while she herself went to look for another shelter. Olena lived with Mariia for two and a half years, hiding in one room – on the stove. Mariia rented the next room to the paramedic she worked with. The flatmate guessed that Olena was Jewish, but did not reveal her colleague.

After the war, Olena returned to Ananiv and entered the Odesa Medical Institute. During the years of occupation, spent with Mariia, who worked at a medical station, the girl also decided to connect her life with medicine.

In 2008, Yad Vashem recognized Mariia Demydenko as Righteous Among the Nations.

/