On January 27, a memorable day for representatives of Jewish communities, the Museum received a unique exhibit donated by Andriy Levchenko: the medal of the Righteous Among the Nations, which belonged to Oleksandra Puteshova. The title of Righteous, together with an honorary medal, is awarded by the State of Israel to representatives of other nations who rescued or helped the Jews during the Holocaust.

The given medal introduces us to a resident of our city, who risked her life and the lives of her loved ones to rescue Jews during the Holocaust.

During the war, Oleksandra Puteshova (nee Piddubna) lived with her two children and father Rodion Piddubny in Dnipropetrovsk. Her husband went to the front. On January 29, 1942, Huta Merzon knocked on the door of her house together with her daughters - 11-year-old Sima and 8-year-old Fanya. Before the war, Huta's husband worked together with Rodion Poddubny, and when the Nazis occupied the city, Rodion helped the Merzons in search of food. After the first mass murder of local Jews on October 13–14, 1941, Merzon and her daughters left their home and moved in with friends. At the end of January 1942, they came to Puteshova and hid there for several weeks. They left her house only when Oleksandra was able to get them documents in a different name. With them, Huta and her daughters left the city and spent two weeks in the village, working on a pig farm. Also, for some time, the Chepurniak family – Feig's mother and her children: Esther and Samul – hid in Puteshova's house. They spent the night at Alexandra and her father's house and then left. After ten months of wandering around the villages, they were able to cross the front line, thanks to which they survived.

After the liberation of Dnipropetrovsk, the six Jews rescued by Puteshova resumed communication with her and her family. Huta Merzon from Fanei later moved to Israel; Sima moved to Minsk, and the rest stayed in Dnipropetrovsk.

On March 3, 1996, Yad Vashem awarded Oleksandr Puteshova and her father Rodion Piddubny with the honorary title of Righteous Among the Nations.

We are sincerely grateful for the provided unique exhibit, which will be a worthy addition to the stock collection and exposition of our institution.