Lemko Experiences as Recalled by Teodor Doklia

8/22/2019 Lemko Experiences as Recalled by Teodor Doklia

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l^-Jit. 1

IEMKO EXTER]EIEES II'S RECAIIM BT ttsCDCR DCKTIAA Clwterof Yil]'a'ees

. fhe v,lil-ags of &slurdcar a nane besed on, the Slavle word gryg orash treer vhich in t'lrnes past fllowistted in the tbe higbland horneland ofleodor DokJ-la,, uhich he qa'lIs Iefuvrrcar lrars part of ths'connutlity (hronaaa)and parish of Xry,na, uhich in tr:rn uas & part of th mt- 6r t@al'prglnnJnlty of

IGladysrou, ln the county (!94!rt) of Gorlice. ths'pqllrh spelling of thevillage isJasionkaJu the 193Ots la:siunka had ?3 fa.rnilles uhieh numberedJJO persons; all of then Ienkog except fo'r tvo fa.ntlies. &s farnily of slxvas .Ievish, rbose'bed'uas.:oa11fiChdfff W .the vi'llagers. ChriJr crt"rned a saloonand a^Iso uorked as a blacksnith. The other family vas Po1ish, that of .I6efSktrrsrci.

In a nodest peasant vryr Doklla vas proud of hls regiopts prst.the mea n"a on""?fJ$urU of Kievan nu3, tfran inhabited by a Slavie trdFekacrm to scholars as rtlhite Croatiunsrr end vho some consider to be thoaroostor!s of todayts ledcoe. Dok1ia, cltngr fondlX to that interpnetatioyl,Ctcistlanity ca-ne to the region in the tines of Sts'. Cyril and }bthod{us,a hundred years befor^s St. \Polo$pgnr offlc{.ally bought it to t he excestors ofthe nodern Ukrainians in f,iev. ltcrld l{ar' Ore r^ras a.notber uatershed event 1nIed


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Dok]-i^a-Zat tjrnarcelebated tbe ftthodox ]itur6f. SandovJrchl shot W the Awtriansrbeca-ne a rnartyr in the perception of nany Rwsopblles. The reputed ri-[]-a.inin this tragedy uas the lasiunl


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Doklia-3The Comins of the C,ernans

The Gernans took over Tasii.rnke, in Septenber t 1939. At first theytreated the 1osa1s welTr appointing e nalrqr (soI3vs) frctr anor them for thevillage clwter of Yaslulka, KrJnrar and Eanytgia . b ua.s &tr'ts f,ists, ofgsnJrtsig. Sernen Smey ues the cleputy negprr ( pldsoltvs) for Sa,siuttaa. Thesevillages were ins!-udecl 1n the roLna of &ladysz,orl, vhose chief officinl (vfitl"uJ u certain Koba-Ei.i. Under the Gernans police f\rnctions vere perforned tosome degree bnr. so-callecl Siehowkrr, cornnanded by a C'ernan uhose last narne uas, .(rena.med UJcie Gor'linlrie try Sta.iinist eomnr:nists)-Duue, vho resided in IIsiieTGtI'-ad\ ?he Sichowkv, -veturans of .the..EgEgg&Sg_Sj4!,a Uk-rainian nilitarT fornation consisting of youths tnostly lbon the Uzhhorodarea of Carpatho-Ukraine, had fought to defend llonsignor Aulrystyn VoloshyntsCarpatho-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.dinto Poland, trut t'hefr stay of fourbeen nonths in the lemko region bought thenno glory' Sorae of tbern vere friendly, Doklia t"eter but nost were murderersuho caused tbe'Ienkos to hate Ulsainians. lhey lrere quick to beat up localsea speclalist ln thls reale. teing a certaLn Pezllyk, a Boiko from the ga:rlsonin GladyszEr,rl m ueIL ae a certain Kise\ frorn the poliee station at Uide Rlrskie,The Sichowkv helped the Gerrnans to send 1ocal boys and girls to forcecl laborin Cternany. Anong Iasiunka natirres who fled to Crerna"ry on thelr own, rather thanto be taken as slave laborers, uere Ardtil Shveda (no.r tn Cliftoa, Seu Jersey),Stefan orrushchal< (fov fn Earnllton, ontario), ani fvan Denchar (now in UatctflieteSeu York). Around 30 siunka youths vere sent es slave uorkers to &rnargr.

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


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Doklia+snuggling artivity; tfuy crossed the beder by night in the Korecsne areainto the preJov region of Sloval< 5a., cafrying butterr eggsr grain and otherproducts and trking back |readkerchiefs, ohosst tobacco, and other manufaetr:res.

The persecution of Jews in tlre region vas fiercs. Ibcy uere taket:llon Gorlice and lemko villages to Eobor*a, vhere tl,ey were forced to dig pitsand then er


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Dokl*a-5-after ]r9/+5 they were all forced back nto the honeland.n Retreating Gernan unitspassed through lernko rrillages, Ef lssmber1 lgl+Jn the Gerraans lred left for good,f'hey buried thejr dead in a ssmtery they tud constructed in Yasiunka. fheRussians 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 realitythis nove i,ras obligai,ory, Tbee youths frone the viJlage undenrent trainingln Rabh, and ttren uere sent to fight the Eitlerites in Czechoslovakia, afieruhich they ltere transferred to the Far East.

Rese8tlement to the Soviet UnlonUpon their anival in Yasiunka tl:e Soviets startecl a propagarrda

carnpaign for resettlenent in the Soviet Unlon, At first sone of the Lernkosrejoiced. 0thers, vho had been ln Russla during Uorld l,Iar 0ne, were opposedand rejected Soviet propaganda, Itot'l{; tlut there lrero few volunt,eers,the Soviets changed their taetics. They stressed that if the Lemkos did notleave the Po1es sould Polonize then and expel then from their. hones. Those thatagreed to go wore given positions of poller and set touork to propagandize amongthir compatriots. They r,rere forroed into a nilitla and inforned the Sovlets asto uho actively opposecf resettfennt. 1\.lo carnps atrosgr tlose favoriBg resettlernentand those vishing to renain. BIt was trrother against bnother.r In lasiuaka,loca1s agitating tn favor lrrcludecl Vasyl Romanc$al


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Doklia-6saying nlile want b go deep into Rwsia, to collective farnsl and we uiIl notstay here.n Ihereupon they were shuntd to collective farns, not in Rr:^ssialbut in eastern 6rraJ.nel to the Kharkiv" Poltava, and Voroshllovhrad oblasts.Ehere they soon reall.zed that they had rnade a colilosal d.stale. Oa collectivefarns to wbich thay haa been assined thsy -r-ivec[ tu 1lptankv, huts nade of nddvith strar,l roofs, and ren-lianlcy. undergrounct holes or bunkerg. The frvnitr:rethey had brought along c-ould not fat lnto tbese tfugr places and had to be lefboutside, where itens that had not been lraulecl off by thieves rotted &$ayr

Ienko housewlves suffered bitterly. Th63s was no uood, ln the area andthe wonan rrrere urrable to coob. Iocal uomsn"l\ib1e'd'thb'li"stoves uith stratr orhorse InanurE. tlre collective farms vere in abJect povert'y and a.&itionally hadsuffered var-tj.rne da|ag"a The pronlsed paradLse twned out to be a helI.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 ourselvesare poverty-strlcken?r shs 1"p*ga and cwtong differed from that inIenkoland,. l&ny flecf in a b1lnd effort to get. back hone. $ons retrsned. successful\rto thetr native vlllages, while others fbund a;sylrrn in the regiongr of Lvin,tbrnopil, and Drohobych. Pour resettlers actually returned to laslur:lta-Antokha Perun and hls d.aughter O1}, and tbe Dziopa bothersp t"grbro and htro.A si-nilar n:mber returned to nearby villages, Those that settlecl in Gallcia atftrst uere asstgned farrnsteads, for collectivization hail not yet been installedln llestern Ukraine. They kept these farnsp until fg52, uhen eo]-lectivizattonwas finalized and the Ienkos in Craligi.a founcl thernselve$ on collecrtive farnsthey had Usat to asold. Eron arnong I rlunka natlvesl th Silkuet fanily llveEln sorysla;n; on sor vorks ln a factory, a nd a scond J.n tb' l960rs studiedengineering.

&puls-ionAfber 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.


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Doklia:-?Ienkos stlll aound r.lere forced'p vkthout eompensation, to help the soldiersdurirrg 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 relativesln Anerica L'as helpf\rl, although frequently the packages ilere plundered andnoney taken lbom eavelopes, ths final nonths of 1945 lrere quiet, bllt ln 1fl+6the authorities huntecl down evacuees that had retwned fron the USSR in orderto send then bask. Ir spring and srrnmer of 19l*6 Po1lsh troops relnstitutedthe foreed dispatch of Lenkos to the Soviet Union, those that had returned'tf illegalIyr fron the US$'. $ome terorlzed peasantg hicl in the forests and thesoldiers found only ernptlq honasp vhich they vandallzeji[. 'T,hs fu*ltlves'ltvedin forests for several fieeks and then retr:rned to thei^r villages, Llithout anyetrylanation, houever, the authoritieg ceased their searches and seizn:res.

Then the IIPA appeareil in the region, most lntenslvely ln late 1p{,6and early lgl+"tr. Doklia vas de'Lalred for several hor:rE by a UPA unit as beretwned flon the rectory in Kryva, where Bev. Volodlmnr F,aidukevych prepareddocr:rnente for hEm: and hls sister; who were then attenptlng to. enigratc to theUnlted Statssr where an uneLe resldbd. Doklia vas released ultbout harm. 0nanother occasionr, sround ten llpA @nbers, includlng three r,ronen, ea.me to theDoklisr hone 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 theye:rpressed gratitude. Dlscusslon of a political natwe follor.red, Eokllats fatherholding that the UPA struggle wa.s hopeless. rrlhat evening tbey dfd u.s no tjarxr,ancl at daun they werrt off Bonfihere lnto the forest.rAfter tbat lncident tiPA nenbers appeared ln the village every nlght withrequests for food.. As locals tra;treled about, nostly to and {}ora Gonll-ce forshopping purposes, they uere often stopped by UpA squads ard searcbed for foodand 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, whohad eooperated r.iith polish intelligence &Er an inforner. Kobak, a forester fbon


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Doklia-8lfeznayovar and a vomal flon Volivets disappearecl vithout a tracs. ghe yearslr9/+547 were trytng, uitb Pollsh troops robbing by day and the U?A by night.

RumorE arose of Polish plans t'o e4e1 the renaining lenkos, nbut ue'uere go attached to our land that ue did not believe these fuxlors.r lolrard theend of W, L9t+7, Yevke Yasylko, a Yaslunka native Lfvilg' ln Sviatkwae reportedthat f:rcecf resettlerent to northern and r.restern Polancl was a]ready takfng placein 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, eithershooting then or sencling thero to the Jaroruno concentration carnpr The lemkostherefore resigned thenselves to the inevltable--Eirpulsionl Sone prepared trunksand uagon$. Otherr betook thenselves to the authorities in frorllce and askedfor rellable infornation. fbey receivecl no satlsfaction; fear and uncertainty reigne

th,en came 9 June, I9t+7 t a dey of tragedy for Yasiunlca. At daun, whilethe villagers stilI slept, solc*iers arrivetf and ordered eaeh household to paeeparethir t,hings for traveL they r,rere lrarncl' that, r,lhen the troops returned, theyshould be packed and reacly to nove. Speculation Has'rife. rAre ve to be ghot?rrrlla.uled off to Rwsia, or to t he unknown uest of Polancl?r [ithin ninutes, thetroops retraned and srdered, al.l villagers to qrit thelr hotnes. tshose conp'laipipgor reslsting uere physically beaten, Paldenonii:rn troke out-shouting soldiers,ueeping erqpelleese moolng oo1.rg1 bleating streepr barking dogs, A11 natlves ofXasiu*a vere ta.ker aualr Tl:ey were her&d through trrt sr, beyond Banytsia, throughVfrkhna, and then to Glcdysz$w, where tbey spent the night. In Kryva, thevlllagErE stepped fbon their houses and bade the acpelleee Coclspeed, for that villagebad not Yet been evacuatecX. A few days later it net tbe sene fate, At Kryua, too,expeLleesthe Yasiunka entered thoir rercred ehweb to pray for the ]e.ct tine, a farewellsoa]Gd vith tears and sob. At ths Ba,nyisl& ht11 th few far'llles stt11 renainingin that vlllage uaited anil blessed the lasiunka outcasts as the cararErx passed by.Upon a:zival in g!$sdpr, they uere put up in variow homes for the night.


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goklia-9the hones were enpty, fo:r tbef ownrs had been drlven out the da;r beforo. 0n1ya few farnilies had been pernltted to stay behind, swh as the Vava.kr ksa-tyka anitr}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 travellingtbrough l&gura, l4alastiv, Rus tka Rotytsial Serrkova, and Xobylartba. iAs theyapproachect the l,lagura nountain, best{a] scenes unfolded. A rtrddy-faced lieutenantdlsnounted hls bicycle anil began to beat the outcasts vith r.rha.fuver l:e e'u1dget his hands on becwuse exhausted horses and eous were unable to pu1l the wagonsup the mountaln. & ordered that the expelleesr miserable goods be thrown offthe wagons. rlhis ruddy-faced bandit harassed our people uii to Ia-labtlv'1.ikea taad dog.r Aftet tlrsy pas5ed lfagUra the journey .becanre less arduous, fcr. theuagons rolled along more easily. Those unable to carrlf their belongings hadthen hauled in arny irr:ckE all the vay to Zagorzary-, As the exlr11ees passedthrough Pollsh vilIagesl such as Senkowa and Kobylanka, sone inhabltants sboredsigns of sympathy, but nost pointed thelr fingers Ln de:si.ston.

1} outcasts spent the night in the ?s.gorwrry parkr.netr


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noklia-10as to thelr destLnation, At tbe Zagorrany tra{n statlon expslJ-ses f}ora l.&.tsynallelyka, Gorlice county, uere added to the caravaio $wo loconotlves were Joinedto the railroad cars, and late in the afbernoon of 13 June, it seernsp departr:reinto tl:e unknown began. After a fev ninutes of novernent, the expellees noticedthat they uere heacling vestwarcl arrd lt r.ras concludecl that they destlned to forner.&rman regions that the soldlers bad talked about.were givenAt varlous stops en route the expellees soup and a plece of bead.In Osruiecim they uere pr:.t through a so-eaIled I'hygienic' and political purge.rltrhe hygienls aspect consistecl of dusting parts of the body uitB I .Epbdies of powder.In the Osviecism ra;ilroart stationr 1]B officers conrlrrcted."tnterrngatiohs. '' Thosethaf, gave conf'r:sed or inproper testjmory rrrere subjected to r,lell-knor.ln policernethods. Ihose under suspicion of ties r.rith Banderaltes vere hauled off to tortureto the concentration camp in Javormo. Aroong Yasiunka natlves, falJnn and. Senen{aser:ko and Petro Dat opa vere naltreated there for tr.lo }arsr fhe Vaserrkos uereso honored because fu:.y$tu eldest so!" !firtro, having returnecl f]on serviee in theRed armJr, irad been forcetl lnto the ranks of the IIPA. {ybro Vasenlco was later klIledby the Poles. Petro Dzlopa r.ras sent to Jaworato becs.se his bother $dro, r.rhoalong vith Petro had flecl fbon the Sorrlet Union, trled to aEoid a seconil tourin tbe Soviet army by fleeing to Join the Banderaites. l6rftno.Da bp" nour lirresln England.

life in LinboAfber 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 Selna}raresettlement offlcials distributed thetr charges anong 1oca1 villages. AII f]onYaslurka in Dokliars grqip uere asslgned to the glolna Choblei, to ttp eonstltuentvlllages:- Chobiefi- {ytro Kvoc}:ka; Ba.doszezyce-hybs f,opcha, Anton Satalorrych,Stefaln Ealtkot:" flko Felnchak, Seman Doklla, Lukach Doklia, Ygrko Zorylo; $ieszczicePetro Kopchar Petdro Zorlylo and lfirbro Tantsro; Stodolor.rice-Paraska Shveda, fvanZorylo, Wkolat Zorylo, Mykhel Bfbel, I,brtro Perun, Petro Vasenko, yakyn Vasenko;Gusadzirfvan Bybeln !{sstia Pelesh, Mykhail Kvoc}rka, OsXf Zorylo, Petro Pregon;


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Ooklia-1l0lszany-&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.Another g.oup of Iasiunke expellees had stayed behind 1a 7'agoTzaqy a^nd $as routedto the Po*nart &rea, vhere they vere scattered aJoong vlllages in tbe eounty ofPila. Sone of the villages involvedl- ttradoro (ttrree fanLlies), nyeltft (fivefamilies), kzjenki (tuo farnLlies), Sielisto (three fanilles), Blernatowo ( tvofarnilies ), ad Dzierzowto (tr^ro fa.rnllies ).

Life ln this new loca].e was very difficult. Th ne!, arrlvals were givenformer Gernan buildings, r.rhich inconing Poles FneYious!,3*''lad.ref'used tol,fany houses vere vithout uindous, doox$r or stoves and were cluttered

rg and "1""pi*ryo'*fft" the horoes inthe vorstIlve Ln.r^rith dlrtlragons. lhe 1n'o1"n uiniloue vhere sheltereif uith boards and tarpaper or pluggedwith strar.r. Ehe roofs vere ful1 of holes-ancl raln ca:ne throth. 01dr bug-infestedf\:rniture found ln a nearby abandoned nanor-bouse was put to use. Ihen there wasthe problem of finding enployuent- []1 the villages uere extrenely poors there wasno r.rork, and there uas nothing to br.Ly' The expellees ,ur" saved by their farnanimals, vhich provided swtenanss. Ehe cattle vere Ln a clire oonditlone for thefields 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 theLenkos bired thenselves out to FoHsh farners. llhe gwernnent gavs so@ atde reveralkilograms of flow and some srgarr Oc'rn-nea1 distributed uas spoilecl and hadl to trethrown avayf Packages fbom relatives in Aneric& uete a God-send. I! fs,l1t J?47,tbe Lenkos uere glven plots of 1andl, as nuah as ona wantedl as ueIL as lye arldwtreat seeds ln order to start neu far&,s. Suscess', hoverrrr llds scantr for tbe Ienkogdlcl not knou hov to cultlvato the unfani1lar BoiL tr\rrthernore, that faIl uasextraordl.nart:$ d4f and the seed dld not gerrnirrat. In sp'ring the Ier*os lrere givenostsl vheat, ?Age'habffSnd potatoes for seedirg'' -/\


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Doklia-12Ihe poles rwly settleil in the region treated the lenkos variouslSi'.

There uere chauvinists alaong then, as ueLL as kind peoplc who gave unstinting assistancThe vi1'lage and strlna authorities treatecl the Ienlcos as'despisd c*rarges; ln abuniliatipg tr4nney. IIE offl-cersl CRM0 activists', a nd the n.i-Iitta elosely srrnreilledtbe a.stlvities of the Lemkos, even Beeping at ntght to house ulndowr to overhes.r'fa.ntly conversation. 'nl lnkos shoced gFeat group solidarity, the young courtlngeach other, singing together, and even narrying 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 inStodolor,rice and Rud.nie M.iesto. fhe Greek{atholie chr:rch uas proscribeii, its priestsbeing required either to accept Qnthodory on.to change to the Iatin rite ancl tocondr:ct services ln latin for the Poles. Ihny Sreek-Catholic priests changed to theIettn rlte, and som becare Qrthoclox, lhis Polish rnanipulation of eel5.gior vastragie for botb rellgion apd nstion, for the parishoners had to foLlolr the stepsof their pastors. Although forcecl to naJce unpleasant choicesl Iernko priests sodoing, Dokli.a r.rrote, lrr,avitably ba"ought ihe Ienkos to the sts.tlis to vhich chauvinistPollsh Cathollcisro hal for centwies endeavored, to bring thes:-eitler IatinSathollclsn 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;.patqiotr.rho r.ras one of the first Sceek-Catholie priest! to conwrt to Orthodory la post-illersa.{Iles Polarid. Ir a PoLlsh cfuil.il}r lrr &udni services for the Ienkos vereeonductecl by the vell-known B.ev. Ivan Polianslqy, uho cl-andestinely during the Easterand Clsistnas holidaye condilcted services la the Ruthanian rite. Sbis dsrriationwas deaorncecl by Po1lsb oBse:rers to Bishop Konlnka in l{rocLar, ina as punLshnentFather Poliansky rJas transferred artay fbon Ienko settlenents, 1io the Opoladistrlc,t.

Aven vhen rnaterlal conditlons ha"d i-nprorrcd the lemkos ltere uni:appltlonging for their hati-ve highlands and tra.ditional uay of life. AL1 hoped for a:::: :: ::":*"* o":':'.:':"::: :.::" 1.": *1"'":' rhev uere


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Doklia-l3.The soil ws"s sanqyr ad the oder river overflowed' its banks in J-une and Jll-lytdestroying pasture lanct and tdcing auay nswn hayc Lhe' nud and re'illr ''produced an unpleasant, odrr. rnsects and nosquitos infesteil tbe region, tornentingthe lcm.koEr s well as their cattle. !\rrthernorer the oder uas replete withchenlcal polsons florn nearby fa.cto'ries. tsad vater anil nosqrito and insectinfestationsperod'ucecfslcknssarrddeath,botha"nongyoungand'old.Acensugca$ied out in the 195grs verified the tragic life style of the Lenkos ln ttteregion. gfficlal policy uas discrlniieiory. Qr:estionnaires contained no rubicfor 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 attemptswere nad* to enforce ttre e:rpe].lees into collective farmsl the so


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Doklia-14reclai.ned by Lenko retru.ns6s, vho at times pr:rchased thir one-tirne holdingsfuom inconpetant neu settlers to r.rhon they had been avarded, by the government.

Eonesickness and Disill-usionmentFor several years' Ya"siunka renained vithout lnlrabitants. In 195GJ)52establishedthe authorlties.rat lts erte a state colleetive farq qr ItR, an acronyrr based'lon the Polish 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 ofthe 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 forrnerboroe of Ivan Bybel. Iasiunka and environs lrere beyond recognition- ALL forests hadbeen cut down. Ttre ftelds uere ploughed by tractor. The vi.llage had a saa11 storeand uas electrifieal. the PGn workers r,rere all Poles except for one lemko, a tractordriver flon the vl11age of Pankna. futters fboln lestunka natives asking to returnproduced no positlve results. Replles lrere usually curt-ryou cannot return, foryour 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 Lnl9*- It r.la.s signed by fifty la,siunka fm:iliies and suhitted tn ]:g|iT. the repliesreceirred are also reFnoduced in translation. AIL translations are from the original Po

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

the undersigneelr. acting in the naJne of all those farnerE and lnhabitantsof the vtllage of Yaslunkal cnunty of MLicer evacuated iE the year' J9t.l4 addressto the appropalate offices of the Governnent of the Polish Peoplest Republic thefoJ-lo,rlng gsnotri-

the mass resettlement of the population of lenkouszcslana uitbin theframework of Operation llisJ-c under the pretert of destroying the II?A undergroundmove@nt

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


15/31

Doklia-15vhlch affected tndlviduals of whon ninety-five pereent, r.rere lnnocent. ft shatteredthe,tt lfiras and dld not achieve as nuch as a hundredtb part of the hopes of thosesocial reforners vho considered tbe abarrdoned. territories to tre, an idbal aonefor launching social reforrne.lbe effbct of the evcilation lla"s Sr& that the eqacr.uted eonm.uritiesLn a feu nonths ald years becarne @ ajrene of robberyr plunderr snd bnrtalsr.rindS-ing, vherein conpletely lntqpt builtlttgg r.rith sbeet-metal rooflng weresodd for a pittance to spec*.r1"ators. Structures r,rorth nl1lions, agrioulturalnachinery, apiaries a-nd construction naterials were stoLen sf, sold to sr.rindlersfo,r pennles. VilJ-ages vere abanilonecf and even roadls ltere grolrn over ulth busbes.llild. pigs and volves toggr to, tnleblt abandoned hunan dr.lelllngs. Throughout ttteensuing ten years these territories not only did not, prcrrlcle soclety uith lnconeanil sustenancs, but rash eoononle ercperilnents cost the state treasurlp substantlalni1llons.

thls wa,s a trne uhen loca1 authorltles ordered peasants ln neighboringunevacuated vilJagee to a]lou the evacr:ated villages lle feJlclr. Peasants in theseneigbboring vlIIages, threatenect uith punLshment', lost tirne, work, and naterialgoods tn the sowing that tbey had tlone, and beforsr tbe arlival cf the harvestseaon the ulld hogs bacl so,devo:red the oats that the org-p.rla,s,not.uorth.nqrlng.This ltas the tins r.rhen in these regions there uas decreed the lrypasyof oats,and cattle, ulth the encf result that btrndreds of sheep, even entire berdseperished because of contagioug *!sea-ses.

Sfuultans*ry at great cnst propaganda r.ra.s instituted in behelf oftbe repopulatlon of these areas try nevconers restrlcted erclwlvely to settlersof Polish natlonality. llrey uere given gratuitousr lo*ns for agniculttrra]-PurPosas. !o attract candtdates to the abandoned iegionsr pnoperty rtghtsv6re accorded t"r rellef. And after the neuconars. a:rlrcd tbey wers attachedto ryr{oftqral. oo'psrsblves vith the allure of neu credits and promises ofvarieit perke and porivileges, llrese cooperatives ptrospered ln such fashion

-r't.r..U r' -l-. ^


16/31

Doklra-16tha.t by the autuan of Jr95.6 ha-1f of then had been d.issolvecl and the remolndervanished the first day afler the historic speech of Conrade Uladyslas Gormllta.

Byen before the etghth plenun of the United Polish llorkersr Partyrthere began ln our cor:ntr5r a perid of asttve mohilizatlon of the rigfrts ofthe national nlnsrities. As a mttter of prlority there ltas reised the probleu.of the retwn to their forrer settleroents. of the erpelled inhabitants ofIernkow&zs,ryrliu. fuganizationa-l nsstings, the press, and the radio uereenployed. The entlr vorld vas tnforned about the rrrongs inflieted uponthe resettled, person$, lrho were to be recomtrrnsated. Eash lndin{&ul r.rouldbe able to retrrn to his p,roperty ln his natirrs, regior; and tte State wouldlnsure that th settlenents uould be rebuilt.

Sr:ah decla::ations and promises ca.n:e fron the htghest offlclal clrcles,,while simultaneous\y fton belou there aros6 growls of, etfonlc hatee eve! flomauthoritative public hodies, not excLuding tbe Po1ish Uniteil llorkersl Farttrr.For e:carnp1e, tlre veekly Ui.adornoscl Gorllckler the organ of the coun\r snmn{{,fusof the Polish United l{orkerst Part'y, nollif,ied the Pollstr piib1ie vith thostatenent that ln the entlre county of Gorlice there were scarcely elghtLenko farms avaiable for return to the evacuees, A Fl"ulil"ar party organ,a weekly ln Nor,r'y $ac% without ogrodek openly vrote that the Pollsh populationshould 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 forroersettlenents is being lnplernenteil vith conplete thoroughness by the County

enough thatAgrlcultural 0ffices. IS. ls npt' ?th.y dutlff:lly reject. tbe repr$atizationof farnE already nreassigned.n fhis is so eltn though half of tlu nrettlers!re specrrlators flon rear$ v illages r.rho ftl sold ofT their fonmer farns anddrafik ar'ray the nonsy thereby gafuecl. k took over ths forrer lenlco farnsln the hope of gettlng rtch quick\y. b as happened in Iosie and Ropa, thewhottsettlersrn vere close *ilghbors of the evacuees, parceled tlp lands of theevacuees B.11ong thenselvds, theirtry augmenting thelr oun ho'lfiingS. There $as also


17/31

Doklia-l0that trand of rsettlerer vho afber having obtaired as his slere a certainIenko strucfirre, took it apart after a feu nonths and used the ual-ls for'fire*rood. Often tle selfsane rsettlerF r.rould Join an agricultr:ral cooperativeand uould be additlonally rewarded with the rrearest forner Ienko buil&ing.In.this fashion a rsettleri of this stripe would tp able to obtain possessionof two or three forner Icnko build,ingsl etlch of r.rtrici ln turn uould be tiorndoun and h:rtred. Rven to this nonent forner Ienko butldings ani laryis areteing turned over to this kind. of tsettler!. from the nearest Polish villages,even though these types'fi1ed their applications very reesntly, r.rhile theapplieattons of the original glrners suhltted'several lontbs pretlously llestil1 unprocessed, or ae mgtinely ancl collestively rerolved ln a negative$anner r:,:rder the pretext ths,t the farms harre al-ready been nreasslgaed.il

In addltlon, other pretexts are adranceil with respect to negativedecd.sions to turn donrareqr:ests of Ienko petitioners. lhrs lf orya peasantrslanil there ls but a bullding' and lf the lant! itself has been reassLgned, thentho hdlding ls not gdven to tlre petttloner because there * .oo land to govith lt. It also goes tbe outher ray aroun&-uhen the land of the forrer enacuesls aralLable brut it has no butldingn then retr:rn of the lancl ls deniedl for itis then allegedly feared that the petitloner'1rlll trave ao pIace tp live. In. .other casesr tutldtngs not yet *reassignedil are reserved at the last nonentfor varl-ous Furposes, such as reading hg.lls1 uorkshops, fire houses, andpollce statlons. Ia one word, everything is done ln order to restrlct to thesmallest nr:mber the retr.rn of evacr:ees to thfr former settlenents.flne,lly ps'oof of thls is evlilent in the cases of tr.lo stato fares thBtaros oI uere created in the roountalns of the county of Gonltce, n*m"1r, that lnJasiunko and tbat in rzby. fo these artificlal creations put together not ortof sone kinds of troad latif\-rr:dias brrt ffon. hundreds of peasant farns vere addedseveral thbusand tresiares of sable lande neadows, pastures, and peasant forests.


18/31

Doklla-ltSoth of these state farne vere flom the nonent of thetr foundatlon insatlableeeters of state f\ud$. If, th J\rnds' thh* the state hs's thus far Lnves'ted in thorsgtvo entities r^rere used at the right ti:ne ln a r*tional na.nnel for'tle recor-stn:ction of the plurdered end nredistributedn peasant tnrlldingsr then unloubtedlytoday ve r.rould trave revived hundrecls of peasant farns l&icb uould supply taresarrr$ resowces to the state.

!{e beg that you send en unb*ased cmnission conposed of non-partisanspecialists to imrestigate on the spot the entirs natter of the existenee ofthe state fbrn in Jasiunkao lnril vith respect to its utilitye to canvas theopinions of the 1oca1s1 as ve1I as of county and cltstrlct offlOlalse'regardlngerroniously held views of'ethntc clrauvinisn that are one-sided anal urrm.rrantgirlle ourselves'have been there on the spot and us did not see ary rlras]-es thatcoulcl not be rrought ftr the private initlative of fanners rho are devoted tor.lork and sre es cledlcated as the for:mer inhabitants of lenkor,lszc W'n:E' .

Several nonths ago the Agricultural Office ln GorLiee trfonned therepa$ietes that the specific rntllages tnlonging to the state ftSn ln Taslunlia,nalt'ely [olowiec, Banlca, fi^adocyna, 6zarw anril trrywa1 ut11 be evai]a.ble forresettlement b$r fsrrer ev&Guo$o llhen this news reached the uestrn regionsg'oups of former eracuees begaa to travel to Gorhce to tbe Agricultrrral,Qff,iceln order to ot*ain nore detailed trrfcrnatiop eoncerningl the conditions andposslbllit{es of return. It cane to pass, howeve4 that approctnately two lreeksago that, lntent had been altereil beea:xe the state farm in I rslrraka had no dbslreto sqlbnlt iteelf to liqridation, Rather, lt desires to contim:e to sponge obstate ftulls.

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 botbstate farnrs anrl lrrdivtdual f,sns are subordinated, should dbcide r,rbich stateferns have reasry to e:cist and r.rhich should be f-iquidated either ln parb orin their entlrety. lle are of the ppinion, noreover, that a s-tate farnn such


19/31

!oklia-g)as that ln Yasiur&a1 uhich s.os florc the spilting of peasant b,lood and consJ.stsof lands soaked vith psasant sueat and tears, should be in the fbont line ofliquidation.

lle afflrn or:r reacli@ss to aecept and pay the narket prtce for nateri-a,1sobtalned 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 ourvillage, liasiunka.

For this puxposs, Lre undersigned, who represent orer half of thefcrrner inhabitants of Yesiunka, reqr:est that the Council of Mlnisters negotlatswlth the approprlate ninistry for the liquldatlon of the state fam lnhsiurjka and naJ


20/31

Dokl1a-20A 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, directedto the hesid&r:m of the Cornty Peoplesr Council ln Gorlicel concerningthe 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 Couneiland the Gounty Agrlcultural Office inforn the cltizens.that the farmsleft beh.iBg by you have been redistributeal as the popedty of a state farn.[nder swh conditions, retwn of the farns in this count5r ondeovne{ by cltizens cannot take p1ace.The Director of the County Agricultural 0Jozef Gurgul

Schools in this cluster of,.four. rrillages. refleqted .ethnle .tensi.onsand 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 attendclasses. Around sixty puplIs at'tendbd-dr:ring the school year. fn postJlersaillesPoland, the langr:ages first used'were Polish and Ruthenlan. Dtring the Gernanoccupatlon, llkrainiat and C'ernan uere para.nount, and it 1944-191*7 Polidr anilIllcrainian. Before 1920 all loca1 teachers uere lenkos or Buthenlans-Koba^nli,Eolovka,, Ferej.roa,, and. PolosbenovJrch. Polonl-zation uas the obJeetlve of theschool in the lftOrs and lT30fs, a Po1ish ladye Jaclwlga E&bel, spearheadingthe drive. Ienko teachers Lrere renoved fbon tbe reglon and sent to teaeh laethnlcally solid Pollsh areas, l[:er newconer, Mrs. Habel, uas uea.k whencompared r.rlth prevl.ous teachers, but sbe $as a decllcated Polonlzer. She dii!not know the Ienfoo dialeet aad vas uneble to teacb it. The prloer used'lnthose years uas author'Ei by Trokha.no?sky, ry the vLnter of 1Y)84,9 the fryvaschool vas comprlstely Polonlzed. Use of the native language uas ridlculecland forbl-dden. Fven pnqyers bad to be ln Pollsb, Once the puptle rebelledand lnsisted on sa,ving Ot*m f*rf, (the prayer n 0:r Fathern ) fn tne Len&odialect. !"trs. Eabel uent lnto an apognlectic rage. Soon the Gernans arrlved,horeverr and she lefL the villago, never to be s een again.


21/31

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

Sose had'difflctilty with it, and the aspect of shifbing accents !ra.s elusive.Study of Germe,n began ln the third-year sllass. During ths lrar the teacl:er wasLiubonyra &idulcewch, tl.e uife of tle 1ocal vlcatr. She r.ras an erce].lent. teacher.Father Faidukevych heLped; teacbing not only religion but also physical educationtgeogr&phy, history, and drasa. The lady worked hard to put together anexcellent choral groupr As the front approaehed in early 19/.1+r the Faidukewehfamily left the ?!e&: In early l9l*5 ttg school uas reopened.r the nev teachersbeing Andeit Saifert. of bnytsLa snfl BatDarnyk of Park:ra. 7n l94T both wereexpelled fYom the reglonAfber the erpulsiotr of the lenkos the Polish authorities set up neltschools for nevcomers,, as well as for grpsies renaining in l(ryva. T?rs asuteactrer was a Polish Iady, nale urrrecalled, vho had replaced e Iemlio llomannarned l.,Sa.Iia}, uho tracl returned flom exils, The ner.r scbool ua,s housed ln theformer Greek4athollc rector;1. lhe former school bul}ding r.ras asslgned lnpart to a eooperatlvee arrd its large classroorn was utilized as a barracks forseasronal }:rnbernen. Krlnra usecl to hoast of tuo reading-*oo!$r, one rithin theRussophlle Kachkovslqy $ociety netuork and the other a link tn the UkralnianFProsvitar cha-in.

A neu sshool lras bullt in &4ytsia ln ]-9?L46- lwo teachers uerefirst enployed theree both Pollsh patriots" During the Gbrman occupation the rreuteacher rlag i&* flfe of,ludrei Salfert..Sbe nqtt r.rtth her thres children livesin the Unlted States. HEr hr:sband Andrel vas arpelled to ttre Zielon* 0lradlstrict 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$*8native prominsnt ln lts cultural life uas Fetco Saifert, the bother of Anclrei.Petro Seifert had gone abroad, vhere he'publisbed a lmbo( Bi/rspaperr vbtrcb ffitlsdbeeause 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


22/31

Doklia-22from A.nerica to 8ar:;'t*ia. Ee lived later in Poniarkyr but early during llorldUar Two he r,ras taken by the Gernans to Osviecin, fron uhish fu never returned.Andrei Saifert, e teacher @ trainingr taught in Zhdynla t'o Jt9l&, trbon 1945io 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 authoritiestore dor.rn the Ba:rytsia school building ard retruilt lt in &ladysztw.

School teachers and polics officers represented state po'$rer in Ienkoconm.rnlties. T,he vil_lage v6-it (rnift in the 1ocal vers'ion) vas the visiblevillage leader or nayor. In L9?l+ the Polish adrninistration lnstalled a neutitl, that of soltvs. Ihe fast g]!fg{n lFsiunha'vtrs'.Setsko"'i'tri:a1ikr'arho-was xi1ed iu 19/17. Subordirrat, *tl*gps had ptdsoltysv (ndeputy roayorsil ).Dwing the Gbrnan occupation the pidsoltvs in lasiunka lras Sesan SnreXr r.rhilel$tro Kiets was th6 soltvs in &:nytsle. llhe last Ieuko official ln Yesiunkawas lvan }Ia{tko, uho after exlle Ln vestefn Poland retwned to Zhffnia, wherehe now resides. Se is consldered the spokesman for forner Yasiunk& resid.ents.In the o1d days q.ll leko officials vere wlthout por.rer, for.ttrey servedl nerelya one-uay cbannels for orders llon hJ.gher echelons. nlhe' had to daaceto ttte tune that the occupiers playecf.r

Rellgious $trfeDoklLa, vhoss, rritlngs chow sone *ppneciation of the lnpact of

history on contenporary problensl noted that tbe 1596 Odon of &est, wasrrtraglc for the Lenltos becar"rse snlitnthe Buthenians lnto tuo hostile re}iglousfactlonsn the Qrthodox and the Unic-te &eek-Catho1les. Bg 1@2, tbe I&koerthe vesternmonst-positiongd of the Butheaians, were al] vttbln the Ofeek-Catholleshurchr the Orthodox having been "ri{rln-ted. Both uncer the Eabsbwgs andln post-Versailles Polancl, sore Iankos reverted to futhodoqy as a result oftanglecl' personal and po1ltiea1 nachinations. Political- fat'tors irrnolved


23/31

DokIla-1included Russian R.n-Slavisra, fear of Ulrainian irredentisilr and the neupolish governentrs policy of fragnenlfng a-1legedly urreliable ethnieminoritles.

ya3iunke, Kryval &,n:rbsia and Volovets forroed one Feek-Catholicparish; vitb Kryua as the site of the naln churchr that of Sts. Eosna andDianLan. Volovets had a uood, ndaughterr cburch, tnrilt tn 1880 e"nd rebuift lnLggf . The entire Krrya parish nunbered approci.rutely 664 C'reek Catholics.Le.tin Catholics uere fer,r1 less than ten. As the movement tcvard futhodorygathered strength, the 0rthodox ln the area eventua$r outnr:mbered theGreek cathblics, regching a'tota1 of 765 adherents'In Austro-Erngar5an tines th idlabitants of Kryva and Vol$vetsquarreled over vhere the Greek4atholic vicar shoultl reside'1 that i5r whethertlre rectory should be l-n one village or the other' ths autheitles decicledin 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 arectory 1n VoLovets, and the 1ocal pniest livecl there unttl he lras er]eIldIn 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 pstivevi1lage, based on his fellible treilro{r llte chureh ln Kryva had been hrrned atleast three ttrnesr the last tine 1a 1915 by l{aryar taroops who thought t'hatRussian soldiers uere hlding in lt. Sdr,etjne prlor to ttorlcl llar Onee the XrXtachirrch uas haLled off to Yaslurka by inhabitants of that nd]lage. A factlonin Yasiunka wanted. to trrn it tnto an Qrthodox shlrrcb, but pernlssion rlas denfud.Four particd-pants in this a.ction vere later'sent by th Austrian authoritles tothe talerhof detefiion ca.np, vhere they perished. In 1917 the church vas novedback 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


24/31

DiDklia-24by le.ttn-rlte Pol$el sefrices being sonducted by a priest flon ebdysak'

trlhen Father Andrit Barda.khovslgr r.ras the Cireek-Catholic vlcar mostToloTets and Barrytsia tnlabitants converted to Orthoclotqfr ln irgi beceuse tlelras a strong Eaainian nationalisb, saitkD noted. Moreover, t b,e 3'riest vass,rraricj.o:s a3;l f:eced'his eharges as mr:ch as he could. A poor prishonerwasunabletonenry,givebirth,oreventoclie,l|ulthoutcoughirguptuentydollars or !6.ore.il Sone resorted to bwying thelr dead rilbout beneftt ofclerry. Bardal


25/31

Ook],ia-25gne priest so ropositiord got angry and, refushed to travel in that fashj-on.t{e vas Father BardakhovsSry, uho blru.tect out, rDo you take 1ne'ftr a suinaullllng to travel ln a hnin*'bgt?tr

andrel shvedal another Doklia'' sourcg tn the united states born in&siudfi., recplled that vhen he'left Yasiu*a only six of lts lnlrabttantssurd-if read in a village of, sixty-six Iernko households, a saloon-keepEr dduhather'one $psy., ?l'rree villa,ges fought over' --- ' the priestts resldence shanld telocated in K4nra o" Vol&rcts, lihen a neu chtrch uas built, in ikXnra, itsbelfs r.rere fi.uaneed by eroigrants iJl the Unitecl States. the,Fro-Qrthodo:r'tendency uas strol.lg prior to llorld llar One, the local priest being d Russophileorientation. Early in llor1d l{ar One he settled in tsarist Bussia. Rev. MaksylrSandolrych, &n orthodox astivist, settled in Erab, trhich becanre the fjrstvillage in the area to accept 0rthodory. OLher nearby vlllages, such as ChorrerI.ypna, and l{eznayova, also for the nost part acc'epted Orthodo:t$.

In 1912 elections vere held 1oca11y fsr sending e delegate to tiraparllanent in Vienna. CarrcDldetes included a certain Dlugosb flom $ankova andlndret fgyg;liek( the father of tbe nell-knoltn Tsysliak Rr:ssophllo activtsts)llon Ustie Rus!kie. Dlugosh uon. fu X913 therelre,more sonrsrsions to Orthodo4yln the arear Xr)wa hsd &n active grqup of Utsai^nophllesr.,enong',fiben..'*,he,*a:rt,crPetro qytelr the n4yort sndl the loca-l recorder (pvsar). X*sfur&a hadf eKachkovsky Society reading-room, fron vhieh the po1ic6 3smoved hooks publishedtn Russia. Rumors spread that &thodox actlvists in Iasiunka ancl &'rrytsla $antedto move an olcl ofiurch r&'rtyai ftoi &sdfudla h' r:se fon their serYises' otlatnorning ettrnk" zealots tore it ds!fin aJd baj'rled off its parts to nasiunk&+i1n wagons. Th- church u# tt.n reeonstructed there on la-nd donated bry Drnftr'roFelsh. In tfrree daXrs the pollce put a stop to thls proJect. K4rra inltabltantsconplained that the chlrch had been stolenr and a ].iiefate rnen Eunong then r,rrotean artlcle on the lrrcldent that vm published in the Onited States ln the


26/31

DokLa-26nenspaper l{a:rodna Vo1ial i ltkraLnia,n wekly appearing ln Scranton, Pennsylvania..I& 194I Andrei Shveda anived in the United States to staX r*ith his sister inMontar:a. &r husband, h. Ctrernetslry shoued Shveda the Narodnia Volia articletadding rEou 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*hanparin that ep{so(le and understood that the Yasiunka people had paid noney for theeh-rrch.

BanytsiaIn several ".ye funyts.5a Iras & singulc lemko village in Gort.i-ce eounty.

$r:rounded by other Lenko settlernentsr such as Volovetsr Krlnrar Vixkhnia, Fa.nk:naancl Ebrtne, ln centuries past it harboiied adventurous peasants who raided theproperties of nearby Polish gentry, vho called the raiders banduci.r or trbanditsrnthe worcl from whieh the village narne alleged1y derives. It vas a strong centef, ofR1ssophilisn, and tn the t{entteth century conversions to Orthodory e1ained overhalf of its tnhabltants. The 0ftJrod,o:c brilt for thernselvss a sna1l chapel and usectthe services of a priest from nearblr Tololets. In th 19301s 'e,nytsia hait anorthodox rnajority, a Greek-{atholic ninority, and three Baptist farnLlles.Poverty-stricken, riven by seetarian strlfe, and rnlsled ty half'educatecl denagogttsetiha peu""nts felt doomed forever. Sernan oppressive treasures ctwing Eorlct l{ar fwointenslfred village pessi-nisln and gavs b'irth to a feebls local pro-communistpartisan unit containing cri.nina"l elenents. Folish oppression, Crerrnan uartimeindignities, an6 So:"iet arny excesses eornbined to tr,rn a onet{ne stronghold ofRussopbiltsn into o fountainlead of Ulreialan nationalisnt nany l-ocal youthssru.olling into the IIPA, vhictr energed as the sole champion of the lri-tal ints3s515of the locals. In the sunner af ]:9/+l+ a British plane transporting Polish undergroundreinforeements crashed near BarqrLsia, killing all aboard. Liberation by the Sovietalny r,ras greeted r.rith joy by Russophile elenents" who spearbeadeci the Sovietresettleraent driven thereb forfeiting the fina-l vestiges of their pollticalsignificXnce. $inety per-ent of the vil.-r.agers were enticecl into the Soviet


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Doklia-Z?UnLon, nostly to the iviv and Ternopl,I ohlasts.

Gerrnan etccesses fbIed an inclpient pro*orununist partisan novsm.ent',later magnified by Polandts communist nasters into teJ-ling Froof of lndigenousroots of conuunist hegenony. T}rs Banybsia. native Petro Saifert perished tn theOsuiecitn concentration camp. Another rrativer Yevka Sl*ynbar retrrrned flon itwith her health in rulns. She had been talcen to Oswiec'im becawe a cotsla;Stefan Gileta, vas in an anti-Gevnan psrtisan r:nit. ghat unit, organized bytuk-ach Shkyrnba, operated in the region. in I9Q,.43, One of its secret meribers r,rasAnrlrei Zbur, who had returnerl flon forced labor ln Gerrnar4y, uhere he rrasteredGerman, and afber his return vorked as an intergreter for the German securityofficer Dwe, uho conrnanded a speeial fornation in Us';ie Rushl" and, a Carpaiho-Ukrainian auxiliary police u$ft (th ilSichorrykyrr) posted in Gladysz&r,r. Tbepartisans l:anied Gernan troops tn ttre llagura region and at tlroes cla.shed. r"riththertrSlchori6r)cy.; their leader tu]'d Ehl{rnla was kl"1led by the fernsns. Eis

' l, *uidotr"'loudly -lamev6ed his deat\ th#tbry prornpting h&s swviYing con'rade{-r lrho'. il' \- feareil that she ln her ryi"f ntght betray then to the Oerrnansr.to end thatpossiblllty bgr kidnapping and kllltng her. Ihat &ed vas done a11egedly by apartisan na-ured lhyts Kiets, vho is saicl to have confessed, iThe 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.S-befan Gileta, vho lras later lrrstalled ry the Russians *s the UB c,hief inGorllce courrty. Gileta r:n-leashed an orry of revengiel shootlng captrred BSichowl(frllarestlng war-t{me vil]age nEJrorS an6 lniestsr and othenrise persecutin$ allthose against vhon he had a persona-l grudge. In Apntl or May, ],]9/,+5t hor*everehe uas revarded for his nlsdeeds, l{hile spending a night vith relatives in Banyts5a,Glleta vas nraleneil {bon sleep by a UPA unitr r.rhjch ktlled hts relativer:r tortr:redhi-nr and then hanged ki-B frotn a pine tree near &J:kna. This last of the Banytsiapartisans 1les br:ried in the Xryra cenetery, his grave graced by a markerwith a Soviet star.


28/31

Doklia-Z8Balyts.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 1ocalvosded, are&s1 lenko youths retr:rning flon forced labor in Germa4y or Ilon servicein the Soviet arry Joining IIPA ranks in acts of desl*,ir. :Follsb arqt effortstbs UILgraduallJ reduced^into scattered lneffectlve rernnants' Barytsie natlvestsuffered but indivldual and group traged,ies, Andrel Fesh ancl his son returnedfron Gbrrnarly but felt constrained'to move on to the Scviet Union to Join hisvife who had been sent there previously. $rbro dut" ""t*ned flon Siberiar,\uhither he had been banrshed beeause he bad served as a vi4age. -nayoyi. under iheGernans. Ib wqs unable to stay in his home village, hovever, for le r,rith hisvife and ehildren vere packed off to the USffi.. Mykhail ("tt, Hhosg brother'^Stefan was killed by the Ge:mans, returned fbo$ senrice ln the Soviet arrntrbut found cond *tlons at hone so ftightful that he Joined the EPA. Eer nqrresides in either Bngland or the Unlted States. IE 79liUI;7' clashes vere fYequentbetr.reen Polish aroy and IIPA units tn the Earqrtsia environsr. One night a Pollshunit entered Baqytsia tn search of the eheny. Thsy feund nofre. Eowever, theydid 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 returnedfrom forced labor lu Sernany. Tbey kl1led Yasyl rybe1 and arestetl his guesttfvan Petryshyn.

In the slrnrner of l9L6 a UPA uait coning' fron a uedding ln Panllnaspent the night ln Barqrtsia. The nesb dqy Polish soldiers eppeared andfighting broke out. Slhere v&o kilIed ancl vounded on both sides, a.s !,e11 asa:nong Ba.r:ytsta resldents. llhe Poles tortr,rrecl the vl11agers and aceused themof being rrBandsraites.F Fighting in the reglon continued until the rernainingIemkos were ba.nLshed. to lrestern P oland. Banyts:ia expellees r^rere trans-ported to the county of Glogw, dispersed in itE rrral connunities. ghefanlly of Petro Fesh uas anong the expe11ed. Ee hinseH was hauled off to


29/31

Doklia-29the Javorzno canp, where he uas nurdered. Fesh was fair galre because hisson !'t*ha11 had joined the UPA. Eis eldest son, Stefan Fesh, belonged tothe pro-goviet partisans. & vas ki1led b$t tbe Gernans, alongruith otherBanytsia rratives in the pro


30/31

9oklia-}Oa 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 butreygrds uere bountlf\rl, for tbe graln alone pnovided for the fanily throughoutthe r'rlnter. uorld Hs Oae put an encl to this actlvity'

Ienko fanllies uere large, land wars scareer and opportunities forenploynent larr Eraigration served as a safety-valver removing sores ofdiscontent 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 andYugoslavia. 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


31/31

Uoklia-3Ifornatlon spent a r.rinter in KrSrna. The vjllage sufferecl considerable physlcaldarnsgs becagse of tl:e fighting dwing Horlcl }trar Ore. Life in post-Versaill-esPoland r"ras characterized by 3n1itical oplression, which generated a species ofIlliralnian natl-o'ra'1iga. A rhosEritatr Society reading-rooln lras set up i.a thebooe of F. l,Vhalyk, uere book-reacllng for Llllterates }Jas conclucted andpctriotic 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 Polisheommunisrn. and the eli:trination of its ercistence '

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Lemko Experiences as Recalled by Teodor Doklia

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