Kravchuk Ivan

Ivan Kravchuk was born in 1910; and lived all his life in the village of Mlynivka in Vinnytsia region. His father died when the boy was two years old, so his mother Afiia raised him alone. With the beginning of the German-Soviet war, Ivan was not conscripted due to his childhood disability; he continued to work as a secretary in the local collective farm.

In July 1941, German and Romanian forces occupied Vinnytsia region. Although the village of Mlynivka was within the Romanian occupation zone, it was close enough to the territory controlled by the Germans. In late 1942, a teenager, who was not from the locals, submitted a request to Ivan and asked for any work in exchange for food. Ivan offered the boy to help him and his mother in the household. Afiia gladly took care of the newcomer. Feeling the kindness of the Ukrainian family, the boy later revealed that he was a Jewish boy named Yefrem Tarlov. His parents, El and Pesia, younger sister Tetiana, and most of his relatives were shot in the town of Bar on August 19, 1942. The remaining Jews, including Yefrem, were led to execution on October 15. Aware of their impending fate, a group of boys attempted to escape. Some managed to reach the safety of the nearby forest. The escapees started seeking opportunities to cross the border and enter any ghetto within the territory of “Transnistria”. Yefrem was fortunate to encounter the kind-hearted Ivan, without whose help he would have been caught and checked for Jewish affiliation.

Ivan not only settled Yefrem at his home, but also told the legend around the village that he was his orphaned relative. He advised the boy to get into the eyes of fellow villagers as little as possible, so as not to attract attention. Immediately after entering of the Red Army into the village in March 1944, Yefrem went to the front as a volunteer.

After the war, he often visited Ivan, and after the death of his savior in 1963, he financially supported to Ivan's widow and daughter.

In 2001, Yad Vashem recognized Ivan Kravchuk as the Righteous Among the Nations.

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