Jit.

l^-

IEMKO EXTER]EIEES II'S

RECAIIM BT Yil]'a'ees

ttsCDCR DCKTIA

Clwterof

.
ash

fhe v,lil-ags of &slurdcar a nane besed

on,

the Slavle word

gryg
of

or

treer vhich in of

t'lrnes past fllowistted

in the tbe higbland

lrars

horneland

leodor DokJ-la,, uhich he qa'lIs

and parish
Xry,na, uhich

Iefuvrrcar

part of ths'connutlity (hronaaa)

in tr:rn uas & part of th mt- 6r t@al'prglnnJnlty of I Gladysrou, ln the county (!94!rt) of Gorlice. ths'pqllrh spelling of the village isJasionkaJu the 193Ots la:siunka had ?3 fa.rnilles uhieh numbered
JJO persons;

all of then Ienkog except fo'r tvo fa.ntlies. &s farnily of slx
crt"rned

vas .Ievish, rbose'bed'uas.:oa11fiChdfff W .the vi'llagers. ChriJr

and a^Iso uorked as a Sktrrsrci.

a saloon

blacksnith.

The other family vas Po1ish,

that of .I6ef

In a nodest peasant vryr Doklla vas proud of hls regiopts prst.

the mea n"a on""?fJ$urU of Kievan nu3, tfran inhabited by a Slavie trdFe kacrm to scholars as rtlhite Croatiunsrr end vho some consider to be tho
aroostor!s of todayts ledcoe.
Dok1ia,

cltngr fondlX to that interpnetatioyl,

and }bthod{us,

Ctcistlanity

ca-ne

to the region in the tines of Sts'. Cyril

a hundred years
Ied<o

befor^s

St. \Polo$pgnr offlc{.ally bought it to t he excestors of

Ore r^ras a.notber uatershed

the nodern Ukrainians in f,iev. ltcrld l{ar'

event

1n

history.

Tr.'* ss:s6

haf a strong pro-Russian or &ussophlle nover'ent, sone

even cons idering thenselves

to

be rea^l Russians

of the }firscovlte varlety.

tsarlst a.rnles broke into tlre regloro anil the Br:ssophlles uere fbequently apcused of dtsloyalty by the Austrian goverffr'ent. At least fua natti'es of &lsiur:ka were
sent to the la-1erhof, lnternslent carg infanous

of its *'lIeged1y sutwersive Lrrnates. 3?e pretext for this rourrrf-up ln Easiu*a uas that a pro-Orthodox faction in tbe village had butlt a chaBel and'vanted to eonsecrate it as ur Orthodox chrnch. Others in the area were arrested because
nle$reatrnent'

for lts

they went to services

in nearby Erab, where Ruv.?hryE 9u&lyeh of Zh.4.,nia

Dok]-i^a-Z

at tjrnarcelebated tbe ftthodox ]itur6f. SandovJrchl shot W the Awtriansr beca-ne a rnartyr in the perception of nany Rwsopblles. The reputed ri-[]-a.in in this tragedy uas the lasiunl<a sa.Locn-keepr=Cb&i&r who allegedly was an infornant" enpLoyed ty tb potle. In order b woid drafttng lnto the Austrian
arryr four
youtlrs, florn Yasiunka vent

to tsarist Russla uith the retreatlng

Russian artrgr.

vl]lage suffered sever physical danage durlng WorLdlJs One. tension betueen the lenkos and rarby Poles lntensified'' A trlenko republicn uas set up in Florynka on 5. Decenbere 191&- Sixleen . nont'hs of tension
The

folloue?\1 the poles finally arestltg the republic; b officials and end,ing its existenee. Psrt of the Lernko region renair:ecl ln rebsrn Poland but a part also
11as

to Czechoslova}i-8. Polish efTorts to pness the village youth into thefu army causred sorne of, then to flee into nevly forned Gzechoslovakl.a.. ltl th new Poland life ws d.ifflcult. Every yasiunka falrlly lrad relatlves ln Anerieat
assigned
u116

nsteria1 end morail support lYora across the

oceen uas

highry apgreelatecl.

Around Yasiunka lgdkoe verked as lutbernen and. sold

thsir cnrn timber to nil1s

in g6plice. fhere
of the Polish

1;ss

ective srnuggllng &ross the bsrder into Czechoslovaki.a.

Jaer$ga

polonlzatlon efforts vere resistecl. A I'trs', Il&belr the wife' of the village teacher
la,nguagee

tried. to establlsh a Poltsb"youth'drele" i"n"Sasiunka, but

the effort fallecf. I& 1938-39 the Poles lanrshed a trarsh clenationalLzation driver.
The elenentary school was conpletely Polonlzeil,

griests

and

lntelleetuals ln

the

reglon lrere snt to tbe

nllitary rna;:gurErs uere corrducted ia tire region, 1oca1 Ienkos beirg reguirecl to constnrct lnpedirnents to Gernerr tsrks expected to appeqr ln the area of the lfagura nountain. llith the outbeal< of Uorlcl Uar B.lo, tte youths of Yasiunka vere mobillzed irrbo
Bereza, Kartuzka

concentration camp. Ia 19f9

the Polish ar4r.

Doklia-3
The Comins

of the C,ernans
in
Septenber

t 1939. At first they treated the 1osa1s welTr appointing e nalrqr (soI3vs) frctr anor them for the village clwter of Yaslulka, KrJnrar and Eanytgia . b ua.s &tr'ts f,ists, of gsnJrtsig. Sernen Smey ues the cleputy negprr ( pldsoltvs) for Sa,siuttaa. These
The Gernans took over Tasii.rnke,

villages
"uJ

were ins!-udecl 1n the roLna

of

&ladysz,orl, vhose

chief officinl (vfitl

u certain Koba-Ei.i. Under the Gernans police f\rnctions vere perforned to

Siehowkrr, cornnanded by a C'ernan uhose last narne uas Sta.iinist eomnr:nists), .(rena.med UJcie Gor'linlrie try -veturans Duue, vho resided in IIsiieTGtI'-ad\ ?he Sichowkv, of .the..EgEgg&Sg_Sj4!,
some degree bnr. so-callecl

a Uk-rainian nilitarT fornation consisting of youths tnostly lbon the

area of Carpatho-Ukraine, had fought

Uzhhorod

to defend llonsignor Aulrystyn Voloshynts Carpatho-UkraLnian state r.rhen it *.d t""n lnvaded and conquered. ty the .. _ Hungarlan artry. To escape fungarta,n: lmprisonrrent, the Sichorrvkv fled nortLra.r.d into Poland, trut t'hefr stay of fourbeen nonths in the lemko region bought then no glory' Sorae of tbern vere friendly, Doklia t"eter but nost were murderers uho caused tbe'Ienkos to hate Ulsainians. lhey lrere quick to beat up localse a speclalist ln thls reale. teing a certaLn Pezllyk, a Boiko from the ga:rlson in GladyszEr,rl m ueIL ae a certain Kise\ frorn the poliee station at Uide Rlrskie,
The Sichowkv helped the Gerrnans

to

in Cternany. Anong Iasiunka natirres to be taken as slave laborers, uere Ardtil

Seu

girls to forcecl labor who fled to Crerna"ry on thelr own, rather than
send 1ocal boys and
Shveda (no.r

tn Cliftoa, Seu Jersey),

Stefan orrushchal< (fov fn Earnllton, ontario), ani fvan Denchar (now in Uatctfliete

York).

Around

30

siunka youths vere sent es slave uorkers occupation peasaats vrere forced

to

&rnargr.

to cut timber and haul it to Gorlicel uorking as mrrch as four days per r+eek without pay. Compulsory delivery of farn guotas ilasr cn:shir:gly harsh, especlal-1y in grain and potatoss,
Dr:ring the
Gerruan

bbtch bad to be deposited at village depots', the edna adninistration in Gladysz8w,

anc the connty depot

in Gorlice. Dire necessity forced the peasants into

Doklia+
snuggling

artivity; tfuy

crossed the beder by

Sloval< 5a.,

night in the Korecsne

area

into the

preJov region

of

cafrying butterr eggsr grain and other

products and trking back |readkerchiefs, ohosst tobacco, and other manufaetr:res.

in tlre region vas fiercs. Ibcy uere taket: llon Gorlice and lemko villages to Eobor*a, vhere tl,ey were forced to dig pits and then er<ecuted. Obhers uerre taken to &viecim and Uaf,danek. Chet-u' the
The persecution

of

Jews

saLoon-keeper

in

Yasiunlcan had gone

to Falestlne before ths outbreak of the var.

In'I$yva there lived a Jeu, tt[gtr

wanted

uho worked as a.

tailori &

anil

his entire

fa.nily were taken alray by the Gbrnans, nevEx'to be heard of again. The Germans

to kill the gpsies in

KrXnra,l

but the viit of Gladysot", trob"otl, prrotected

then, ho}ding they uere honest rlorkersl and they sttll rema.in ln Krp,o lasiunka r:atives

hid a Jew whoso last

sl$uller

nane was llodc

tn their vil'lage. Ee lived in lasiunka to the

of !flaJ,, the natives risking the deatb pona-lty in protectlng h5m. One Sunrlay a group of 9!g!9g&, 1ed by thir conmandant Drrr,re moved about fron Gladysz&

to Uscie Ruskie. Ehe ]ocaIs felt they uere searching for anti-&rnan partisans, brt in fact they r.rere afber lkrat Zorybr a forty-five year-old lemko. ?.oryla
r.ras caught

tn ttle

conpany

of Told<. ?'ory7a. vas shot, arrd Volk uas ta.ken to

fbom alrong the

Xasiur:ka,

but he refused to reveal uho

escorted

locaIs had aided hin, Ee was then

,Tfre

td

Gladysu&ub

}rf

escaped

flon prison t,here.

fu[gSrkgreae.p*,::red

tritni and he uas shot by Peztryk on th !{agtua mount'ain.

'

As the $oviet a.rmy approachecf, partisan

activity agairut the

Gernans

in the area expanded and rnore pepple fborn Yat*unlb uere ta.ken by the Crernans for foreed la.bor. Ivan Gratsonl vas one-he perished in S11'aine. In eaz|y I9t+5
the &finans intensified sush a.ctivity, strong other things reErisitioning all horses.
^Ss

signs'of

Gernan defeat

nur).tiplied, the Sichowky disappeared {bon the area in

the frsrner
sunmer,

of

]-]944t

apparently tal<ing to tlre forests

to join the IIPA. That

in
tr.e''

791+J+t

the area sau intense fighting betueen the Germans.and the Soviets.
region, tmt

There had been nany ref\rgees flom Kiev, Kharkov, and Pottarra

Dokl*a-5-

after

]r9/+5

they were

all

forced back nto the honeland.n Retreating Gernan units

lgl+Jn the Gerraans lred

passed through lernko

rrillages, Ef lssmber1

left for

good,

in a ssmtery they tud constructed in Yasiunka. fhe Russians did not corne into the vlllage i-nnediatel$' $hen tlrey *Ldr loca]. young rnea a.lleged1y ilvolunteered! for service ln the Soviet arrryr but ln reality this nove i,ras obligai,ory, Tbee youths frone the viJlage undenrent training ln Rabh, and ttren uere sent to fight the Eitlerites in Czechoslovakia, afier
f'hey buried

thejr

dead

uhich they ltere transferred to the Far East.

Rese8tlement
Upon

to the Soviet Unlon

their anival in Yasiunka tl:e Soviets startecl a propagarrda carnpaign for resettlenent in the Soviet Unlon, At first sone of the Lernkos rejoiced. 0thers, vho had been ln Russla during Uorld l,Iar 0ne, were opposed and rejected Soviet propaganda, Itot'l{; tlut there lrero few volunt,eers,
the Soviets changed their taetics. They stressed that if the Lemkos did not
leave the Po1es sould Polonize then and expel then from their. hones. Those that
agreed

to

go wore given positions

of poller

and set

touork to

propagandize

among

thir compatriots. They r,rere forroed into a nilitla

to uho actively
opposecf

and inforned the Sovlets as

resettfennt. 1\.lo carnps atrosgr tlose favoriBg resettlernent and those vishing to renain. BIt was trrother against bnother.r In lasiuaka,
loca1s agitating tn favor lrrcludecl Vasyl Romanc$al<, Tyrnko Shveibl ard Senen Srney.

the

evacuees departed

flon Yasiunka

sometfune

in April, 1945.
persons'

They stopped

for

time art the Gorliee railroad station, vhere they entrained on a trensport going

east'

$igbeen

fanilles

rrege Lnvolvedr crver

sixty

ln s.ll.. ghetr farns

reroained r.rith

relatlves left behind. After' the train cars !r6re loaded uith

theb belongings, the train moved slosly eastl,rard, The syssu*rt at first vere invited to settle in klicj.a on flrst-rate farns left behind t'y resettled Po1ss. their fields trad already been uorked and it ua6 noecessarTr bct to r^rait for the harvest' ett the leaders of the lemko travellers reftrsed the offer;
resettlers
and

Doklia-6
saying nlile want

go deep

into Rwsia, to collective farnsl and we uiIl not

Rr:^ssial

stay here.n Ihereupon they were shuntd to collective farns, not in

but in eastern 6rraJ.nel to the Kharkiv" Poltava,

Ehere they soon reall.zed

and Voroshllovhrad
Oa

oblasts.

that they had rnade a colilosal d.stale.

-r-ivec[

collective

farns to wbich thay haa been assined thsy

tu 1lptankv, huts

nade

of

ndd

vith

strar,l roofs, and ren-lianlcy. undergrounct holes or bunkerg. The frvnitr:re

they had brought along c-ould not

fat lnto tbese tfugr places and had to be lefb outside, where itens that had not been lraulecl off by thieves rotted &$ayr
Ienko housewlves suffered

ln the area and the wonan rrrere urrable to coob. Iocal uomsn"l\ib1e'd'thb'li"stoves uith stratr or
Th63s was no uood,

bitterly.

horse InanurE. tlre collective farms vere

in abJect povert'y and a.&itionally to be a helI.

had

suffered var-tj.rne da|ag"a

The pronlsed paradLse twned out

there vere no fresh watsv, no nrnning strermsr ho_ frlendly, pnotecting hi].ls. Ahe Ukrainians a,sked in amazenent, Fil{y dld you cone herel uhen wg ourselves are poverty-strlcken?r shs 1"p*ga and cwtong differed from that

in

Ienkoland,. l&ny flecf in a b1lnd effort to get. back hone. $ons retrsned. successful\r

to thetr native vlllages, while others fbund a;sylrrn in the regiongr of Lvin, tbrnopil, and Drohobych. Pour resettlers actually returned to laslur:ltaAntokha Perun and hls d.aughter O1}, and tbe Dziopa bothersp t"grbro and htro. A si-nilar n:mber returned to nearby villages, Those that settlecl in Gallcia at

ftrst
was

for collectivization hail not yet been installed ln llestern Ukraine. They kept these farnsp until fg52, uhen eo]-lectivizatton
uere asstgned farrnsteads,

finalized

and

the Ienkos in Craligi.a founcl thernselve$ on collecrtive farns

arnong

they had Usat to asold. Eron

I rlunka natlvesl th Silkuet fanily llveE

ln sorysla;n;
engineering.

on sor vorks

ln a factory, a nd a scond J.n tb' l960rs studied

&puls-ion

Afber the wpe*gs to enti.ce Lenkos lnto the

USSR' nany

villageer !,ere

enPtyr and the Pollsh ary. $asl IIroTed into tha. to nake luJr end collect the harvest.

Doklia:-?

Ienkos

stlll

aound r.lere forced'p vkthout eompensation, to help the soldiers

durirrg the trarvest season, and edditional\y r.rere required to feed the troops.

I,lfe uas difficult, but a turn toward norna-lcry was evldent. Aid fbon relatives ln Anerica L'as helpf\rl, although frequently the packages ilere plundered and
noney taken lbom eavelopes,

ths final nonths of

1945 lrere

quiet, bllt ln
USSR

1fl+6

the authorities huntecl down evacuees that had retwned fron the

in order

bask. Ir spring and srrnmer of 19l*6 Po1lsh troops relnstituted the foreed dispatch of Lenkos to the Soviet Union, those that had returned'
send then

to
tf

illegalIyr fron the US$'. $ome terorlzed peasantg hicl in the forests and the soldiers found only ernptlq honasp vhich they vandallzeji[. 'T,hs fu*ltlves'ltved in forests for several fieeks and then retr:rned to thei^r villages, Llithout any etrylanation, houever, the authoritieg ceased their searches and seizn:res. Then the IIPA appeareil in the region, most lntenslvely ln late 1p{,6 and early lgl+"tr. Doklia vas de'Lalred for several hor:rE by a UPA unit as be
retwned flon the rectory in Kryva, where Bev. Volodlmnr F,aidukevych prepared
docr:rnente

for

hEm:

and

hls sister;

who were then

attenptlng to. enigratc to the

Unlted Statssr where an uneLe resldbd. Doklia vas released ultbout harm. 0n another occasionr, sround ten llpA @nbers, includlng three r,ronen,
Doklisr hone
ea.me

to the
,.

in

Yasiurrka, uhere they vorked on docunen,ls, the

nro,&etr.

doiqg ths

ttr1ping. They asked for a meaI, vhich the rrriterts nother prepared[, and they
e:rpressed

gratitude. Dlscusslon of a political natwe follor.red, Eokllats father holding that the UPA struggle wa.s hopeless. rrlhat evening tbey dfd u.s no tjarxr, at
daun they werrt

ancl

off

Bonfihere

lnto the forest.r

appeared

After tbat lncident tiPA nenbers

requests

ln the village every nlght with

for food..

As locals tra;treled about, nostly to and {}ora Gonll-ce for

shopping purposes, they uere often stopped by UpA squads ard searcbed
and

for

food

supplles. fn Yasiunke there were ekl:mistres betveen iIPA and Pollsh units. fn one encounter the Bandera,its hanged a natlve of flrab, a certaLn pihosb, who
polish intelligence
&Er

had eooperated r.iith

an

inforner.

Kobak,

a forester fbon

Doklia-8
lfeznayovar and a vomal
lr9/+547 were

flon Volivets

disappearecl

vithout a tracs. ghe years

trytng, uitb Pollsh troops robbing by day and the U?A by night. of Polish plans t'o e4e1 the renaining lenkos, nbut ue'
native

RumorE arose

uere go attached to our land that ue did not believe these fuxlors.r lolrard the
end

of W,

L9t+7, Yevke Yasylko, a Yaslunka

Lfvilg' ln Sviatkwae reported

that f:rcecf resettlerent to northern and r.restern Polancl was a]ready takfng place in the Sanok, pzenysl, Lublin, and Iesko regions. The lenkos sav no uay out'.

If they fled to the woods, tb

Poles uould consider then &nderaltes,

either

shooting then or sencling thero to the Jaroruno concentration carnpr The lemkos

therefore resigned thenselves to the inevltable--Eirpulsionl Sone prepared trunks

and

uagon$. Otherr betook thenselves to the authorities in frorllce and

asked

for rellable infornation. fbey receivecl

th,en came 9 June,
I9t+7

no satlsfaction; fear and uncertainty reigned.

t a dey of tragedy for

Yasiunlca. At daun, while

stilI slept, solc*iers arrivetf and ordered eaeh household to paeepare thir t,hings for traveL they r,rere lrarncl' that, r,lhen the troops returned, they should be packed and reacly to nove. Speculation Has'rife. rAre ve to be ghot?r rrlla.uled off to Rwsia, or to t he unknown uest of Polancl?r [ithin ninutes, the troops retraned and srdered, al.l villagers to qrit thelr hotnes. tshose conp'laipipg
the villagers

or reslsting uere physically beaten,

ueeping erqpelleese moolng
oo1.rg1

Paldenonii:rn

troke out-shouting soldiers,

bleating streepr barking dogs, A11 natlves of

Xasiu*a vere ta.ker aualr

Tl:ey were

her&d

through trrt

sr,

beyond Banytsia, through

Vfrkhna,

night. In Kryva, the vlllagErE stepped fbon their houses and bade the acpelleee Coclspeed, for that village bad not Yet been evacuatecX. A few days later it net tbe sene fate, At Kryua, too, expeLlees the Yasiunka entered thoir rercred ehweb to pray for the ]e.ct tine, a farewell soa]Gd vith tears and sob. At ths Ba,nyisl& ht11 th few far'llles stt11 renaining in that vlllage uaited anil blessed the lasiunka outcasts as the cararErx passed by. Upon a:zival in g!$sdpr, they uere put up in variow homes for the night.
and then

to

Glcdysz$w, where tbey spent the

goklia-9

the

hones were enpty, fo:r

tbef

ownrs had been drlven out the da;r

beforo.

0n1y

a few farnilies had been pernltted to stay behind, swh as the Vava.kr ksa-tyka ani

tr}rl, either

because somF lrere A.rnerican

sitizens or other e:ceptLonal clrq:nstances.

0a 10 June the expeLlee* were ordered

to

resrlrner

thelr

Jgl:raeyp

travelling

tbrough l&gura, l4alastiv,

approachect

Rus tka

Rotytsial

Serrkova, and

Xobylartba.

iAs they

the l,lagura nountain, best{a] scenes unfolded. A rtrddy-faced lieutenant

dlsnounted hls

bicycle anil began to beat the outcasts vith

r.rha.fuver l:e e'u1d

wagons

get his hands on becwuse exhausted horses and eous were unable to pu1l the
up the mountaln.

&

ordered

that the expelleesr miserable

lfagUra

goods be thrown

off

the wagons. rlhis ruddy-faced bandit harassed our people uii to Ia-labtlv'1.ike
a
taad

dog.r Aftet tlrsy pas5ed rolled along

more

the journey

.becanre

less arduous, fcr. the

uagons

easily. Those unable to carrlf their belongings had then hauled in arny irr:ckE all the vay to Zagorzary-, As the exlr11ees passed through Pollsh vilIagesl such as Senkowa and Kobylanka, sone inhabltants sbored signs of sympathy, but nost pointed thelr fingers Ln de:si.ston. 1} outcasts spent the night in the ?s.gorwrry parkr.netr<ing: fires for heat. llhe r.rives nilked the cows and prepared a supper of rnilk and bead. Local thieves and Pollsh soldlers stol the pnoperty of those tbat vere not a1ert. Stolsn, arnong other things, uere the sheep and oon of Petro Kopcha, The losses ue.!e. j
reported the next day to the n111tar7, but nothlng uas returned. The expellees
uere required to stay

ln

ZagoraE'.rty

three daye and nlghte. 1ts6 they uere ordered

to the rallroad etatlonr where flat-cars uere vaitLng. Feople and property vere Loacled on these carsr 0n gtat vas for uagon$ on1y. !,fary r.ragons had to be lft for every tuo fanilles. Ihe Doklta fa.nily of elght shared a uagon r.rith the Tasylklv fanlly of
three persons.
A11 were

behindr a:ry eders tnsistlng that one lragon only was to be loacled

uet to ttre bone

because

of the rains anil fbore throughout

$as paeked.

the ordea-l.

The Dokli.a-{asylkiv us.gon

of

elerren persons $as cro}rded, r1i&e saj-teil

ftsh ln a ba:'re11t ard the other erd of the flat-car

uith

senen colrs,

several sheep, goats, anil three horses. The erqpellees

sti|l

had

ntt

been lnforned

noklia-10

to thelr destLnation, At tbe Zagorrany tra{n statlon expslJ-ses f}ora l.&.tsyna llelyka, Gorlice county, uere added to the caravaio $wo loconotlves were Joined to the railroad cars, and late in the afbernoon of 13 June, it seernsp departr:re
as

into tl:e

unknown

began. After a fev ninutes of

novernent, the expellees noticed

that they uere

&rman regions

heacling vestwarcl arrd

lt

r.ras

concludecl

that they destlned to forner.

that the soldlers bad talked about.

At varlous stops en route the expellees soup and a plece of bead.

were given

In

Osruiecim

they uere pr:.t through a so-eaIled I'hygienic' and political purge.rl

trhe hygienls aspect consistecl

of dusting parts of the

1]B

body

uitB I

.Epbdies

of

powder.

In the

Osviecism ra;ilroart

stationr

officers conrlrrcted."tnterrngatiohs. '' Those

thaf, gave conf'r:sed or inproper testjmory rrrere subjected to r,lell-knor.ln police

rnethods. Ihose under suspicion of ties r.rith Banderaltes vere hauled

off to torture

to the concentration

camp

in Javormo.

Aroong

Yasiunka

natlves,

falJnn and. Senen

{aser:ko and Petro Dat opa vere naltreated there

}arsr fhe Vaserrkos uere so honored because fu:.y$tu eldest so!" !firtro, having returnecl f]on serviee in the Red armJr, irad been forcetl lnto the ranks of the IIPA. {ybro Vasenlco was later klIled by the Poles. Petro Dzlopa r.ras sent to Jaworato becs.se his bother $dro, r.rho along vith Petro had flecl fbon the Sorrlet Union, trled to aEoid a seconil tour in tbe Soviet army by fleeing to Join the Banderaites. l6rftno.Da bp" nour lirres
tr.lo

for

ln England.

life in Linbo
Afber Osuiecim and a stop at Rudra-G.riadanor,rs (betr.reen Iegnica and Glogow), the carav&n ct'ne to S-{nFUa, county of llolow, }bocl-ar.r dlstrict. At
resettlement
Selna}ra

offlcials distributed thetr charges anong 1oca1 villages. AII f]on Yaslurka in Dokliars grqip uere asslgned to the glolna Choblei, to ttp eonstltuent vlllages:- Chobiefi- {ytro Kvoc}:ka; Ba.doszezyce-hybs f,opcha, Anton Satalorrych,
Petro Kopchar Petdro Zorlylo and lfirbro Tantsro; Stodolor.rice-Paraska Shveda, fvan

Stefaln Ealtkot:" flko Felnchak, Seman Doklla, Lukach Doklia, Ygrko Zorylo; $ieszcziceZorylo, Wkolat Zorylo, Mykhel Bfbel, I,brtro Perun, Petro Vasenko, yakyn Vasenko; Gusadzirfvan Bybeln !{sstia Pelesh, Mykhail Kvoc}rka, OsXf Zorylo, Petro Pregon;

Ooklia-1l
0lszany-&gkhail Haitko strd his son fvani Kllszczotr-It4lal l'{aDchalir Fetsko Kvochka,
Denko Qnushchalcr Vasy1 and

fetsko Peleshi Comelov{asyl

Kvochka and },Vkha1 Yasyllio.

In the years lrg&-tgs}

sorno

of these fa.nllies changed their place of residence.

a^nd

Another g.oup of Iasiunke expellees had stayed behind 1a 7'agoTzaqy

$as routed

to the Po*nart &rea, vhere they vere scattered aJoong vlllages in tbe eounty of

Pila.

of the villages involvedl- ttradoro (ttrree fanLlies), nyeltft (five families), kzjenki (tuo farnLlies), Sielisto (three fanilles), Blernatowo ( tvo
Sone

farnilies

), ad Dzierzowto (tr^ro fa.rnllies ). Life ln this new loca].e was very difficult.
l,fany houses vere

Th ne!,

arrlvals were given

cluttered
horoes

the vorst former Gernan buildings, r.rhich inconing Poles FneYious!,3*''lad.ref'used to

Ilve
r^rith

Ln.

vithout uindous, doox$r or stoves

rg and

and were

dlrt
1n'o1"n uiniloue vhere Ehe

"1""pi*ryo'*fft"
ca:ne

the

in

lragons. lhe

sheltereif uith boards and tarpaper or plugged

with strar.r.

roofs vere ful1 of holes-ancl raln

throth. 01dr bug-infested

f\:rniture found ln a nearby abandoned

the problem of finding enployuentno r.rork, and there uas nothing

nanor-bouse was put

to use. Ihen there was

was

[]1 the villages

uere extrenely poors there

saved by

their farn animals, vhich provided swtenanss. Ehe cattle vere Ln a clire oonditlone for the fields lrere overgr oHE with veede and there uls no suifuble pastl:re. Ilay-flelds had been uorked over by 1oca1 Poles. .In autr:mn eonditlone lmproved, as most of the
*

to br.Ly' The expellees ,ur"

Lenkos

bired thenselves out to FoHsh farners. llhe gwernnent gavs so@ atde reveral

kilograms of
thrown

flow

and some

srgarr Oc'rn-nea1 distributed

uas spoilecl and hadl

to

tre

avayf

Packages fbom

relatives in Aneric& uete a God-send. I! fs,l1t J?47,

as lye arld wtreat seeds ln order to start neu far&,s. Suscess', hoverrrr llds scantr for tbe Ienkog dlcl not knou hov to cultlvato the unfani1lar BoiL tr\rrthernore, that faIl uas
tbe Lenkos uere glven plots of 1andl, as nuah as ona wantedl as ueIL extraordl.nart:$

d4f

and the seed

dld not gerrnirrat. In sp'ring the Ier*os lrere given

potatoes for seedirg' ostsl vheat, ?Age'habffSnd -/\ '

Doklia-12

Ihe poles rwly settleil in the region treated the lenkos variouslSi'. There uere chauvinists alaong then, as ueLL as kind peoplc who gave unstinting assistance.
The vi1'lage and strlna

authorities treatecl the Ienlcos as'despisd c*rarges; ln

offl-cersl
CRM0

buniliatipg tr4nney.

IIE

activists', a nd the n.i-Iitta elosely srrnreilled

house ulndowr

tbe a.stlvities of the Lemkos, even Beeping at ntght to

each other, singing together, and even narrying

to

overhes.r'

fa.ntly conversation. 'nl lnkos shoced gFeat group solidarity, the young courtlng

in traditional Ienlco style.

Tiavel to such r^reddings at times involved long itidtanoes and, obnoriow obstacles. Afber a period of ti'er permission lras granted to set up Orthodox parishes in
Stodolor,rice and Rud.nie M.iesto. fhe Greek{atholie chr:rch uas proscribeii,

its priests
to

being required either to accept Qnthodory on.to change to the Iatin

condr:ct services

rite

ancl

ln latin for the Poles. Ihny Sreek-Catholic priests changed to the Iettn rlte, and som becare Qrthoclox, lhis Polish rnanipulation of eel5.gior vas tragie for botb rellgion apd nstion, for the parishoners had to foLlolr the steps
of their pastors. Although forcecl to
Pollsh Cathollcisro
hal
naJce

unpleasant choicesl Iernko priests so

doing, Dokli.a r.rrote, lrr,avitably ba"ought ihe Ienkos to the sts.tlis to vhich chauvinist

for centwies endeavored, to bring thes:-eitler Iatin Sathollclsn or Qrthod'o4y, to the eljminatton of the &ek-Cathollc or thiate

churoh.

In $todolouics and Ru&rie the pastsr ua.s fa..tber Khyli.a&r...a.gaieran.Lerako;.patqiot r.rho r.ras one of the first Sceek-Catholie priest! to conwrt to Orthodory la postillersa.{Iles Polarid.

Ir a PoLlsh cfuil.il}r lrr &udni services for the Ienkos vere

eonductecl by the vell-known B.ev. Ivan Polianslqy, uho cl-andestinely during the Easter

and Clsistnas

holidaye condilcted services la the Ruthanian rite. Sbis dsrriation

was deaorncecl by Po1lsb oBse:rers

to

Bishop Konlnka

in l{rocLar, ina as punLshnent

Father Poliansky rJas transferred artay fbon Ienko settlenents, 1io

the

Opola

distrlc,t.
Aven vhen rnaterlal conditlons ha"d i-nprorrcd

the lemkos ltere uni:applt

longing for their hati-ve highlands and tra.ditional uay of

life.

AL1 hoped

for

::::

::

::":*"*

o":':'.:':":::

:.::" 1.":

*1"'":'

rhev uere

Doklia-l3.
The

soil

ws"s

sanqyr

ad the oder river

overflowed'

its

banks

in

J-une and Jll-lyt

'' destroying pasture lanct and tdcing auay nswn hayc Lhe' nud and re'illr produced an unpleasant, odrr. rnsects and nosquitos infesteil tbe region, tornenting
the

s well as their cattle. !\rrthernorer the oder uas replete with chenlcal polsons florn nearby fa.cto'ries. tsad vater anil nosqrito and insect
lcm.koEr

infestationsperod'ucecfslcknssarrddeath,botha"nongyoungand'old.Acensug ca$ied out in the 195grs verified the tragic life style of the Lenkos ln ttte

region. gfficlal policy uas discrlniieiory. Qr:estionnaires contained no rubic for the Lenko or Ruthenian @gg!g&,) natiog4lity, only for Polish or Ukrilinian' Ienkos uere permittd,, !s1t6ver1 to rsite in E@, lf they Eo desiredl. Additional conplicatlons ca.ne in the period 1950-1952 utted attempts
were nad*
Produkt

to enforce ttre e:rpe].lees into collective farmsl the so<afled gpcrstdaielnie Faily heads tn a given vi]lage weTe Eulnnoned to a meeting, zt vhlch

comnunist orabors prornisecl paradise oa

and

earth. Most people uere not deeelveeln

pnopertS: and'r 5-f- necessary,

ndekulaJki'et the'richer or threats uere forthconlng. Ibe policy lras to

dbdtcatait fa.:rnersz

that ls, to coifiseate their

to

arrest then, Iho rernairderl s6.{a11ed rotddle and poon peasants, Joined ttre collectirrc farms because of fea-r. fo escape nenbershiEh narry nen f]om lasiur:Ea opposecl to coJ_leCtives bequeatfuG tbir property to their wlves aacl ol$ people' lhose
vere forced
ca.upad,gn

to

pay hlgh taxes and deHver large quotas

of fafn prodlrcts' fhis

uithout

of forced collectivtzation bought about a graxre footl shontage and resort

shops only horse neat and satlsage were obtalnable

to ration cardsr In

ration cards. Irr uestern Polard eolledbive farns r^tere established ln alnost aIL villages, brt ln ugi* *11 of then vere dissolved r.rhen SonulkE came to p{rl{Brr fh
peasants again appliecl thenbelves equipment, and working the such as

to their farns, repairing bulldingsr

bnoadcasts,

buying

fielchi,

Econonie i:nprovement uas i.rnrnecliate, basic freedonsy

folloued' Books and nagazines arrived fron Anerlca. Lenkos uere prnitted to visit their native v.illages. In 1956- and 7957 ne.ny did so, only to find their villages wergroun uith veeds and brush. Tasiunka uas ln ruins, Obher vl11ages, vhere no state farns had been establishedr lrere
listening to foreign radio

Doklia-14

reclai.ned by Lenko retru.ns6s, vho at times pr:rchased thir one-tirne holdings

fuom inconpetant neu

settlers to

r.rhon

they had been avarded, by the government.

Eonesickness and Disill-usionment

For several years' Ya"siunka renained vithout lnlrabitants. In 195GJ)52

the authorlties.rat lts erte a state colleetive farq qr ItR, an acronyrr

on the Polish

established

'l

based

na,ne Panske Gospodarstwo

R,olne. fashioned on the Soviet nod.el.

This sbate farm extended to the lanils of the village of Chorne.(.-tr.,;-.

01d houses Ltere

denolLsed.

When

Doklia visited Yaslunk-a tn 1961 only tuo of

the village ls oId houses remaineil, and thus over sixty olcl houses and far& bulldings no longer existed. I{ev Pffi, buildings stretched fron Roztoky to the forrner
boroe

of

Ivan Bybel. Iasiunka and environs lrere beyond recognition- ALL forests
The

had

been

cut down. Ttre ftelds uere ploughed by tractor.

vi.llage had a

saa11

store

and uas

electrifieal. the PGn workers r,rere all results.

Poles except

for

one lemko, a

tractor

driver flon the vl11age of Pankna. futters

produced no positlve

fboln lestunka natives asking

to return

Replles lrere usually curt-ryou cannot return, for

your land has been a.ssigned to ttre treasr:r/ of the state.r

lthat

nor.r

folloils fs the terb of a &snoir drorn up by ! siunka natives

Ln

l9*-

It

r.la.s

signed by

fifty

la,siunka fm:iliies and

suhitted tn ]:g|iT. the replies

receirred are also reFnoduced

in translation. AIL translations are from the original Polbh,

to the Polish Governnent $rbJectr The Retr:rn of Bvacuees to the Territory of Gsrlice County, nzesz&r District.
& l.letnoir

the undersigneelr. acting in the

naJne

of all those farnerE and lnhabitants

Peoplest Republic the

of the vtllage of Yaslunkal cnunty of MLicer evacuated iE the year' J9t.l4 address to the appropalate offices of the Governnent of the Polish
foJ-lo,rlng gsnotri-

the
framework
move@nt

mass

resettlement of the population of lenkouszcslana uitbin the

of

Operation llisJ-c under the

pretert of destroying the II?A underground

''as

an ialiscrlminate act of revenge uitb a backgrourr{ of ethnie chauvinis.ra

Doklia-15

vhlch affected tndlviduals of

whon

ninety-five

pereent, r.rere

lnnocent. ft shattered
tre,

the,tt lfiras

and

dld not achieve as nuch as a hundredtb part of the hopes of those

abarrdoned.

social reforners vho considered tbe

territories to

an idbal aone

for

launching social reforrne.

lbe effbct of the evcilation

sr.rindS-ing, vherein conpletely

lla"s

Sr& that the eqacr.uted

eonm.urities

Ln a feu nonths ald years becarne @ ajrene of robberyr plunderr snd bnrtal

lntqpt builtlttgg r.rith sbeet-metal rooflng

were

sodd

for a pittance to

spec*.r1"ators.

Structures r,rorth nl1lions, agrioultural

ltere grolrn over ulth busbes.

nachinery, apiaries

a-nd

construction naterials were stoLen sf, sold to sr.rindlers

abanilonecf and even roadls

fo,r pennles. VilJ-ages vere

llild. pigs and volves toggr to, tnleblt

ensuing ten years these

abandoned hunan

dr.lelllngs. Throughout ttte

prcrrlcle soclety

territories not only did not,

uith

lncone

anil sustenancs, but rash eoononle ercperilnents cost the state treasurlp substantlal

ni1llons.

thls

wa,s

a trne uhen loca1 authorltles ordered peasants

ln

neighboring

unevacuated vilJagee

to a]lou the evacr:ated villages lle feJlclr. uith

punLshment',

Peasants and

in

these

neigbboring vlIIages, threatenect

lost tirne, work,

naterial

goods tn the sowing that tbey had tlone, and beforsr tbe arlival cf the harvest
seaon the

ulld

hogs bacl so,devo:red

r.rhen

the oats that the org-p.rla,s,not.uorth.nqrlng.

lrypasy

This ltas the tins

in these regions there uas decreed the

of oats,and cattle, ulth the encf result that btrndreds of

perished because of contagioug *!sea-ses.

sheep, even

entire

berdse

Sfuultans*ry at great cnst propaganda r.ra.s instituted in behelf of tbe repopulatlon of these areas try nevconers restrlcted erclwlvely to settlers of Polish natlonality. llrey uere given gratuitousr lo*ns for agniculttrra]PurPosas. !o attract candtdates to the abandoned iegionsr pnoperty rtghts v6re accorded t"r rellef. And after the neuconars. a:rlrcd tbey wers attached to ryr{oftqral. oo'psrsblves vith the allure of neu credits and promises of varieit perke and porivileges, llrese cooperatives ptrospered ln such fashion
t.r..U r' -l-. -r'
^

Doklra-16

tha.t by the autuan of

vanished the

Jr95.6

ha-1f

of then had been d.issolvecl and the

remolnder

afler the historic speech of Conrade Uladyslas Gormllta. Byen before the etghth plenun of the United Polish llorkersr Partyr there began ln our cor:ntr5r a perid of asttve mohilizatlon of the rigfrts of the national nlnsrities. As a mttter of prlority there ltas reised the probleu.

first

day

of the retwn to their forrer

settleroents.

of the erpelled inhabitants of

upon
r.rould

Iernkow&zs,ryrliu. fuganizationa-l nsstings, the press, and the radio uere

enployed. The entlr vorld vas tnforned about the rrrongs inflieted
be able

the resettled, person$, lrho were to be recomtrrnsated. Eash lndin{&ul

to retrrn to his p,roperty ln his natirrs, regior; lnsure that th settlenents uould be rebuilt.
Sr:ah

and

tte State would

decla::ations and promises

ca.n:e

fron the htghest offlclal clrcles,,

while simultaneous\y fton belou there aros6 growls of, etfonlc hatee eve! flom

authoritative public hodies, not excLuding tbe Po1ish Uniteil llorkersl

For
e:carnp1e,

Farttrr.

tlre veekly Ui.adornoscl Gorllckler the organ of the coun\r snmn{{,fus

of the Polish United l{orkerst Part'y, nollif,ied the Pollstr piib1ie vith tho statenent that ln the entlre county of Gorlice there were scarcely elght
Lenko farms

avaiable for return to the evacuees, A

Nor,r'y

Fl"ulil"ar

party organ,

a weekly

ln

$ac% without ogrodek openly vrote that the Pollsh population

should not al1or

c nueh es one evapuee to retr:rn to the cor:nbr. The t'sbic of barrtng the return of the evacilees to their forroer settlenents is being lnplernenteil vith conplete thoroughness by the County enough that Agrlcultural 0ffices. IS. ls npt' ?th.y dutlff:lly reject. tbe repr$atization of farnE already nreassigned.n fhis is so eltn though half of tlu nrettlers! re specrrlators flon rear$ v illages r.rho ftl sold ofT their fonmer farns and drafik ar'ray the nonsy thereby gafuecl. k took over ths forrer lenlco farns ln the hope of gettlng rtch quick\y. b as happened in Iosie and Ropa, the
ttsettlersrn vere close *ilghbors of the evacuees, parceled
evacuees
B.11ong

who

tlp

lands of the

thenselvds, theirtry augmenting

thelr

oun

ho'lfiingS. There $as also

Doklia-l0

that trand of rsettlerer vho afber having obtaired as his slere a certain Ienko strucfirre, took it apart after a feu nonths and used the ual-ls for'
fire*rood. Often tle selfsane rsettlerF
and uould be r.rould Join an

agricultr:ral cooperative

additlonally rewarded with the rrearest forner Ienko buil&ing.

In.this fashion a rsettleri of this stripe would tp able to obtain possession of two or three forner Icnko build,ingsl etlch of r.rtrici ln turn uould be tiorn doun and h:rtred. Rven to this nonent forner Ienko butldings ani laryis are teing turned over to this kind. of tsettler!. from the nearest Polish villages, their applications very reesntly, r.rhile the applieattons of the original glrners suhltted'several lontbs pretlously lle stil1 unprocessed, or ae mgtinely ancl collestively rerolved ln a negative
even though these types'fi1ed $anner r:,:rder the pretext ths,t the farms harre al-ready been nreasslgaed.il

In addltlon, other pretexts are adranceil with respect to negative decd.sions to turn donrareqr:ests of Ienko petitioners. lhrs lf orya peasantrs
lanil there ls but a bullding' and lf the lant! itself has been reassLgned, then
tho hdlding ls not gdven to tlre petttloner because there *
land

vith lt. It also goes tbe outher ray aroun&-uhen the land of the forrer enacues ls aralLable brut it has no butldingn then retr:rn of the lancl ls deniedl for it is then allegedly feared that the petitloner'1rlll trave ao pIace tp live. In.
.

.oo

to

go

other casesr tutldtngs not yet *reassignedil are reserved at the last nonent

for

varl-ous Furposes, such as reading hg.lls1 uorkshops,

one word, everything

fire

houses, and

pollce statlons. Ia

is done ln

order to

restrlct to the

smallest nr:mber the retr.rn of evacr:ees to thfr former settlenents.

flne,lly
Jasiunko and

ps'oof

of thls is evlilent in the

cases

of tr.lo stato fares thBt

aros oI uere created in the roountalns of the county of Gonltce, n*m"1r, that

ln

tbat in rzby. fo these artificlal creations put together not ort of sone kinds of troad latif\-rr:dias brrt ffon. hundreds of peasant farns vere added

several thbusand tresiares of sable lande neadows, pastures, and peasant forests.

Doklla-lt
Soth of these state farne vere flom the nonent of thetr foundatlon insatlable

eeters of state f\ud$. If, th

J\rnds'

thh* the state hs's thus far Lnves'ted in

na.nnel

thorsg

tvo entities

r^rere

used

at the right ti:ne ln a r*tional

of

for'tle recor-

stn:ction of the plurdered end nredistributedn

today ve r.rould trave revived hundrecls
arrr$

peasant tnrlldingsr then unloubtedly

peasant farns l&icb uould supply tares

resowces to

the state.
of non-partisan

!{e beg that you send en unb*ased cmnission conposed

specialists to imrestigate on the spot the entirs natter of the existenee of

the state fbrn in Jasiunkao lnril vith respect to its utilitye to canvas the
opinions of the 1oca1s1 as ve1I as of county and cltstrlct offlOlalse'regardlng

erroniously held views of'ethntc clrauvinisn that are one-sided

anal

urrm.rrantgir

lle ourselves'have

been

there on the spot and us did not see ary rlras]-es that

ftr the private initlative of fanners rho are devoted to r.lork and sre es cledlcated as the for:mer inhabitants of lenkor,lszc W'n:E' .
coulcl not be rrought Several nonths ago the Agricultural

Office ln GorLiee trfonned

the

repa$ietes that the specific rntllages tnlonging to the state ftSn ln Taslunlia,
nalt'ely [olowiec, Banlca, fi^adocyna, 6zarw anril trrywa1 ut11 be evai]a.ble

for

resettlement

fsrrer ev&Guo$o llhen this news reached the uestrn regions g'oups of former eracuees begaa to travel to Gorhce to tbe Agricultrrral,Qff,ice
b$r

ln order to ot*ain nore detailed trrfcrnatiop eoncerningl the conditions and posslbllit{es of return. It cane to pass, howeve4 that approctnately two lreeks
ago that,

lntent

had been

altereil

beea:xe the state farm

in I

rslrraka had no dbslre

to sqlbnlt iteelf to liqridation,

state ftulls.

Rather,

lt desires to contim:e to sponge ob

lfe do not knnr who has lnfluence on the liquidatlon or restructwin&

of speclfic state farns. Ho"rever, the MLnistry of Agricultr.re, to r,rhich botb

state farnrs anrl lrrdivtdual f,sns are subordinated, should dbcide r,rbich state ferns
have reasry

to e:cist

and r.rhich should be f-iquidated

either ln parb or

in their entlrety. lle are of the ppinion, noreover, that a s-tate farnn such

!oklia-g) as that ln Yasiur&a1 uhich s.os florc the spilting of peasant b,lood and consJ.sts of lands soaked vith psasant sueat and tears, should be in the fbont line of
liquidation.
lle afflrn or:r reacli@ss to aecept and pay the narket prtce for nateri-a,1s

llon the eventual denolitior of the farn thrildlngs on thls state fhrnr, as ve1I as readiruss to engage ln rational farning in tbe entlrs area of our village, liasiunka. For this puxposs, Lre undersigned, who represent orer half of the
obtalned fcrrner inhabitants of Yesiunka, reqr:est that the Council of Mlnisters negotlats

wlth the approprlate ninistry for the liquldatlon of the state fam ln
hsiurjka and
signed
naJ<e

possible the return of those peasant fa.nilies that

uere evacuated lYon that vi1lage,

have

blor srd
An

offietal repl-y fbon the Offlce of the Councll of l4inisters, lJarsav, dated. 25 {une, 195\ reads as follovs:fn. reply to the &enorandum of ittLzens dated 1? Jure of the cr:nent year to the fffice of the CouncLl of Minfuters reggrding the llquidatlon 'of the Jasionka" state farm, Zespol Slarye Rresz&w district, and the retrrn of forty three farnllles speoifidil tn the above noter 1r announee that the Jastonka state farn vlll not te liguiilated, for there do not exist Justifiable econonic bases for lts liqutdation, and tlut therefore your return to the lndlcated farn is' Snposslble at the present time. : fte Plenipotentiary of tG Governent in ilatters
of
Rec orrs

true t i on

of

Southeas

tern Territor

Le

s,

St. trkacrcvr Yice-Mintster.

Another reply, from the Preslclir:.u

of the Dis trlct

Bep3esr Council,
Lg55, reads

District Offlce of Internal Affairs, ln llroelawl dated 1 .fuly,

as follovs:.-

Ihe Soc*a1-A.d.ministrat,ive Branch of the Dlstrlet 0fflce of fnternal Affairs inforrns tbg ciltizens that your petitlon regatding the grant of permission to reslde ln the county of Gqllce has been resolved regatlvely by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. 9tanislav Krup Dlrector of the k"nch

Dokl1a-20

third dspin't, lyep the County Agricultural Office in Gcrlice,

dated 27 l,larch, 1957, reads as follous:-

fn reply to a request {hon citizens dated I[ V,arch, 1956, directed to the hesid&r:m of the Cornty Peoplesr Council ln Gorlicel concerning the retr:rn to their forroer plaee of residence !n the village of Jasiorrka ln the sounty of Gorllcel the Presldir:n of the County Peoples I Couneil
and the Gounty Agrlcultural Office inforn the cltizens.that the farms left beh.iBg by you have been redistributeal as the popedty of a state [nder swh conditions, retwn of the farns in this count5r onde ovne{ by cltizens cannot take p1ace.
The

farn.

Jozef Gurgul

Director of the County Agricultural 0ffice

in this cluster of,.four. rrillages. refleqted .ethnle .tensi.ons and change in poditical nastcrs. the elen,entary school vas locafied tn Kryra, and children Jlom the vlllages, from age sven to fourteen, va]ked to attend classes. Around sixty puplIs at'tendbd-dr:ring the school year. fn postJlersailles
Schools

Poland, the langr:ages first used'were Polish and Ruthenlan. Dtring the Gernan occupatlon, llkrainiat and C'ernan uere para.nount, and

it

1944-191*7

Polidr

anil

Illcrainian. Before 1920 all loca1 teachers uere lenkos or Buthenlans-Koba^nli,

Eolovka,, Ferej.roa,, and. PolosbenovJrch. Polonl-zation uas the obJeetlve

of the

in the lftOrs and lT30fs, a Po1ish ladye Jaclwlga E&bel, spearheading the drive. Ienko teachers Lrere renoved fbon tbe reglon and sent to teaeh la
school

ethnlcally solid Pollsh areas, l[:er newconer, Mrs. Habel, uas uea.k when
compared r.rlth prevl.ous teachers,

but sbe $as a decllcated Polonlzer.

The

She

dii!

not

know

the Ienfoo dialeet aad vas uneble to teacb it.

prloer used'ln
1Y)84,9 the fryva

those years uas author'Ei by Trokha.no?sky,

ry the vLnter of
Once

school vas comprlstely Polonlzed. Use of the native language uas ridlculecl
and forbl-dden. Fven pnqyers bad to be and lnsisted on sa,ving Ot*m

ln Pollsb,

the puptle rebelled

f*rf, (the prayer n 0:r Fathern ) fn tne Len&o dialect. !"trs. Eabel uent lnto an apognlectic rage. Soon the Gernans arrlved, horeverr and she lefL the villago, never to be s een again.

Doklia-21.
'lansllageo Afber 1939 scbools in the region featured the Ukrainian

Sose

had'difflctilty with it,

Germe,n began

and

the aspect of shifbing accents

!ra.s

elusive.

Study of

ln the third-year sllass. During ths lrar the teacl:er was Liubonyra &idulcewch, tl.e uife of tle 1ocal vlcatr. She r.ras an erce].lent. teacher.
geogr&phy,

Father Faidukevych heLped; teacbing not only religion but also physical educationt

history, and drasa.

The

lady

worked hard

to put together
19/.1+r

an

excellent choral groupr As the front approaehed in early

the Faidukeweh

family left the ?!e&: In early l9l*5 ttg school uas reopened.r the nev teachers
being Andeit Saifert. of bnytsLa snfl BatDarnyk of Park:ra. 7n l94T both were

expelled fYom the reglon

the erpulsiotr of the lenkos the Polish authorities set up nelt schools for nevcomers,, as well as for grpsies renaining in l(ryva. T?rs asu teactrer was a Polish Iady, nale urrrecalled, vho had replaced e Iemlio lloman narned l.,Sa.Iia}, uho tracl returned flom exils, The ner.r scbool ua,s housed ln the
Afber former Greek4athollc rector;1. lhe former school bul}ding r.ras asslgned ln

part to a eooperatlvee

arrd

its large classroorn

was

utilized as a barracks for

one

seasronal }:rnbernen. Krlnra usecl

to hoast of tuo reading-*oo!$r,

rithin

the

Russophlle Kachkovslqy $ociety netuork and the other a

link tn the Ukralnian

FProsvitar cha-in.

bullt in &4ytsia ln ]-9?L46- lwo teachers uere first enployed theree both Pollsh patriots" During the Gbrman occupation the rreu teacher rlag i&* flfe of,ludrei Salfert..Sbe nqtt r.rtth her thres children lives in the Unlted States. HEr hr:sband Andrel vas arpelled to ttre Zielon* 0lra dlstrict ln uestern Poland. In LilL|4V tb Ear{ftsfu se}rool did aot f\rnction, f,or nost of the villagers lrad been transp@+,ed to the Soviet Union. I Banyt$*8 native prominsnt ln lts cultural life uas Fetco Saifert, the bother of Anclrei.
A
neu sshool lras

Petro Seifert had gone abroad, vhere he'publisbed a lmbo( Bi/rspaperr vbtrcb ffitlsd
beeause

of lack of support. .6.nother bother"Gyp Setfert, vas roental3g tAL and ]ived in tsanybsia. Before the outbealr of Hcnlclldsr tvo Petro Saifert retr:rned

Doklia-22

from A.nerica to 8ar:;'t*ia. Ee lived later in Poniarkyr but early during llorld

to Osviecin, fron uhish fu never returned. Andrei Saifert, e teacher @ trainingr taught in Zhdynla t'o Jt9l&, trbon 1945 io 19t*T ire taught in Kryua, and after resettlenent ln the Zielona GSra district. His cbildren are la the Snited States. After'L9l*Tr the Polish authorities tore dor.rn the Ba:rytsia school building ard retruilt lt in &ladysztw.
Uar Two he r,ras taken by the Gernans
School teachers and

polics officers represented state

po'$rer

in

Ienko

conm.rnlties.

T,he

vil_lage v6-it

(rnift in the 1ocal vers'ion) vas the visible

the Polish adrninistration lnstalled a
neu

village leader or nayor. In

L9?l+

titl, that of soltvs. Ihe fast g]!fg{n was xi1ed iu 19/17. Subordirrat, *tl*gps
Dwing the
Gbrnan occupation was

lFsiunha'vtrs'.Setsko"'i'tri:a1ikr'arhohad ptdsoltysv (ndeputy roayorsil

).

the pidsoltvs in lasiunka lras

Ln vestefn Poland

Sesan SnreXr r.rhile

l$tro Kiets

th6 soltvs in &:nytsle. llhe last Ieuko official ln Yesiunka

was lvan }Ia{tko, uho

after exlle

retwned to Zhffnia,

where

he now resides. Se

is

consldered the spokesman

for forner Yasiunk&

por.rer,

resid.ents.

In the

o1d days

q.ll leko officials vere wlthout

a one-uay cbannels for orders llon hJ.gher to ttte tune that the occupiers playecf.r
Rellgious
DoklLa, vhoss,

for.ttrey servedl nerely echelons. nlhe' had to daace

$trfe
*ppneciation of the lnpact of
1596 Odon

rritlngs

chow sone

history on contenporary problensl

traglc for the Lenltos

becar"rse

snlitnthe Buthenians lnto tuo hostile re}iglous

rr

noted

that tbe

of &est,

was

factlonsn the Qrthodox and the Unic-te &eek-Catho1les. Bg 1@2, tbe I&koer
the vesternmonst-positiongd of the Butheaians, were
shurchr the Orthodox having been

al] vttbln the Ofeek-Catholle

result of

ln post-Versailles

"ri{rln-ted.

Both uncer the Eabsbwgs and

Polancl, sore Iankos reverted

to

futhodoqy as a

tanglecl' personal and po1ltiea1 nachinations.

Political- fat'tors irrnolved

DokIla-1 included Russian R.n-Slavisra, fear

of Ulrainian irredentisilr

and

the

neu

polish governentrs policy of fragnenlfng a-1legedly urreliable ethnie

minoritles.
ya3iunke, Kryval &,n:rbsia and Volovets forroed one Feek-Catholic

parish; vitb Kryua as the site of the naln churchr that of Sts. Eosna and
DianLan. Volovets had a uood, ndaughterr cburch,
Lggf .

tnrilt tn 1880 e"nd rebuift ln

664 C'reek

The

entire Krrya parish

nunbered

approci.rutely

Catholics.

Le.tin Catholics uere fer,r1 less than gathered strength, the 0rthodox
Greek

ten.

As the movement tcvard futhodory

outnr:mbered the

ln the area eventua$r

765 adherents'

cathblics, regching a'tota1 of

In Austro-Erngar5an tines th idlabitants of Kryva

and Vol$vets

quarreled over vhere the Greek4atholic vicar shoultl reside'1 that

i5r whether

tlre rectory should be l-n one village or the other' ths autheitles decicled

in favor of Kryna, but relations between the firsdfuo vilJ-ages renained strained, cul-ninating in ]:927-28- {{ the @nversion of nost To4vets resideffIf to Qrthodory. Ln L933 the @eek-Catholic bishop of Prreqysl approved ttp lo6eing of a rectory 1n VoLovets, and the 1ocal pniest livecl there unttl he lras er]eIld
In I9ltT.

In

1969 Uykhs.il

llaitko, then an elghty-year-old

"Yasiunka

nat'ive-

llvlng in the Unlted 5d,4tese galrle an account of religious life ia his pstive vi1lage, based on his fellible treilro{r llte chureh ln Kryva had been hrrned at least three ttrnesr the last tine 1a 1915 by l{aryar taroops who thought t'hat Russian soldiers uere hlding in lt. Sdr,etjne prlor to ttorlcl llar Onee the XrXta
chirrch uas haLled

in

Yasiunka

off to Yaslurka by inhabitants of that nd]lage. A factlon wanted. to trrn it tnto an Qrthodox shlrrcb, but pernlssion rlas denfud. in this a.ction vere later'sent
ca.np, vhere they

Four particd-pants

by th Austrian authoritles to
1917 the church vas noved

the talerhof detefiion

back

perished. In

to Kryva. In l92b& Yaslurrke,, ffryura, and EanJftsie ahared the sarne church, uhich stands to thls dag, After tbe 19/+7 forced evacuation it uas talen over

DiDklia-24

by le.ttn-rlte Pol$el sefrices being sonducted by a priest flon ebdysak' trlhen Father Andrit Barda.khovslgr r.ras the Cireek-Catholic vlcar most
ToloTets and Barrytsia tnlabitants converted

to

Orthoclotqfr

ln irgi

beceuse tle

lras a strong Eaainian nationalisb, saitkD noted. Moreover, t b,e 3'riest vas poor prishoner s,rraricj.o:s a3;l f:eced'his eharges as mr:ch as he could. A

wasunabletonenry,givebirth,oreventoclie,l|ulthoutcoughirguptuenty dollars or !6.ore.il Sone resorted to bwying thelr dead rilbout beneftt of

clerry. Bardal<hovsky r,ras eventuallXr Possibly tn the year 3)tl, \tr6 renoved, to be replaced by &ther Volodyralr &.idukeWch, r.rho remairiecl in Kryva until Igtflt. Afber his bnishment Father naidukeqfch resetbled'ln'thb"ttrr,tri'of Szprotalrt
where he servecl

in e Polistr parlsh but at tlnes; rnostly

on Easter and Christoasl'

condr:cted services'for the Ienkos'

in tire Iegnica district.

his reniniucences uith Doklia'

The Iat'e Stepan t}*ropa al56 5lrarect The church

in

Kryva was built W experts bought

iu

flore the Bc!'to regioE

eastern nelghbors of the Lernkos. The noney carne the faitbf\rl and f:ors enigrants

in

Canada and

the Unitecl $tates.

Ehr

SrU. uas the cultural'hub of forrs

vlllages,

Frlest. A good priest uas everfthtng-pastor, physlcian, 1a.rryer, anl agrononlst. A bad k'iest nlght be a drgrrkardr s ruredrcatecl boor, .or rnight play politlcs (sucJ: a,9,att'enpting to.
arrrl m:ch dependJid on J

the eharacter of the local

{_

Ilkralnianize tire RwnqJcs). Attenpts at UkralnianLzatLon bought tragic results, for they diviilecl the people lnto tvo hostile cglnpar

forrr vlllagesr lived in Tolovetsland held Services Xn the Kryva churchn the priest bsd a traneportatlon pnoblen. 'Fhe custon r'ras
since te servecl

fG, hi-n to be te.ken to his destlration W eaft o::'trargry. Farisboners voul-il Neighbors of a sl-ck pexsoa drive him to the chwch ln a kolielca.
uould fetch the pniest ln the

for a bouse vlsit. Sonetines pungent scenes eruptss. poor people trad no morey for farry carlages and woul-el heul hi-B sofbened W lalryers of stran' in a eontraption ca11ed hninvts'i (
same r.ray

Ook],ia-25

priest so ropositiord got angry and, refushed to travel in that fashj-on. rDo you take 1ne'ftr a suina t{e vas Father BardakhovsSry, uho blru.tect out,
gne

ullllng to travel ln a hnin*'bgt?tr

andrel shvedal another Doklia'' sourcg tn the united states born in

&siudfi., recplled that

he'left Yasiu*a only six of lts lnlrabttants surd-if read in a village of, sixty-six Iernko households, a saloon-keepEr dd uhather' over' --- ' the priestts resldence shanld te fought villa,ges ?l'rree one $psy.,
vhen

located in K4nra o" Vol&rcts, lihen a neu chtrch uas built, in ikXnra, its

belfs

r.rere fi.uaneed by eroigrants

iJl the Unitecl States. the,Fro-Qrthodo:r'

One,

tendency uas strol.lg

prior to llorld llar

the local priest being d Russophile

Maksylr

orientation. Early in llor1d l{ar

Sandolrych, &n orthodox

One he

settled in tsarist Bussia. Rev.

Erab, trhich becanre the

astivist, settled in

fjrst

village in the area to accept 0rthodory.

I.ypna, and l{eznayova, also

OLher nearby

vlllages,

such as Chorrer

for the nost part

acc'epted Orthodo:t$.

In 1912 elections vere held

parllanent in Vienna.

1oca11y

fsr

sending e delegate

to tira
and

CarrcDldetes included

a certain Dlugosb flom $ankova

Rr:ssophllo

lndret fgyg;liek( the father of tbe nell-knoltn Tsysliak

activtsts)

llon Ustie Rus!kie. Dlugosh uon. fu X913 therelre,more sonrsrsions to Orthodo4y ln the arear Xr)wa hsd &n active grqup of Utsai^nophllesr.,enong',fiben..'*,he,*a:rt,cr Petro qytelr the n4yort sndl the loca-l recorder (pvsar). X*sfur&a hadf e
Kachkovsky Society reading-room,

fron vhieh the po1ic6

3smoved hooks published

that &thodox actlvists in Iasiunka ancl &'rrytsla to move an olcl ofiurch r&'rtyai ftoi &sdfudla h' r:se fon their serYises' otla t norning ettrnk" zealots tore it ds!fin aJd baj'rled off its parts to nasiunk&
tn Russia.
Rumors spread

$anted

1n wagons. Th- church

+i

u# tt.n

reeonstructed there on la-nd donated bry

Drnftr'ro

Felsh. In tfrree daXrs the pollce put a stop to thls proJect. K4rra inltabltants conplained that the chlrch had been stolenr and a ].iiefate rnen Eunong then r,rrote
an

artlcle

on

the lrrcldent that vm published in the Onited States ln the

DokLa-26

nenspaper l{a:rodna Vo1ial

ltkraLnia,n

wekly appearing ln Scranton, Pennsylvania..

I& 194I Andrei

Montar:a.

Shveda

&r

husband,

anived in the United States to staX r*ith his sister in h. Ctrernetslry shoued Shveda the Narodnia Volia articlet

folk are e:mlLent tbievtls, for you stole a church in broad dayligbtlF. Shveda alloved that there uas some trutb to that vtersion, noting that t! bed t*hanpart in that ep{so(le and understood that the Yasiunka people had paid noney for the
adding rEou
eh-rrch.

Banytsia

In several
ancl

$r:rounded by other Lenko settlernentsr such as Volovetsr Krlnrar Vixkhnia,

".ye

funyts.5a Iras &

singulc

lemko

village in

Gort.i-ce eounty.
Fa.nk:na

Ebrtne,

ln centuries past it

harboiied adventurous peasants who raided the

properties of nearby Polish gentry, vho called the raiders banduci.r or trbanditsrn the worcl from whieh the village narne alleged1y derives. It vas a strong centef, of
R1ssophilisn, and tn the

t{entteth

century conversions

to

Orthodory e1ained over

half of its tnhabltants. The 0ftJrod,o:c brilt for thernselvss a sna1l chapel and usect the services of a priest from nearblr Tololets. In th 19301s 'e,nytsia hait an orthodox rnajority, a Greek-{atholic ninority, and three Baptist farnLlles. Poverty-stricken, riven by seetarian strlfe, and rnlsled ty half'educatecl denagogttset
iha peu""nts felt
doomed

forever.

Sernan oppressive treasures ctwing Eorlct l{ar fwo pro-communist

Crerrnan

intenslfred village pessi-nisln and gavs b'irth to a feebls local

partisan unit containing cri.nina"l elenents. Folish oppression,

uartime

indignities,

an6 So:"iet arny excesses eornbined

to tr,rn a onet{ne stronghold of

Russopbiltsn into o fountainlead of Ulreialan nationalisnt nany l-ocal youths

sru.olling into the IIPA, vhictr energed as the sole champion of the lri-tal ints3s515

of the locals. In the sunner af

]:9/+l+

a British plane transporting Polish underground

reinforeements crashed near BarqrLsia,

killing all aboard. Liberation by the Soviet

alny r,ras greeted r.rith joy by Russophile elenents" who spearbeadeci the Soviet resettleraent driven thereb forfeiting the fina-l vestiges of their polltical significXnce. $inety per-ent of the vil.-r.agers were enticecl into the Soviet

Doklia-Z?
UnLon,

nostly to the iviv

Gerrnan etccesses

and Ternopl,I ohlasts.

fbIed an inclpient pro*orununist partisan

novsm.ent',

later

magnified by Polandts communist nasters

T}rs Banybsia.

into teJ-ling Froof of

lndigenous

roots of conuunist hegenony. with her health in rulns.

native Petro Saifert perished tn the

Osuiecitn concentration camp. Another rrativer Yevka Sl*ynbar retrrrned She had been talcen

flon it

to Oswiec'im becawe a cotsla; Stefan Gileta, vas in an anti-Gevnan psrtisan r:nit. ghat unit, organized by tuk-ach Shkyrnba, operated in the region. in I9Q,.43, One of its secret meribers r,ras Anrlrei Zbur, who had returnerl flon forced labor ln Gerrnar4y, uhere he rrastered German, and afber his return vorked as an intergreter for the German security officer Dwe, uho conrnanded a speeial fornation in Us';ie Rushl" and, a CarpaihoUkrainian auxiliary police u$ft (th ilSichorrykyrr) posted in Gladysz&r,r. Tbe
partisans l:anied Gernan troops tn ttre llagura region and at tlroes
thertrSlchori6r)cy.;
' l,

cla.shed. r"rith

their leader tu]'d Ehl{rnla was kl"1led by the fernsns. Eis uidotr"'loudly -lamev6ed his deat\ th#tbry prornpting h&s swviYing con'rade{-r lrho \ '. il' that she ln her - feareil ryi"f ntght betray then to the Oerrnansr.to end that possiblllty bgr kidnapping and kllltng her. Ihat &ed vas done a11egedly by a partisan na-ured lhyts Kiets, vho is saicl to have confessed, i The Ccrmans then pressed hard in order to stemp out -the remainin , partisans. ft seened that only ons escaped death, captr:re, or agest.. Sb was Gileta, vho lras later lrrstalled ry the Russians *s the UB c,hief in .S-befan
*

Gorllce courrty. Gileta r:n-leashed an orry of revengiel shootlng captrred BSichowl(frll

arestlng war-t{me vil]age nEJrorS an6 lniestsr and othenrise persecutin$ all
those against vhon he had a persona-l grudge. In Apntl or May,
he uas revarded
],]9/,+5t hor*evere

vith relatives in Banyts5a, Glleta vas nraleneil {bon sleep by a UPA unitr r.rhjch ktlled hts relativer:r tortr:red
spending a night

for his nlsdeeds, l{hile

hi-nr and then hanged ki-B frotn a pine tree near &J:kna. This

last of the Banytsia

partisans 1les br:ried in the Xryra cenetery, his grave graced by a marker

with a Soviet star.

Doklia-Z8 Balyts.ia

is

nou deserted,

its

houses

torn

dor,rn and'

fields

overgroun.

fts

school uas iransported to CJ-aaysz&w. In

}gt+6,UPA

units occupiect 1ocal

Germa4y

vosded, are&s1 lenko youths

retr:rning flon forced labor in

IIPA

or Ilon service

in the Soviet arry Joining

tbs UIL

ranks in acts of desl*,ir. :Follsb arqt efforts

graduallJ reduced^into scattered lneffectlve rernnants' Barytsie natlves suffered but indivldual and group traged,ies, Andrel Fesh ancl his son returned

fron

Gbrrnarly

but

felt constrained'to

move on

to the Scviet Union to Join his

vife

who had been sent there

flon Siberiar previously. $rbro dut" ,\ ""t*ned

uhither he had been banrshed beeause he bad served as a vi4age. -nayoyi. under ihe

to stay in his home village, hovever, for le r,rith his vife and ehildren vere packed off to the USffi.. Mykhail ("tt, Hhosg brother' ^ Stefan was killed by the Ge:mans, returned fbo$ senrice ln the Soviet arrntr but found cond *tlons at hone so ftightful that he Joined the EPA. Eer nqr resides in either Bngland or the Unlted States. IE 79liUI;7' clashes vere fYequent
Gernans. Ib wqs unable
betr.reen

Polish aroy and

IIPA

units tn the Earqrtsia environsr.

One

night a Pollsh

unit entered Baqytsia tn search of the eheny. Thsy feund nofre. Eowever, they did enter the hone of levka, Daopa, uho now lives in llatertrlietr Seu nork, ancl dis*
corpr6dil

r her kln$narr Vasyl &ftaf

6y1il

his wifee both of vhon had Jr:st returned

from forced labor lu Sernany. Tbey kl1led Yasyl rybe1 and arestetl his guestt

fvan Petryshyn.

In the

slrnrner

of l9L6 a UPA uait

v&o kilIed

coning' fron a uedding

ln

Panllna

spent the night ln Barqrtsia. The nesb dqy Polish soldiers eppeared and

fighting broke out.

a:nong Ba.r:ytsta

Slhere

ancl vounded on

both sides, a.s !,e11 as

and aceused them rernaining

resldents. llhe Poles tortr,rrecl the vl11agers to lrestern P oland.

Banyts:ia

of being rrBandsraites.F Fighting in the reglon continued until the

Iemkos were ba.nLshed.

expellees

r^rere

trans-

ported to the county of Glogw, dispersed in

itE rrral connunities. ghe fanlly of Petro Fesh uas anong the expe11ed. Ee hinseH was hauled off to

Doklia-29

the Javorzno canp, where he uas nurdered.

son !'t*ha11 had joined

Fesh was

fair

galre because

his

the UPA. Eis eldest son, Stefan Fesh,

b$t

belonged

to

the pro-goviet partisans. & vas ki1led

Banytsia rratives

tbe Gernans, alongruith other

in the pro<odrunist undergroundr a&ong'** + Shkyhba, Asafat Xitsel, i,nna qfbel, Pavlo Kuryvo, Fetsko Saifert, Ivan Guresb,
Ku-ana

Kov,tko, and Antokha Kuryuo.

BanS4sia natirres e>cpelled

to the

Glogour

region vere assigned forner'

G*r*an houses. fbom there sorie were able

to join relatives in the United

relatives ln the New lJorl-d.
One

Statesp alrong such fortunates on encounters Ievka Dzopa q"d'thb-fanily

of

Parrlo

Kw1ro. Bvery bnytsia farnily

had

Ernigration sterted

in the late
Iork.

nineteenth

centuty.

of the first. to
years-oIc!
and

depart was l$j-kolal Y:asienkor r,rho in 19@ was

uas nirrety-six

lived in lorrkers,

New

Enyoi.

Dokl-iats

leg!.Wg is

no

Eorer lth.at remains ls the cercass of

slelchschaltuns

failed Pollsh
gone

sornnunist experinent

in social engineering,

aTrry. It ls fit'ting"-tberefore, in the tnterest of, conpleting the

historica-l record, to delineate a few aspects of Iemko lore that thus far
have eluded

this essay.
of a new political border separating Poland and

g|re establishnent

Czechoslovakia disruSe6 estgblishefl gsonomic pattdofe birding toether the

0arpathian hlghlands and the Hungariaa

plain. f& the days of ttre llapsbr:rgs,

for

to do harryest vork ln Slovakia and llungary, going, as tfuy used to day, ito Festr or ilto the lfaryars.r
example: I,aslurrka pea.sants were apcustonedl
kncnnn

they vould forn a work team

as

9!dBr conslsting of around a dozen

around a month. They returned

harvesterg uho vould stay aray from

home

to lasiunka

ulth {,S} tcilograms, of grain as their pag.. In addition, the landosner for lrhon thsy tol1ed served three neals daily. &.eakfast for two rnornings consisted of

9oklia-}O

a loaf of brreail, !0

ilecagrans

of

snoked

rneat, and a liter of aleohol.

Ihe

harverrters did nolring, lrauling, ard t&resbing. fhe vork was hardr but

reygrds uere bountlf\rl,

for tbe graln alone pnovided for the fanily throughout the r'rlnter. uorld Hs Oae put an encl to this actlvity' Ienko fanllies uere large, land wars scareer and opportunities for enploynent larr Eraigration served as a safety-valver removing sores of discontent and poroviding youths with v,isions of sr.lecess ln far-off places. Ttre first enlgrants lbon the Ieskoland uent to vhat is nou llungary and
Yugoslavia. Ie.ter they uent pri.naril-;.' to the United States and Car:ada.

Evefy'Ioko fanily ln the county of Gorlice had relatives in tbe Untted States. lhe first to go there {}on Yasiu:l<a r.ras q. certain lyLiak, early in the latter tralf of the nineteenth century. Others uho soon followed r^rers Fetro Koban,

fufts

llaitko. Later calne nafts of, youth, rnany tretr,reen the ages of fourteen and sjxteeb, both male and fenale. Sone stayed for but a fer^r yearg and ttien returned to their native vi11agel brt nost renained in the llelr World for good. There r,rere cslonles of 'asiunl.,a natives in New Tork
Peleshn and Arnpol

state (Coboes, llatenfllet, and hook]..,n), Carada, Great Britain,

3.:stra-liae Argentlna, and Braz{l,
EL:6 na'ns

France,

of the village of Xryuar5ooted .in ,iha ,driec.i'ive'"1cry+-:';!r'"

'irhe bend

Beaning bent

cr crooked, suggts

tn the strean along which

four Qfpsy fa.rall-ies. l,bqy of its

the village s'uretches', In the 1930ts it had a population of around 2m, or

23 householdsr including a Jelrish

tailor

and

gifteq

young became school treschersl such as garoslava &.idukerych

and lval in
the

Koban. At least seven youtlrs enrolled ln the IIPA and fought for the llkrainian
c&1lse United
1\.ro UPA

veteransr l"gftro lb.lyk and lffkhal Dernchar, are

D'rring

nor,r

States.

ilorld l,Iar One four villagers vere sent to the Talerhof

detention ca.ulp' the tsarist arrqy occupied the Ienko regior and there uas
extensive fi.ghting betr.reen the Russians and the Austrian

arnl'.

A Russian Cossack

Uoklia-3I

fornatlon spent a r.rinter in KrSrna.

darnsgs becagse

The

vjllage sufferecl considerable physlcal

of tl:e fighting dwing

Horlcl }trar

Ore. Life in post-Versaill-es

3n1itical oplression, which generated a species of Illiralnian natl-o'ra'1iga. A rhosEritatr Society reading-rooln lras set up i.a the booe of F. l,Vhalyk, uere book-reacllng for Llllterates }Jas conclucted and
Poland r"ras characterized by

pctriotic plays were staged. The Polish pblice' eventually a1osed lt doua. Duing lforld ilar 1\"ro f'rfra, beeane a haven for Ukrainia.n and Russlan ref\:gees. With its end Kryua was visisted by eatastrophe, with the 5mposition of Polish
eommunisrn.

and the eli:trination of its

ercistence

'