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On May 14, a Marathon of Living for the Day of Remembrance of Ukrainians Who Rescued Jews During World War II was held, organized by “Tkuma” Ukrainian Institute for Holocaust Studies with the assistance and financial support of the Conference on Material Claims of Jews to Germany (Claims Conference). The event was joined by: Ratniv Lyceum No. 1 named after the Hero of Ukraine Eduard Kamardin of the Volyn region, Lyceum “Perspektyva” of the Domaniv Village Council of the Mykolaiv region, Drachynek Secondary School of the 1st-3rd grades of the Chernivtsi region, Vinnytsia Lyceum No. 18, Zhytomyr Lyceum No. 21, Odessa Lyceum No. 7, Uman Lyceum No. 2.

The participants spoke about Ukrainian rescuers and Righteous Among the Nations in the Dnieper region with Dr. Yehor Vradii, Deputy Director of “Tkuma” Institute. “The story of each Righteous is the story of a true hero. After all, he and his family were in real mortal danger, just like those who saved him,” the scientist noted. In the Dnipropetrovsk region, 14 streets are named after residents of the region who rescued Jews during the Holocaust. This is more than anywhere else in the world.

The creation of the search project “The Shevalov Family – Odesa Schindlers” by students of Odesa Lyceum No. 7 was inspired by the news of the Odesa City Council about renaming Liza Chaykina Street in honor of the Shevalov family, the Righteous Among the Nations. The students of the Lyceum created their own “Alley of the Righteous Among the Nations”. The project participants noted: “The future is created through the memory of those who chose the path of humanity. The Alley of the Righteous is our small contribution to preserving humanity.”

Students of Vinnytsia Lyceum No. 8 shared unknown and recognized stories of the feat of the rescuers of Jews in Vinnytsia region. Over 500 recognized Righteous of Vinnytsia region are just the tip of the iceberg. Thousands of rescuers remain off the official lists. But the lack of official status in no way diminishes their feat. These people produced false documents about non-Jewish origin, thus saving dozens of lives in the Shargorod ghetto (including the future researcher of the history of the Holocaust, Borys Zabarko). In the concentration camp in the village of Pechera, local villagers saved babies who were thrown over the fence by female prisoners, secretly brought food to prisoners.

Students of the 9th grade of Zhytomyr Lyceum No. 21 talked about the stories of choice that defeated death during the Nazi occupation. It is interesting that all project participants not only research regional histories of the Righteous Among the Nations but also prepare information materials on the topic “Righteous Among the Nations of Zhytomyr”, conduct educational events in their educational institution.

While researching the topic “Righteous Among the Nations of the World,” students from the “Perspektyva” Lyceum of the Domanivka Village Council created a multimedia map “Righteous Among the Nations of the Mykolaiv Region.” The lyceum students presented their multimedia project to the participants of the Memory Marathon.

Research on local Holocaust history was presented by students of the Ratniv Lyceum No. 1 named after Hero of Ukraine Eduard Kamardin, Volyn region. Ratniv resident Mykhailo Khabovets and his wife Nina hid Jewish families in their barn for a long time. In August 1995, they were awarded the title of Righteous Among the Nations. In 2001, Mykhailo Khabovets was awarded the title of Righteous Among the Nations of Ukraine (posthumously).

For several years now, students of Uman Lyceum No. 2 have been researching the topic “Uman Righteous Ones”. The project materials – photos, interviews, archival sources – are being replenished. 14 residents of Uman have been awarded the title of Righteous Among the Nations. In their presentation, the students made an important point: “Sometimes just one person could become the savior of many Jews, but more often, the combined efforts of many were needed for salvation.”