Siroshtan Andrii, Paraska and Ivan

Andrii and Paraska Siroshtan and their three children lived in the city of Mariupol in the Donetsk region. On October 8, 1941, it was occupied by the Nazis. The first recorded mass shooting of Jews in the region took place in the city on October 20–21. More than 8,000 people were killed.

Once, after another Nazi massacre of Jews, the eldest son of the Siroshtan family heard a child crying in the yard. Coming closer, Ivan saw 10-year-old Zacharii Meltzen, the son of neighbors. The boy’s clothes were covered in blood, flowing from a large wound on his leg. Zacharii was scared and asked to hide him. He told them that his parents and brother had been killed, and he was wounded, and when it got dark, he managed to get out of the pit. Despite the terrible pain, he somehow got home. Ivan told his parents that Zacharii was hiding in the attic of his former house. The Siroshtan family decided to take him in and hid him for two months. Paraska healed the boy’s wounds, taught him how and what to talk to people about so as not to arouse suspicion.

In the winter, Germans moved into one of the houses on their street, and it became dangerous to hide a Jewish child. As soon as it started to get warmer, the Siroshtan family transported Zacharii to the countryside, where he found work as a cattle herder.

After the Germans were expelled, the boy returned to Mariupol and lived for some time with the Siroshtan family. After emigration, he maintained contact with his saviors.

In 1998, Yad Vashem recognized Andrii and Paraska Siroshtan and their son Ivan as Righteous Among the Nations.

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