EXCLUSIVE: British aid worker rescues one of 15 remaining Ukrainian ‘Righteous’

A Ukrainian woman named as Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem was rescued on Monday by the British aid worker, Jonny Daniels and his charity, From The Depths.

Lidiya Savchuk, now 97, was one of 15 remaining Righteous from the Ukraine still living in the country.

In the face of the pandemic, From The Depths has been concentrating on helping the Righteous in the countries where they lived, with Daniels visiting them on a regular basis and bringing them care packages. But the outbreak of the war between Russia and Ukraine changed matters drastically.

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In the face of the pandemic, From The Depths has been concentrating on helping the Righteous in the countries where they lived

“Along with being named Righteous Among the Nations for saving Jews during the Holocaust” says Daniels, “such people are also given honorary citizenship of Israel. So we offered people the opportunity to leave, and we’ve already helped some people, families of the Righteous, to go to Israel, where they’ve been taken in by families of those that the Righteous had saved.”

Almost no-one wanted to leave, he said, saying that if the worst came to the worst they would prefer to die at home. But Lidiya changed her mind when it became possible for her and her daughter Elena to go to Switzerland, where her grandson had arranged accommodation.

The Savchuk rescue story is unusual because it is a rare instance of the “saviour” — in this case Lidiya —marrying the Jewish person she rescued.

The Savchuk rescue story is unusual because it is a rare instance of the “saviour” — in this case Lidiya —marrying the Jewish person she rescued.

According to the Yad Vashem citation, Lidiya, her brother Valentin and their parents Stepan and Nadezhda were living in the Ukrainian town of Vinnitsa (today Vinnytsya) in 1941. When Germany invaded the Soviet Union in that year, Valentin enlisted in the Red Army but the family had no contact with him until Vinnitsa was liberated in 1944.

In 1942 they gave shelter to a Soviet soldier who had escaped from a PoW camp, reasoning that “Ivan Petrov” could easily be their son. In fact, his real name was Isaak Tartakovskiy, he was Jewish, and came from Kiev. He had been captured in September 1941 and was sleeping in parks or abandoned houses. He was desperate when he arrived at the Savchuk home.

The family first hid him in their attic, and then, in 1943, when ordered to leave their home so Germans could be billeted there, moved to a suburb where they introduced Isaak Tartakovskiy as a family member, living openly with them.

The Yad Vashem citation concludes: “When Vinnitsa was liberated, Tartakovskiy returned to the ranks of the army and later settled in Kiev, where he became a well-known artist. In 1951, he bumped into Lidiya Savchuk and renewed contact with her family. Two years later, Tartakovskiy and Lidiya married”.

Lidiya and her parents were named Righteous in 1995.

Lidiya and her parents were named Righteous in 1995.

Jonny Daniels says the family is “extremely proud” of both sides of their heritage, the Ukrainian and the Jewish side. Lidiya is now in a wheelchair and the rescue over the border with Poland was due to be carried out with the help of the Israeli consulate. “They will help her navigate the border crossing, because there are different lines for diplomats. We are providing safe passage [to the border], the embassy are taking her across, and then we will take it from there”.

He added: “I felt, during Covid, when we were providing medical aid that it was an opportunity to really give back on a significant level. However, this is something else — potentially saving the life of one of the Righteous, someone who risked their life to save a Jew”.