On May 14, Ukraine remembers the people who saved Jews from extermination during the Holocaust. More than 2,700 Ukrainians have been recognized by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations, but the actual number of rescuers was much higher. On this day, the Israeli Ambassador to Ukraine Michael Brodsky, the Chief Rabbi of Ukraine, Jewish organizations, communities, and the Armed Forces of Ukraine spoke about them.
A date where tragedy, gratitude, and Israel converge
On May 14, Ukraine celebrates the Day of Remembrance of Ukrainians who saved Jews during World War II.
At first glance, it’s just another commemorative date in the state calendar. But behind it are not protocols or ceremonial phrases. Behind it are basements, barns, false documents, children’s whispers, night crossings, fear of denunciation, and people who understood: if they were caught, not only they would perish.
During the Nazi occupation of Ukraine, helping Jews often meant a death sentence. Not only for the rescuer. For the whole family.
And yet there were Ukrainians who opened the door.
The commemorative date was established by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in 2021. It concerns the resolution “On Honoring the Memory of Ukrainians who Saved Jews during World War II”. The project was registered under number 4479 on December 10, 2020, and act No. 1178-IX was adopted on February 2, 2021.
Ukraine officially marked this day for the first time on May 14, 2021.
The date was not chosen by chance. On May 14, 1948, the independence of the State of Israel was proclaimed. For the Israeli audience, this is already a strong symbol in itself: the birthday of the modern Jewish state has also become in Ukraine a day of gratitude to those who helped Jews survive to this future.
But there is also another, tragic connection.
On May 14, 1942, in occupied Rivne, the Nazis shot the Sukhoverk family. Their crime in the eyes of the murderers was that they hid a Jewish girl. That is why this date is perceived not as an abstract anniversary, but as a reminder of the price of one saved child.
What Israeli Ambassador Michael Brodsky said
On May 14, 2026, the Israeli Ambassador to Ukraine Michael Brodsky reminded of this date in a separate address.
He wrote that during the Nazi occupation of Ukraine, the Jewish population was subjected to mass extermination. But even amidst the horrors of the Holocaust, there were Ukrainians who, risking their own lives and expecting no reward, helped Jews avoid death.
This is an important formulation.
Not for medals.
Not for glory.
Not because someone guaranteed them safety.
They helped because there was a person nearby who was being led to destruction.
Brodsky also reminded that the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine established May 14 as the Day of Remembrance of Ukrainians who saved Jews during World War II, to honor people who showed extraordinary courage and humanity in the darkest times of history.
A separate figure from Yad Vashem was mentioned: on behalf of the State of Israel, the memorial recognized 2,713 Ukrainians as Righteous Among the Nations.
Ukraine ranks fourth in the world in the number of such rescuers — after Poland, the Netherlands, and France.
But dry statistics here are deceptive. 2,713 is not just a number in an international database. These are saved children, surviving families, descendants born after the war, and memory that reached Israel through specific human destinies.
Righteous Among the Nations: why numbers change, but the meaning remains
In materials about Ukrainian rescuers, you can find different numbers: over 2,600, 2,673, over 2,700, 2,713.
This is not a contradiction in essence, but a matter of data updating.
In earlier reference texts, “over 2,600” or 2,673 Ukrainians were often indicated. In current addresses from 2024–2026, the figure of 2,713 Ukrainians recognized by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations is used.
But even it does not close the topic.
There were more real rescuers. Much more.
Some perished along with those they hid. Some did not seek recognition after the war. Somewhere there were no witnesses left. Somewhere the saved child grew up under a different name and could no longer accurately restore who handed over the bread, who warned about the raid, who led out of the ghetto, who hid in the barn, who remained silent, although they could have reported.
The Ukrainian Institute of National Memory emphasizes: May 14 is dedicated not only to those officially recognized as Righteous Among the Nations. It is a day of remembrance for all Ukrainians who saved Jews during the Holocaust — known and unknown.
This is the main nerve of the date.
It is not only about the awarded. It is about those whose names could disappear, but whose act continued life.
OЄОУ: memory of those who helped without reward
On May 14, OЄОУ also reminded about the Day of Remembrance of Ukrainians who saved Jews.
In the organization’s address, it was stated that during the Nazi occupation of Ukraine, the Jewish population was subjected to mass extermination. However, among the horrors of the Holocaust, there were Ukrainians who, risking their own lives and without any reward, helped Jews avoid death.
This detail — “without reward” — is important.
Because the feat of the rescuers was often quiet. Without publicity, without photographs, without big words. Sometimes it was just a bowl of food. Sometimes — a place in the attic. Sometimes — a different surname in a document. Sometimes — the silence of a neighbor, which also saved.
OЄОУ also reminded that the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in 2021 established May 14 as a day to honor those who showed extraordinary courage and humanity.
In the same message, the figure of 2,713 Ukrainians recognized by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations was mentioned, and the emphasis on Ukraine ranking fourth in the world in the number of such rescuers after Poland, the Netherlands, and France.
The Sukhoverk family: when memory gets a face
The story of the Sukhoverk family is one of those through which this date ceases to be official.
May 14, 1942.
Occupied Rivne.
A Ukrainian family hides a Jewish girl.
For the Nazis, this was enough to issue a death sentence.
The Sukhoverks were shot. Their story became a symbol of the self-sacrifice of Ukrainians who saved Jews, understanding that this could lead not to prison, not to a fine, not to interrogation, but to death.
Such stories are especially hard to read today because they deprive us of a convenient distance. They force us to imagine not a “heroic feat” on a poster, but a specific house, a specific family, a specific child who could not be betrayed.
And a specific choice.
Maria Babich: the first Ukrainian Righteous and the road to Israel
Among Ukrainian Righteous, Maria Babich holds a special place.
She was the first among Ukrainians to receive the title of Righteous Among the Nations. In occupied Rivne, Maria Babich saved a Jewish girl, Irit Osipova.
After the war, this story did not end.
Babich became part of the Osipov family and went with them to Israel. She was awarded the title of Righteous Among the Nations on May 1, 1962.
There is incredible human depth in this. Salvation during the war grew into a family connection after the Catastrophe. Ukraine, Rivne, a Jewish girl, Israeli life — all this was connected not by diplomacy, but by the act of one woman.
For NAnews — Israel News | Nikk.Agency, this topic is important in this way: not as a set of historical theses, but as a living connection between Ukraine and Israel. Through saved children. Through the Righteous. Through memory that continues to work even decades later.
Portrait Bank: how names are returned to those who saved
Memory cannot be held only by numbers.
Therefore, projects that collect not just lists, but human stories are especially important.
One of them is the “Portrait Bank” https://портрети.com.ua/portraits/ of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in World War II.
This is a platform where authorial research on Ukrainians — Righteous Among the Nations is published. For each person, a biographical essay, video testimonies, photographs, documents, and other sources are collected.
Currently, the database contains 441 portraits.
441 stories that can be seen not as a line in a table, but as a person’s life.
General information about the rescuers is available on the Yad Vashem website in Jerusalem,
https://wwv.yadvashem.org/yv/pdf-drupal/ukraine.pdf
as well as on the resources of the Ukrainian Institute for Holocaust Studies “Tkuma”.
https://www.tkuma.dp.ua/images/public_dounload/2016_dovidnik_pravedniki_for_inet.pdf
But Ukrainian museum initiatives set a broader task: to make the history of each rescuer complete, understandable, and known not only to historians.
This is also important because many feats remained in the shadows for decades.
Sometimes the family knew: “grandmother hid someone”.
Sometimes the village remembered: “they saved a Jewish child there”.
Sometimes documents appeared much later.
Thus, memory returns in parts.
In addition to the international title of Righteous Among the Nations, there are also Ukrainian Jewish forms of recognition.
The Jewish Council of Ukraine honors rescuers with the titles of Righteous of Ukraine and Righteous of Babi Yar. This helps preserve the memory of those stories that, for various reasons, do not always go through the international recognition procedure.
Babi Yar and the words of the Chief Rabbi of Ukraine
On May 14, 2026, the Chief Rabbi of Ukraine reported that he participated in a memorial event at Babi Yar dedicated to the Day of Remembrance of Ukrainians who saved Jews during World War II.
Babi Yar is a place where any words about the Holocaust sound different.
There it is impossible to speak of memory lightly. There every mention of salvation stands next to the abyss of destruction.
The Chief Rabbi of Ukraine reminded that during the Holocaust, when Hitler’s Nazis were exterminating the Jewish people, there were Ukrainians who, risking their own lives and the lives of their loved ones, hid Jewish families, helped children, and gave people a chance to survive.
He emphasized: in 2021, Ukraine established this day to honor those who showed true humanity and courage.
And another phrase from this address is especially important: behind the figure of 2,713 are thousands of saved Jewish lives.
Not “accounting units”.
Not “cases of salvation”.
Lives.
People who later spoke Hebrew, Ukrainian, Russian, Yiddish, English. People who had children and grandchildren. People whose family stories could have ended — but did not.
Jewish communities of Ukraine: memory as gratitude
On this day, Ukrainian Jewish communities spoke about the rescuers in very different ways, but with one tone — gratitude.
The HBF “Hesed Besht” wrote that with respect and deep bow, it remembers the feat of Ukrainians in saving the Jewish population during the catastrophe of humanity — the Holocaust. The address expressed the idea of an unpayable debt to everyone who chose life as the highest truth.
Briefly. Restrainedly. But very accurately.
The Jewish religious community of progressive Judaism “Teiva” reminded of the famous phrase: “He who saves one life saves the entire world.”
This phrase is often heard in the context of the Holocaust. But on May 14, it acquires a Ukrainian dimension.
“Teiva” wrote that Ukraine ranks among the first in the number of Righteous Among the Nations, and behind each name is an incredible story of courage. These people shared their last, hid in basements, helped with documents, risked everything for others.
And most importantly — they remained human when the world around lost its human face.
The Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine also addressed this date. In its message, it was stated: Ukrainian rescuers chose humanity over fear, life over silence. Without glory, without awards — just with heart.
The Federation reminded that more than 2,700 Ukrainians received the title of Righteous Among the Nations from Yad Vashem, but the real heroes were much more.
General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: memory of the Holocaust and resistance to hatred today
On May 14, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine published a separate address.
In it, the date was immediately designated in Ukrainian and English: Day of Remembrance of Ukrainians who saved Jews during World War II. The Hebrew semantic marker #לעולם_לא_עוד — “Never Again” was also used.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine stated that they honor the memory of all who saved Jews during the unprecedented cruelty of the Nazi regime.
But the address did not stop only at the past.
The General Staff emphasized that the Armed Forces of Ukraine uphold the principles of countering anti-Semitism, racism, and any forms of intolerance. The message also drew a direct moral line to today’s war: the terror of Russian troops against the Ukrainian people was called an echo of the arbitrariness of the Nazi regime, and the international community was urged to seek the punishment of war criminals.
For the Israeli audience, this does not sound abstract.
In Israel, the phrase “never again” has long meant not only memory of the past but also the obligation to see evil when it happens now. Therefore, the Ukrainian emphasis on countering anti-Semitism, racism, and war crimes here hits a very sensitive nerve.
Why this day cannot be turned into a formality
The Day of Remembrance of Ukrainians who saved Jews during World War II is part of the system of holidays and commemorative days of Ukraine. But its significance is much broader than the state calendar.
For Ukraine, it is a day about civic courage under occupation.
For Israel — a day of gratitude to those thanks to whom Jewish families survived.
For Jewish communities of Ukraine — a day of personal memory, because behind many stories are not abstract “saved,” but someone’s parents, grandmothers, grandfathers, children.
The most terrifying thing about Holocaust stories is not only the scale of the crime. It is also terrifying how many people pretended that nothing was happening.
Against this backdrop, the actions of Ukrainian rescuers appear even stronger.
They could not stop the Nazi machine.
They could not end the occupation.
They could not guarantee a future for those they saved.
But they could hide one child. Provide food. Warn. Remain silent. Say: “Stay here.” Take a risk.
Sometimes that was enough for an entire world to continue.
May 14 reminds Ukraine and Israel: memory is not only about mourning. It is also about gratitude. And the duty to name those who, in the darkest times, did not betray the humanity within themselves.