Vasil Ivchuk Yakovich

Early years and education

Vasyl Ivchuk was born in a small village on the territory of modern Ukraine. In 1929, he graduated from the 7th grade of the Slavutsk gymnasium, and later took teacher's courses. In 1932, he was appointed director of a school in the village of Dudarkiv. At that time, Ivchuk not only managed the school, but was also actively engaged in farming: he kept two cows and two horses in the school yard, rented a large plot of land in the Pravda collective farm, on which fruits and vegetables were grown for school needs, and hay was also harvested for livestock.

Rescuing schoolchildren during the Holodomor

During the Holodomor of 1932-1933, Vasyl Ivchuk saved the lives of many schoolchildren. He organized a one-time meal at the school for children of all five classes, and also agreed with the management of the Darnytsky meat processing plant about the opportunity for children to weed agricultural crops after school. The payment for this work was a ladle of soup, which significantly helped to save more than 200 lives.

Prosecution and Arrest

After the end of the 9th grade in 1937, Dudarkiv secondary school was transferred to the category of primary school. Ivchuk and the school staff did not agree with this decision and prepared a petition for its cancellation. However, on May 17, 1938, Vasyl Ivchuk was arrested on charges of anti-Soviet agitation and participation in a counter-revolutionary organization. On September 28 of the same year, he was sentenced to death, which took place on October 2. The place of burial remains unknown, but in 1958, Vasyl Ivchuk was posthumously rehabilitated.

Awards and recognition

On November 21, 2007, the President of Ukraine, Viktor Yushchenko, signed a decree posthumously awarding Vasyl Ivchuk the title "Hero of Ukraine" with the award of the Order of the State. This title was a recognition of his heroic efforts in saving the lives of children during the famine and his contribution to the education and public life of Ukraine.