Tatyana Novitzkaya and her daughter, Galina, from the village of Guzolovka, Belarus, took in Irina Rukhovets and her four-year old daughter, Inessa, in 1941 and hid them throughout the war. The Novitzkayas knew the family was Jewish, but cared for them despite the danger of being caught by their neighbors and the Nazis. In 1943, all adult women and men were sent to work outside the village as forced laborers. Galina, only eleven years old, protected and cared for Inessa while the mothers went to work. Before the end of the war, the Novitskayas and the Rukhovetses went into hiding in the forest until they were liberated by the Red Army. The two families remained close friends for years after the liberation. For Tatyana and Galina’s heroic actions, Yad Vashem recognized them as Righteous Among the Nations on November 12, 1998.

Edited from Yad Vashem, Righteous Among the Nations Database