In 1942, after the Germans occupied Ukraine, a child named Viktor Berezin knocked on the Mitrofanovs door begging for food. They took him in and passed him off as Alexander’s nephew. Viktor was gravely ill, Alexander and Vera took him to a doctor, their relative, Boris Anishchuke. Boris and his wife, Yevgeniya, nursed Viktor back to health, but he ran away for fear of being sent to a different hiding place. Viktor wandered villages and lived off handouts until liberation in 1944. Viktor maintained a friendship with his rescuers for many years after the war. On December 6, 1999, Yad Vashem recognized Alexander and Vera Mitrofanov, and Boris and Yevgeniya Anishchuk as Righteous Among the Nations.

Edited from Yad Vashem, Righteous Among the Nations Database