Lr'1.-?

IEMKO ETIER]EI'EEs II'S

RECALIS BT TtsCICR

DCKTTA

' .
6sh treee vhich

Clwter of Yillages
on'

ths r.tllage of Yeslurde, a nalrc besed

the Slarric lrord X@g or

in tJnes past glourished in tbe tbe higbland horeland of

leodor Doklia,, uhich he aalls

and parlsh

lefuvrrnar

ltas part of the'coanunity GS-g@!g)

of

Ery,va, uhich

ln tr:rn r.tas a,; part of the gtrtla @l ft@sl'Jg'n'lfn:ntty of

Gladyszou,

ln the county (oowiat) of Gorlica. Tts pqHrh spe]-ling of the village isJasionkaJn the 1930ts lasiurka had, m fa&llies uhich n:mbered lJ-O persons; all of theg lerrkoE except for tuo fatailies. &e fa-rni1y of slx vas .Ier,rish, $bose'bed-ilaercalbd0hdl-fr'Qi .tha vil'lngers. Ch&in owned a saloon and aJ-so uorked as a blacksrnith. Tte other farnily was Polishr that of J6ef
Skursld.

In a rnodest
kncrn

peasant

vry,

Dok1la vas prou.d

of'his regiopte

1prst.

lho sea ua on""?flbart of

Kievan &u3, trrwr irl:abited W a Slavic

trge

to scholars as trllhlte Croatiansrr and vho some conside to be the ancsEtorle of todayrs led(og. Dokli"a clings fondl.y to that Lnterpetation.
Chisttaaity
canre

to the region ln the times of Sts'. Cyril

and lbthod,tus,

a hundreil years

trefor"e

St. lPolo8qnr of,flci.a1ly bought it to t he ancegtors of

r^,as

the nodern Ukrainians in Kiev. lleld l{ar'Ore

Ied<o

a.notber watersbed event

ln

history. lhe sea

had

a strong pro-fi,ussian or Bussopbll

be

movernent, sone

even considering thernselves

to

real Russians of the t"irscovlte variety.

tsarist arnies trroke into tts reglono and the Russophllee usre fbequently accused of dleloyalty by the Austria,n governrent. At least ten nattves of X*siullca were
sent to the lalerhof, interr:rnent can1r; infanous

for lts

nio$reatnent

of its

a]]egedly subrversive fu*nates. ?he pretext for this roun&up ln Easlunka ta.s

that a pro-Ortbodqr factton in the village

c"onsecrate

had

bullt a chapel and-r,rantecl to

because

it

as an &thodox ehurch. Obherg

ln the area were agested

they vent to services

in nearby Erab, r,rhere R"o.lf,h$ gaevye*r of Ehg,nja

Dok].i"a-Z

at tiroercelebrated tbs Qrthodox lltr:rgr' Sandoqych, shot W the Awtrianst qi-tlain beca-rre a nartyr in tbe perception of Inany Rr:ssophlres' Tle reputed
in this
taragedy uas

the lasiunka sa]oon-keep "Chai.ur who *l1egedly uas an

informarrt ernployeil W tbo

potle. In order b woid &rafting into the Austrlalr

arryr four youtlrs florn Yaslunka went to tsarist Russia uith the retreatlng
Rwsian arqr.
Tl:e

villagp suffered severe physical

Decemberl 191-S,,

danage durlng

Worldlls

One.

lansion betveen the Ienkos and rarW Poles lntensified. A illernko republictr
uas set up in Florynka on
5.

Sixleen . nonths of tension

folloueE'\, the poLes finally arrestS,tg the repubii* S officials and end,ing tts existence. Psrt of the Lenko region remainecl ln rabcrn Po]anrf but a part also
1,ras

to Czechoslovalia. Polisb efforts to press the village youth into their arey causred. sone of then to flee into newly forroed Czechoslovakia. In the ner* Poland llfe us difftcult. Everlr fasiunka fanlly Lracl relatives in Amerlcat
assigned
un6

nsterial

and morarl zupport f}orn aeoss

the

ocean uas

highly appreciatecl'.

Around Iasiunka Ienkos nerked es lumberrnen and sold

thsir or.rn timber'to ui]-ls

There vas active snuggl-lng apross the bcncAer into Czechoslovalcia. Ja&t$ga Polonlzatlon efforts uere resistecl. A !frs'. Itabelr the uife' of the village teacher

in Goarllce.

to establlsh a Fo1{sb'youth"d:re*s. in"X'asiunka, but the effort fallecf. 11r 1%8-39 the Poles ]anrrhe(] a trarsh denationallzation drive. The elernentary school uas conplet'ely Polonizeclr Priests and intellestuals in the

of the Polish

language, tried.

regloa lrere sent to tbe

rn&neuaErs

Bereza" Kartuzka

concentration camp. Ia 1999 nilitary

in ttre region, loca.il Ionkos belqg reguireil to constnrct tmpedi.ments to Gernerr tanks e:rpected to ap1:eqp' in tle area of the lfagwa !aount'ai!. i{ith the outbeal< of Uorlil }iar L\lo, t}e youths of Yosiunka uere mobiltzed ir$o
uere corrductecf

the Polish

arrny.

Doklia-3
The Com,inc

of tl:e

C,ernans

,t
l

ths 6srnans took over Tasiurrka in Septenber, !939. At fi-rst they treated the 1oca1s uelrr appointing e nalrqr (soltvs) flcn amorrg thern for the
Kry'\rar and

village cluster of lasiunka,

&nyteib . Ea uas &fbs Kiets, of Egrytsia. Sernen Sney r.las the cteputy Dcgor ( piilsoltvs) for Saslurlia. These

villages uere incLuded ln the mina of &ladyszolr,

"*J
u certain Kobanii.
sided in
U-nder

vhose

chlef pffigla'l (vfit1

the

Gerrrans

police fi:"nctions uere perfmrned to

by a Geraan r,rhose last
narne was

some degree

bf so-callecl Sichow]v,

cornmanded

Du'e,

who re

rrJie*ffiil-"dg !EiiH&,q,"t*r#*
to

-TffffiL rs,

a Ukrainian nilita4y fornation consistlng of youths nostly Jloro the Uz}horod

area of Carpatho-Ukralae, hail fought
defend Monsignor Auhystyn toloshrynls

Carpatho-Ukralnian state when

tf the .. _ Hungarian arng. llo escape Srngaria,n: imprLsonment, the Sichovrky fled nortn+ard into Pola&l, but their stay of for:rbeen nonths in the lernko region bought then no glory. Some of tben uere friend3y, DokUa tsoter but nost uere murderers
n!.a be"n invaded and, conquered.

it

uho caused the'Lenkos

to hate Ulaainians.

Ehey lrere quiek

to beat up localse

a speclalist ln this reaLn being a certain Pezlryk, a Eoiko from the ga:rison

in Cladyszlvl m uell as a certain Kim\ fron the police station at Udcie R.uskie. Ttte Sichornrkv helped the GernanE to send loca-l boys and girls to foreeil ]abor
{n Gernany.
Among

lasiunka natives who ff-ecl to Crermaly on thelr own, rather than

Shveda (nor

to te taken as slave laborers; uere Andtil

Stefan &rushchak
(xor,r

ln Clifbon,

Seu Jersey),

fn &-roi1ton, Ontario),

anri lvan Dernchar (now

in Uatdliete

Ibu York). .tropnd 30 rsiur:ka youths were sent a:s elave uorkers to &rnarry:. During the Gerrnan occupation peasants were forced to cut timber and haul it to Gorlicel worklng as rmrch aE four days per
week

uithout pax.

conpulso:ry

delivery of farn quotas uas eushingly harsh, especlal.ly in grain and potatoss, hbich trad to be deposited at village depotg, the s"dina adrdnist:ation tn GladyszEr.r,
anc the connty depot

in Gorlice. Dire necessity forced the peasants into

Doklia-fl
snuggling acttvtty; tfuy crossed the border by

night in

the Koreczne srea

lnto the prestov regior of Sloval<ia, cariying butterr eggs, grain and other
products and trking bac& headterchiefs, shoes, tobacco, and other manufactureg.
T'he

persecution of Jews in the reglon uas

and Iemko vll1ages

fiercs.

Tbsy uere

taler

flon Gorlice
sa.Loon-keeper

to

Eoboua, vhere

they rdere forced to dig pits

and then executed. Obhers uerre taJ<en t,o 0svlecim and ldaJdanek. Ch&i-!b the

in Iasiunkan had gone to

Pal-estine before the outbreak

of the war.

In'Ikrya there lived a Jeu, ttdatl

r,tanted

uho vorked as a.

tailori

Ea and

his entire
The
Crermans

fs.nily were ta]cen alray W the Gbrmans, neTtex'to be heard of again.

viit of Gla.dysziw, Noborr;l, protected thenr holding they uere honest uorkersl and they still re$ain in Kr1r,. Yas"iulka r:atives hid a Jew whose last narne vas Vol& in their village. Ee lived in Xasiurrka to the slrJluller of lfleJ., the natives risking the deatb pena-lty in proteeting him. One
XrXrva, b'ut the

to kil1 the gpsies in

Surrday

a group of gjgbgg&, 1ed by their

comraandant Drrr^le noved

about fron Gladysz&

to

Uscie Ruskie. Sbe locaIs

r.rere

felt

they uere searcb.ing for anti-&rnan partisans,

ZoryJa.

but in fact they

vas caught

after &rat Zorybr a forty-five year-o]d lenko,

in the conpany of Tovk. t*

ZoryJa uras shot, apd Vovfu was ta.ken to Easiu:ka,

Ee was then

but he refused to reveal uho fbom alaong tb locals had aided him.
escorted t& Gladysr&l
escaped dlon prison

there. ,,She,@Llgg&X.lecaptaued

[rtq; and he was sbot by Pezttryk on the Ha4rrr* mountaln.

'

As the Soviet army approached, partisan

activity agairrst the Cerrnans

in the area ercpanded and rnore pepi:Ie Jborc Yat*ur:lb vere ta.ken by the Crerrnans for forced l-abor. Ivan Qratsonl uas oy1e-he perished in llcaine. fE eazLy 79t*5
the &rnans intensified such s.etivity, aaong other things requisitioning all horses.
As signs

of German defeat nuil.tiplied, the Sichowkv disappeared llon the area in the ;-trilner of l94tq apparently taking to the forests to join the UpA, That
:..91&t

surner,

the area saw intense fighting betueen the

Germans and

the Soviets.

There had been r:any ref\:gees

flon Kiev, Kharkov, and Poltarra i$ the region, but

Dokl--5.

after 19{5 they were all forced

passed tlnrough Lemko villages,
T'hey

back

tto the honeland.n

Retreating C'err:an units

Ef December, L9I+4t the Sermans hed left for good,

Tb

bwied their dead in a cenetery they had construcfud in Iasiun&a.

Russians

did not

coroe

into the vl11age i-nmediately. lihen they c[!.c!, local

for service ln the Soviet arryr but. ln reality this nove r.ras obligatcrry. fbree youths fron the village undenrent training in Rab&a and then uere sent to fight the Eitlerites in Czechoslovakier aft,er r^'hich they uere transf'erred to the Far East. \
young nen al-leged1y, ttvolunteeredn Rese6tlement
Upon

to the Soviet Unlon Soviets started a propaganda

sorue

their amival in

Yasiunka the

campaign

for resettlement in the Soviet llnLon, At first

that there

of the

Lenkos

reJoiced. Others, vho had been in Russla di:ring ltorld

and rejected Soviet ps.opagarrda. trotl,ry;

l,Iar One, were opposed

were feu volunterse

the Soviets changed their tactics. They stressed that if the Lenkos did not
leave the Poles vould Polonlze then and expel then from thetr honos. those that
agreed.

to

go were given positions

of poerer and set to u ork to

Tr.ro ca.nps

propagandize

among

thir compatriots. They vere forned lpto a nilttla

to vho actively opposed resettlennt.
and those uishing

and irrforned the Sovlets as

atros9: those favoripg rese.ttlenent

to renain, tlt vas brother against bnother.r &r Iagtu*a,

Eynko Shveda,

locals agitating Ln favor lrrcluded Yasyl Rornarpha.k,

ard Seneu Sney"

tbs

evsguees departed

flon Yasiunka

soraetlrne urhere

ln April, lrgt+j.

Tbey stopped

for

tirre at the Gorlice rallroad station,

they entrained on a transport going

fanilles tppe lnvolvedr over si:rty persons. la aI!. ghelr farns rernained with relatives left behind. After.the train cars lrere loaded uitb resettlers and their belorgings, the train rnoved elosltr eastlrard. the gvasu.*t at first vere invited to settle in klicla on flrst-rate ferrns left behind by east'
$igbeen

resettled Poles. Their fields had already been worked and it uae noesssar5r brt to uait for the harvest, &tt the leaders of the Iemko travellers reftrsed the offer,

Doklia-6
saying
trUe

vant

go deep

into Russia, to collectirre farnsl

and r,re

vi1l

not

stay here.tr [hereupon they were shuutcl to collective farms, not in

Br:^ssla1

but in eastern Blrainel to the Kharkiv" Poltava,

Ebere they soon realized

and Voroshllovhrad

oblasts.

that they had made a co]ilosal d.stale. 0ll collective farns to uhlch they had been assigned ths;' l-lvec[ tn ltnian]v, huts aede of ndd
r"rith straw roofs, and renlianlqy. undergrounet holes or bubkers. Tho fr&.nitrrr,"

they had brought along could not

flt into these tirgr plac-ee arrd bad to be lefb outside, uhere itens that had not been lrairleil off by thleves rotted &lragr
Ienko housewLres suffered

bitterly.

Ehs3s vas tro uood:

tn the area and

ha.d

the

wonan

uere unable to cooh. Local uomen''ftibldd'thelr stqves t;iith stra$ or

and

horse

llanure. the collective farns uere in abJect poverty

additionally

sr:.ffered war-ti.ne danagei, fh pronlsed paradise tr:rned out to be a hell. there vere no fresh vats3, no nrnning strerosr rro- &tend1y, protecblng biJJs. the Ulrainians a.sked in pmazement, rl{{y ctld you eone here, r.lhea ve ourselves are poverty-stricken?n lhs 1*nguage and cwtons differed from that

ir

fled in a blinct effort to get back hone. Sone retrrned successfr.rlly to thett natlve viI\eesr while others fblrnd asylum in the regions of !vir6
I'la,,ny

Ienkolanl.

trarnopil, anl Drohobrch. Four resettlers

a,ctr.ra11y

retwned to Tasiunlb-

Antokha Perun and his d.aughter O1ha, and th9 Dziopa hothers; l6rtro ancl Fetro. A si-urllar number returned to nearby villages. Those that settlecl in Gallcia at

ftrst

for collectivlzation tracl not yet, teea tnstalled in llestern Ukraine. Ihey kept these far.ns; until ]':9li2,, vhen collestlvization
uere assigrred farnsteadr,

wae fina].i.-zed anct the Ienrkos

in &llcia found thernselves on colles.ilva f,arns thsy hacl lFlld to avoltf. hon among I rslulka natinesl the shh.nat fanily lives ln bryslati ore soa vorks ln a factol5r, a rrd a seoond ln tS; lg6gts studled
$n:ruls'ion

englneering.

Afbgr the ",p@gn to enti-ce Ienkos lnto the USSRT. nany villager !,ere emFbr and the Pollsh at1qp. r.nas moved into them. to nake hay and colleot the harvest.

Doklje.iP

Ienkos

sti1I

eolrnd r.rere forced, uRthout conpensation, to help the soldiers

dwirrg the harcest season, and edditionally were requlred to feed the troops.

Life uas difficult, but a turn toward norna.lry was evident. Aid lbon relatives ln Arnerica lras helpft-l, although frequently the packages uere plundered and
noney taken

flon envelopes, the final nonths of l9t# lrere qfriet, but in

huntect Sown evasuees

164.6

the authorlties

that

had

rettrned fron the

USSR

in order

to

send then

back, Irt spring and sunmer of

Iemkos

19/16

Polieh troops relnstituted

had returned

the foreed dispateh of

to the Soviet Union, those that

nlllegallyr

from the

US$.

gone

tegorlzed peasants hicl ln the forests and the

soLdiers found

only

enptlr horese r.rhich they vandaf.laedf. 'f,he nrgltlves llved

and then returned

in forests'for several freeks

erylanation,
and ear\y
hor.rever,

the authorities cessed

to their vlllages. l{ithout thetr searches and seizr:res.

UPA

any

Then the IIPA appeared

in tbe region, nost lntensively in late

194,6

l9l*7.
for
h&m:

Doklia uas de'Lalred for several hours by a

unit as be

retwned fuon the rectory in Kryua, vhere Rev. Volodymy:r F,aiduketych prepared
doeuments and hLg

slstelr

who sere then

attenpting to enlgrate to the

on

United Statesr r.lhere ar uncl

resldbd. Doklia vas releasecl without i:arn.

earne

another oceasion' ar.ound ten IIpA @nbers, incrludlng three uomej,

Dok1la: hone

to the

in

Yasiurrka, lhere they vorked on doeumentsr,,tb

wo..Betr

do.iqg the

typing.

They asked

expressed

for a rneal, vhich the uriterls nother preparedl, and they gratitude. Dlscusslon of a politlcal natr:re follor.recf, Dokllats father
UPA

holding that the

and

struggle was ho1r1ess. t'That evening they did us Bo ha$r,

at

daun they verrt off'sonfihere

lnto the forest.r

appeared

.0,fter

that lnctdent

UPA menbers

ln the village every ntght uith

requests

for foocl.. As locals travelecl about, nostly to and ilon Gonlice for

shopping purposes, they uere ofben stopped by UpA squadls

and

ad

searrhsd

for food

supplies, In Yasiunke there uere ekLrmislres betveen IIPA and Pollsh units, fn one encounter the Banderaites hanged a native of Erab, a certaln Fihosb, uho

had cooperated

vith Pollsh intelligence

&ri an

l-nforner.

KobaJ<,

a forester fbon

Doklia-8
l{emagrovar and a uorna!

f}on Volivets disappeared. vlthout a t'raes. ghe years

!91154? uere

trylngl vith Pollsh troops robblng by day and the UPA by night. Rr:.urors arose of Polish plans to epel the reealning lenkos, nbut we

Irere so attached to our land that we did not believe these

end

funors.r torlarif the

reported

of l{e1, I9n,

Yeike Tasg1ko, a Yaslunka native

Llvl-' ln $vlatkwa,

that f:rceil'resettlenent to northern

and western Polancl was already

taklng place

in the Sanolc, Szenysl, Lublin, and Iesko regionsl. The lemkos sau no uay out. If they fled to the voods, the Poles vould consider then Eaodera-ltes, elther
shootlng then or sencling then to the Jatorgrlo concentration calnpr,

lernkos

therefore resigned thenselves to the inevitable--tcpulslonr

and uagonel.

Sorne

grepared trurrks
a,skecl

0therr betook thenselves to the authorlties in Gorlice and

for rellable inforrnation. Tley received

ttgvl
the villagero
game 9

no satisfaction; fear and uncertainty reigned',

June, !9t+7t a day of tragedy for Yasiu:rlcu. At daun, uhile

stlll slept, soLdiers a:rivei! and ordered each howehold to pnepare thir things for trarreL They vere varndr tlrat, r.rhen the troops returned, they should be paoked arll ready to tsove. Speculation uas'rlfe. iAre we to be shot?r rrlbuled off to Rwsla, or to t he unknown uest of Polancl?r Uithin nlnuteE the troops returned[ and nrderecl ,''11 villagers to qrit thir homes, Bhose conplalning
cr resLsting
were physicaUy

beatcn.

Pandenoniuro

troke out-shouting soliliers,

lreeping e:cpelleese moolng Gol{Be bleating s}reep, barking

dbgs. All natives of

Iesiunka vere ta^ker auasr fliey uere

her&d

theough trrytra, beyond Banytsia, through

Vfrkhte,

night. In Kryva, the vl]laggre stepped fbon their houses and bade the errpelteeg Codirpeed, for that uillage had not Yet been evacuated. A feu days Later it net tba sone fate, At Kryva, too, expellees the Yasiulka entered thoir rercred chlueh to pray for the last tirna, a fareueJ-l soa.ked with tears and'sob, At th B&nftsf! hiII tb fsy fimilleE still rernaining in that vtllage ueited and blessed the lasiunka outcasts as the carararl passed by.
and then

to

$3.edysa&w, uhere

they spent the

Upon

a:ziva1 in Cl*&sdnr, they uere put

upr

in various hones for the night.

Doklla-9

Ihe

tbetr oLIrErs ha.d been driven out the day beforo. 0n1y a few fa.rnilies had beea pernltted to stay behindr such a"s tbe Yavakr Easalyka arvl
hoses vere enpty, fo:r"

I}r1, either

besause aolnE lrere Anerican

citizens or other e:ceptlonal cilcilnstances. Kobylanlia.

.&s they

0n 10 June

tte expellees ltere ordered to resure their Jo:aaeyl travelling

Rtrs &a RoiEytsi^ar $enkovar and

tbrough lbgura, lfalastiv,

dlsnounted hls

ppproacheil the l4agtra mountain,

bestlal

scetls

unfolded. A rueldy-faced lieutenant

blcycle

and began

to beat the outcasts lrith uhatever he aolrld

wagons

get his hanrts on beeuse exhawtecl horses and cows vere unable to pulI the
up th mountaln.

ordered that the e:pelleesl miserable goods be thrown

off

the uagons. rthls ruddy-faced banclit harassed our people up to l{eillebtiv filte
a &ad dog.t Aftul thsy passed !.Iagura the jowney
lragons
become

less arduow, fe the

hacl

rolled alor nore easily.

Those unable

to carrT therr belongings

all the vay to Zagorzary. Ae the e:rpe11ees passed through PoHsh vi1lagesl sueh as Senkowa and Kobylarka, sone irrhabitante sbosed signs of synpathy, but most pointed thlr fingers ln deri.sLon. tbe outcasts spent the night in the Tngorwny parkr naklrrg: fires for heat. fbe r.rives rnilked the cor,rs and pneparecl a supper of nllk and bread. LocaL thteves and Pollsh solcliers stole the pnoperty of those that vere not alert, Stolsn, aJnong other things, uere the sbep and eor of Pet:ro Kopcha. the losses.Iqle. j
then hauled in arny trrrcks

reported the next day to the n111tar7, but nothlng uas ret'trned. ttre expellees
lrere requlred to stay ln ?.e'gorntg three daye and

nights.

?hen they were ordered

to the rallroad stationr uhere flat-cars uere uaitj.ng. Feople and pnoperty vere l-oaded, on these carst Ons flat vas for uagons on\r. Mary uagons hail to be left for every two faral.lies. lhe Doklta fa.nily of etght shared a wagon uith the Tasylklv fanlly of tbree persons. A11 were uet to the bone becawe of the rains and llore throughout
behind, a:nqr orders lnsistlng
ons Lragon only was

tiut

to

tre loaded

the ordea-1.

The

Doklia4asylkiv lraon of elevan persons uas crsltdecl, r1lke salted

senen corrs,

fish ln a barrelrl end the other erd of the flat-car vas packeil ulth
several sheep, goats, anil three hoarses, fh e.rFellees

still

had

n6t

been lnforned

nok1la-10

to thelr destfnation, At the Zagonany train station expgllsss I]on ]..h.tsyna Velyka, Gorlice county, vere added to the caravan. 1\r.ro loconotives r^rere Joined to the railroad ears, arul late in the afternoon of 13 J'qrer it seerosr departr:re
a.E

into the u.nknoun begaa. AfLer a feu minutes of

novement, tbe expeltees noticed

that they were head.ing nestuard and it llas concluded that tbey ctestined to fsrner Gsrnan regions that the solcliers had talked about.

of tread,. In Oswieci.:n they uere Snrt through a so-called t'hygienic, and politieal purge,n
soup and a plece

At various stops en route tl:e expeTlees

were given

lhe hygienlo aspect cqnsisted of dusting parts of the

body

uitts a.apbdies of po,rder,

T.hose

In the Gr.rlecisn ra-ilroad station, llB officers condrrcted..intenogatiorsr.'

thaf, gave conf\Bsil or i-mproper testimory uere subjected to uell-knoun police

methods. Ihose under suspieion of ties vith Banderalies r,rere hauLed off to tortr:re

to the concentration

camp

ln Jagoraro.

Aaong Yasiunka

natLves, fskp and

Senen

Taserrko and Petro Dar opa vere naltreatecl

there for two years. the Vaserrkos ilere

having retr:rned f}on service
Uybro Vasenko

so honored beeause f*ryStu eldest son"

Bed arrqr, had treen forced

{ytro,

lnto the ranls of the IIfA.

ln the uas later kl11ed

by the Poles, Petro Dzropa xas sent to Jaworzno becs.se his bother l$r{ro, vho
along

vlth Petro trad flecl flon the Soviet Unlon, trled to aggld a second tour in the $oviet arny !y fleelng to Joln the Banderaites. lSrtro.Dz bp" no$ lirres
Life ln
Afber
Oswiec,{m and

la England.
Linbo

a stop at Ru&la-G{iadanows (betueen regnica and Glogow),

ttre caravan c4ma to S*r;qrya, county of llo1ow, l*rocl-aw

dlstrict. At ScLrraua 3ss6ttlenent offlcials distributed thelr charges atrong 1oca1 villages. All flom Yaslrrnka ln Dokliats grofp vere assigned to the sntna chobbl, to tte constltuent villages :- Chobterl- {ytro Kvoetrka; Ba.doszezyce-&yts f,opcha, Anton Eatalorrych,
Petro Kopcha, Petdro Zorylo and !firiro Vantsto; Stodolouice-paraska $hved.a, fvan

Stefain Eaitkor:, flko Felenchak, Senan Doklla, Lukach Doklia, Turko Zorylo; Nieszezi.ceZorylo, Irykobt zorylo, l.tykhal Byhl, Mytro Perun, Petro vasenko, yakyn vasenko; Gusadzin-fvan Bybell lbstia Pelesh, Mykhail Kvochkar Osyf Zorylor futro Pregon;

Doklia-ll
Olszarry-lffkhail }hitko 4p6 his son fvan; Kliszczow-My,khal l'{a.pchakr Fetsko Kvoebka,
Denko Qnushchall Vasyl and

fetsko Peleshl Cznelou{asyl

Kvoc}rka and }Skha-l Vasyllio.

of these fa.milies changed their plaee of resLdence. Another group of lasiur:ke e:rpeIlees had stayed behind ta Z'agsttany and was routed
In the years
194"-1950 son

to the Pornan &rea, vhere they uere scattered a,nong vlllages in the county of Pila, Sone of the villages involved:- ttraclorn (three fardlies), Rychllk (five
families), hzjenki
(tr,ro

farnllies), Stelist<o (three farailies), Blernator.ro ( tvo

Th new arxivals were given
Farcviousl.y"'*rad.ref.r:sed and

farailles), ad Dzietzowto (two fanilies).

Life ln this new loca1e was very difficult.

the vorst forner
Gerrqan

buildings, vhich lnconing Poles

rg and

to

llve ln.
with dlrt

l'tany houses lrere

uithout uindows, doors, or stoves

vere cl-uttered

"r*"pi*#".#fF"

the

hornes

in

lragons. Ihs k.k n uinilor,rs uhere shelterecl uith boards and tarpaper or plugged

with straw. th roofg were fu-II of holes

a.nd

rain carre through. OId, bug-infestect

to use.
Then

f\:rniture
no

found,

ln a nearby abandoned

nanor-house vas put

there

was
r"ras

the problem of finding enploynent. d]1 the vlllages $er exbreruel-y poote there

vork,

and there vas nothing

to br1y. The expellees were saved ty tbeir farn

anirnals, vhieh provided sustenanes. The cattle vere Ln a clire cond,ition,

for

the
,

fields lrere
Lemkos

overgrolrq

ulth

ueeds and there uas no

suitable pastye. Ilay-fle1d,s

had been worked over by

local Poles.

Tn autumn conclitions l.nproved, as rnost

of

the

bired thenselves out to FoHsh farners. llhe goverrurent gave so@ aldr sveraI

ktlogra.rns

of flor:r

and some

srgarr

Corn-roeal

distributed uas spoiled and hacl to te

tbrown away. Packages flom relatives

in Inerica uere a God-send. ID fa1lt 1g4l,

as rya ard lrheat seeds Ln order to etart neu farns. Sr:scess,, bor.reyaEr rJdE scantr for tbe Ienkos dlcl not knor.r hov to cultlvats tb unfanilier soil. tr\rrtherrnore, that fall vas
the f,enkos uere gl-ven plots of 1and, as nuch as one vantertr as veIL

ertraordlnargir dry and the

seed

did not gerninate. In spring the

Lenkos uere given

ostsl ui:eat, *getablryHn potutoes for seeding.

Doklia-]2
11e poles nevly settlecl There lrere chauvinists
The vil'lage and rralna
a.lnong

in the region treated the Iernkos variously.

then, as r^rel.l as kind peopl who gavs unstinting assistance'

authorlties treated the lenkos as'despised clurgesl in a bgmiliatirg ;11anne1. IJXD officersl CRM0 activists', a nd the Ettr.itta closely sunrellled the agtlvltles of the Lenkos, even sreeping at ntght to hsuse vindowr to overhes.r
fa.ntly convetrsatlon.

solidarity, the young courting each other, singing together, and even Inarrying in traditional lemko style.
T,he Iernkos

shwed Sreat gloup

Travel to such r,ieddings at times involved long iri6t'ances and' obnociow obstacles. Afber a period of timer perrission uas grantect to set up Orthodox parishes in
Stodolor,rice and Rudnie

lliesto. fhe Greek-Catholie'

ehr:rch lres proscrlbear

its priests

belng required either to aecept Qrthodory or to c'hange to the Latin

conduct services

rite

and to

in le.tin for the Poles, lb.ny Greek-Catholie priests changed to the Latln rite, and sorae becarre 0rthodox, lhis Polish manipulation of re}.fgion was tragic for both religion and nation, for the parishonere hatr to follolr the steps
of therr pastors, dlthough forcecl to tna.ke unpleasant ehoS-cese Ieuko priests so doing, DokJ-is r.l-rote, lnevitably brought the lenkos to the status to uhish chauvinist
Pollsh Catholicisn tlad for centr:ries endeavored to bring

thepeitter Iatin

6atbollcisn or

Orthodorqy,

to the eliminatton of the &eek-Cathollc or lbiate church.

the pastor
r.ras

In Stodolouiss
r.rho

and Rutrrie

Father K\rlt;.trr..a,"xateran.Ia"lako.;Batclot

first &eek-Catholie pniest! to cnnvert to &thodory ln post!,:ersailles Pola,rrd. In a Poltsh chusGl t^E &udbi6 services for the Ienkos uere
vas one of the
eonductecl by the well-known Rev. Irran Polianslql, uho clandestinely during tbe Easter

iu the Ruthentaar rlte. ?his desiation was deaornce& sr Pollsb obse:sers to Blshop Konlrrka ln t{rocl-ar, fnd as punlshment Father Poliansky vas transferred a!r&y {bon lanko settlenents, lio the @o1a
and Olrlstnas

holidsys

con&rcted services

d.lstrle.tEven r.rhen

naterial conditions

had irnprorrcd the Lemkos ltere unhappyl

longlng for their lrehiw hlghlands and traditi,ona.l uay of

1ife. All
'Thev

hoped uere

for

": *1"'":' ::::: l:_::":T"""1':i,*':":::.:"::" 1

Doktia-I3
The

soil uas sandyr ad the

oder

river

overflowed

lts

barrks

in

J_une

and Ju\yt

destroying pastwe 1a1d and tdcing

pnoduced an unpleasant

ar,ray

noln

tu;r'

the' nud antl

relfl

'''

o6or. Insects and nosquitos infested

tb region, tornenting

the Lenkosr

EE

ueIL as their

cberaical polsons

cattle. $rthernorer the Oder uas replete uith flom nearby factonries. tsad uater anil nosqrito arrd insect
among young and'

infestations produced sickness and deat'h, both

old. A census

eanied out in the 195ots verified tbe tragic life style of the Ienkos in the

region. 0fficlal policy ras discrLniiraiory, Qr:estionnaires contained no rubic for the Lemlio or Buthenian @gg3g!,) natiogplity, on1y for Polish or Ukrainian. Ienkos wsre permitteci, bs!,teverr to r6ite in 8gg!g& 1f tbey so dederedl" Addittonal eonplications cate ln the period 1950-1952 uhen atternpts
were made

to enforce the g]rpellees into collective farnsl the so<af1ed 9pc&daielnle produkt Fmily headE in a given village utere Buluroned to a neeting, zt rhlch
conrnunist orators pronlsect paradise @

earth. llost people rders not deceivedln ldekulaHld the- richer or and threats were forthconlnp lbe policy lraE to dbdlcateil fa.:rners, that is, to confiscate their pnopertX: anil, if necessary, to
arrest then. tho rernalnderl so.ra.llecl nlddl-e and poo:r peasants, Joined tbe colleotl1,p farno,s because of fear. So escape nenbershi& Ear{f nen fton lasiu:r}a
bequeatfu&

tbir property to their

ul-ves and

old People. Those .opposecl to collectives

vere forced
ca.npad.gn

to

pay bigh taxes and deUver large quotas tlcought about

of farn products.

?leis

of forced sollectivization

grarro food shetago and

resort

to ratlon cardso In

shops only horse neat and sawage lrere obbainable

vithout

rat,ion eards. Itr uestern Poland eolledbive farns qere established ln abaost al1 villages, hrt in 1i956. all of them vere dtssolved r.rhen Gonulka cae to polt?l.c gh
peasants again applled

llpmfstves to their farms, repalring buildingsr buying

equipnent, and vorking the

guch as

fielafs,

Econonic improvenent uas lmmediate, ba.slc freedons,

Books and nagazines amived
1956- and

listening to forelgn radio broadcasts, followed' did so, only to find their irillages
Obher

fron iinerica. Iernkos L'ere pernitted to visit their native vlllages" In

1957 nany
r,ras

o'sergroun

vith

ueeds and

hush.

Taslunka

ln ruins.

vlllages,

where no

state farrns had been establishedr uere

Doklia-14.

reclaimed by

Lernko retr:s.ng6se

vho at times purchased th6ir one-ti-loe holdings

whon

flon incorapetant

neu

settlers to

they had been auarded

bry

the gorErnment.

Eonesickness and Disillusionroent

For several years Yasiunka reaalned r.rithout inl:abitants. In 195r1952

the authorLfterot its stt a state collective farla, or ER,

on

establfuhedl

&n acronya based

the Polish

ne.!rc Panske Gospodarsttro

Rolne. fashioned on the Soviet nod'el.

Chorne.(.'..,.^:-,.

This etate farm extended to the lands of the village of

01d houses were desol.Lded. llhen Dok1ia

vlsited Yasiullca tn

1961

ong

tr,ro

of

the villagets o1d houses rena-ined, and thrrs over sixty olcl houses and farn, buildlngs no longer exlsted,

ffi, bulldings stretched f}on Roztolry to the .forner bone of Ivan Bybel. Iasiunka and environs uere beyond recognition. All forests had been cut d,oun. The fielcls vere ploughed by tractor. Tbe v{llage }rad a sma1l s tore and vas electrlfled. th FCn workers were aIL Poles except for one lemko, a tractor
I{ew

driver fron the village of Pankna. Ietters flon fasiunka natives asking to retr:rn
pnoduced no

positlve results. Eeplies

r.rere usualJ-y

curt-tyou cannot retr:rnr for

l-n

yoqr land tras been a.ssigned t,o ttre treasurlr of tbe state.r

tlhat nou follslts ls the terb of a rnoir drmrn up by : slunka natives

19fi, It

va.s signed by

fifty

Taslurka familles and submittecf

in

195T. The

replies

received are also reproduced in translation. ALL translations sre flon the original Potkb,
& lGnoir

to the Polish
naJne

Oovernnent'

SubJectl

The Retwn

of

Brracr:ees

to the Territocy of Gorlice County, nzeszlu District. of all thosa farrners and lnlrabitants

The undersignecle.

acting tn the

of tbe vl11age of Iaslunkel county of SdtLicer evacuated in tbe year. l9t+Tt ad&ess to the appropaiate offices of the Goverrunent of the Polish Peoplest Republic the
following geeoirr-

lhe nass resettlenent of tlu populatlon of lsmksuszcsytrnl vithin the

franevork of Operation llis.le under the pretert of destroylng the
movernent !re.s
CIPA

underground

an irrdiscrfuninate aet of revenge r.rith a b,ckgrounrl of ethnie c}auvlnisra

Doklia-l5 lrhlch affecteiB indlviduals ef, yhon ninety-five percent uere lnnocent. It shattered

tbdii for
Ln

1:lvae and

dld not achieve as rsuch as a hundredth part of the hopes of those

tre,

soclal reformers vho considered tbe abandonecl territo'ries to

launching social reforne.

an ldbal aone

lhe effbct of ths evapuatlon a fev nonths

aacl years beeare

ua^s

grd that the evacr:ated eomm.rnlties

were

@ arena, of robbertrr, plunder, aod bruta],

svindltng, vherein conpletely tntqpt bullrtftg[ r^rith sheet-netal roofing:

sobd

for a pittance to specnrJ.ators. Structures vorth nl11ions, agricultural nachineryr apiaries and construction naterials uere stoLen gr sold to swindlers for pennies. Vlllages uere abandonedf and even roadls uere grsiln over vlth bushes. t{lld pigs and volves tegen te ln}:ablt abandoned hunan dr.rc11ings.
ensuing t'en years tlrese
Throughout ttre
lncone

teruitories

not, only

dld not, SrovldE soclety r.rith

anrl sustnancer but ras'h econonlc, errperinents cost, the stat *,reasur? substantlal

nillions.

lhls
urevacuatecl

ua"s

a time when loca1 authorttleer

ord.ered, peasants

tn neigbborlng
naterlal

villages to s'l'lou the evacr:ated villages f.ie f.s,]fsw. Peasants in these

netghboring vtllages, threatenect

vith

punlshment-, Lost tl,m6, r.rork, and

goods ln the solring that tbey fud dsse, anil before, tbe srrival cf the harvest
season the r.illd hoga lrail so,'devo:red tbe oats

that the crop.uas-not.rorth.nqrtng.

This ltas the tfuns vben in tbese regions there was decreed!

the

Fypasy

of

oatsr and

cattlee ulth the

encf

feslllt that

bnndreds

of sbep,

evgn

6ntlr

bercls1

perished becar:se of contagior:g dLsea.ses.

sLnultane*ry at great cost propagand& vas irrstltuted tn behsU of tbe repopulatlon of these areas! by ner.rcorners restricted e:c.lwlvely to settlers of Polish natlonality. stsy vere given gratuitow 1oang for agnicul-turaL
purposss. lo att'ract canciidates to the
uere accorded
abandoned

legions, property rights

t*r relLef.

And afber the

nevcogs arived tbey were attached

to rlFJlgrltwd.
varieil Perke
.,....'L. -r.l'i

vith the aJ.lwe of nelr credits and proroises of and privi3eges, I?ese eooperatlves parospere{ ln such fashion
@o,prrt.bivee

Doklia-16

tbat by the

auturnn

of l95b helf of then had been dissolved

day

and the remoinder

vanished the

after the historic' speech of Coryade Ulaclyslar Gornulka. Bven before the eighth plenun of the United Pol-ish llorkerst Party, there begarr ln our countrSr a period of asblve nohilizatlon of the rights of the national nineitles. A,s a nctter of pnlority trtere vas raised the problen

fjrst

of the retr:rn to their forner settlements'of the expelled inhabitants of

Iernkor.r&zs:ryr\\*. Organizatlonal pgstings, the press, and the radio uere

ernployed. the entire uorLd vas lnforne'd about the u.rongs inflictecl upon

the resettleil person$, uho r^rere to be reconpensated. Each individual uould

te able to retr.rn to hls property ln his natlvs region; and tle State insure that the settle!rcnts woultl be retndlt.
Sr:ch dbslar:atLons and

would

pronises

came

flon the hlghest officlal circles,

uhile si-nultalreously flon belou there arose grsuls of, et*rnlc hatee ever lbon
euthoritative publie hodles, uot excLudlng the Polish Unitecl llorkersl Party..
For e:catnp1e, the veekly lliadomoscl Gorllckien the trgaJr of tlre count5r conrnlttee

of the Polish United l{orkersi Party, noJ-llf,ied the Pollsh public uith tbo statenent that ln tbe entlce county of Gorlice there were scarcely elght
Lenko

farns avatable f,or retrrn to the evacuees, A sfudlr party orgarr,

a weekly

in

Nory Sacz,

uithout ogroilek openly r,mote that the Pollsh population

&s one evapues

should not el1ou as

The

nr.reh

to retr-rn to the

coun$r.

tstie of barrir:g the return of the evasuee$ to their forner settlernents is being lnplenented r.rith complete thoroughness by the County errough that Agrlcultural 0ffiees. It.io ngt ?th"y &rttfirlly reJec*, tbe repr$atlzation of'farnE already ;reassigned.n' Ihis is so erBn though half of the lf*ettlers! re speorlators fbon rsrlg v ll1ages who *t sold olf thelr forner farns and drark aray the nonsy theref galrrd. k took over tbe forrer Ismlco farns 1n the hope of gatttng rlch quick\y. h'as happened in Iosie and Bopa, the Itsettlert' vho close rilghbors of the evssuees, parceled tls lands of the r.rere evacuees a.rnong themselvds, theirtry eugmenting thelr own hoJ-dings. Ther"e uas algo

Dokli.*lt
that band of rsettlerr! vho aften having obta-ired as his slere a certain
Ienko stn:cture, took

it apart afber a few months

and usetl the lral]-s f,or'

fireilood. 0ften tie

selfsans rsettlerr r.rould Join an agricultural c'ooperative

sith tlte nearest forter lenko buil*ing. In, this fashlon a rsettlerr of thls strtpe wottld be able to obtain possesslon of two or three forner Icrnko buildingsl erlch of uhich ln trra r.rould be torn down a:rd b;rtred. Erren to this nonent former Ienko brrlldings arrrl lands are Leing tr:rned over to this klrrd. of tsettler!. fron the nearest Pollsh villages,
and uould be additlonal.ly reuarded

even though these types"filecl

their applications very recsntly, while ths

and

applicatlons of the originq''l suners subltted'severaL lonthE prevloway l_ie

sti11 unprocessed, or se rt$lnely

tnatlnr ur:der the p'retext

collesLively resolved ia a negative

harre already been lreassigued.il

that the farns

decd.sions

fn additton, other pretexbs are &dvsrlced- vith respect to negative to ti:rn c[own requests of lernko petltloners. Tirus lf oua pasantrs

is but a bulldlng- and lf the land itself has been reassigned, then the hrlldlng ls not g{.ven to t}re petittoner trecause there is no Jend to ge vith lt. It also goes th outher wag arounFuhen the lanel of the forner evacuee ls airallsble b':t lt has no buildingn then return of the lancl ls clenled, for it is thsn a1leged1y feared that the pstitioner'1rl]-l trave ao pl"aqe tg f-ive. In.
land there
^

other casesr trutlttlngs not yet *reassignedf are reserved at the last nonnt

for variou$ pl:rposes, such as,readlng hallse workshops, f,lre houses, and pollce statlons. Tn one word, everything is done ln order to restrict to the s*a11est nunbar the retr:ra of evacuees to thefr forrner settlerents. ffrdly pr.oof of thls is evident'tn the cases of tvo state fs:nrs that
aros or uere creatpd tn the nsuntains of the county of Gorlicer
Jaslun]<a and

ffiely, that in

tbat in faby. To these artlficlal creations put together not out of sone kinds of tnoad latifbtdiae brrt fron. hundreds of peasant farns vere added of sable larxIl
@adows, pastures,

severaL thbusand l*etares

and peasant forests.

Dok1la-18

farns uere flom the noment of thelr foundation lnsatiable eaters of state f\urd,s. If th f\rnds' thht the state has thus far inves'ted in tfuEg two entlties r^rere used at the rlght ti-sls in a rpti.onal tnanner for'the reconEoth of these state

strr:ctl.on of the plundered

a;ncf

rredlstributedn peasant bulldings, tben undoubtedly

today ve r.rould have revlved bundreds

and resowces

of peasant farns wbtch vould supply taxes

composed

to the gtate.
that you send sn unbd,ased cnumisslou

l,le beg

of non-partisan

specialists to inrrestigate on the spot the entirs natter of the existence of

the state fbrn in Jasiunka. l,nd with respect to lts utilityr to camras the
opinlons of the loca1s1 as r^re1l as of aounty anil dtstrlct otlflclalse'regardlng

erroniously held views of'eth$lc ctrauvinisn that, are one-Eidd

He or:rselves. lrave been there on the

ancl unm.:rcnt9'ill

spot and rre did not se &ry miraeles that could not be wrought ftr the private inltlative of farners vho are devoted to uork and sre as declicated as the forser inbabitants of lenkovszaryua:g.,. Several nonths eego the Agricultural 0ffice ln Gorltce inforned the repabiates that the specrific vlllages tnlonging to tte state fa$n ln Taslunlrar
nanely Uolowiec, Banlca, Ptadocryna, Czarne end Nr]4{e1

will

be

apailable for

resettlenent ry forroer evacueeso llhen this

gr'oups

ner^ts

reachd the uestera regions

tbe-

of forrner eracuees begaa to travel to Gorlice to

Agrtcultrual, Qff,ice

ln order to ot*aln no're datailed lrrfcnnation concerning the conditions and posslbllitles of retwn. It came to pass, hor.leverl that apprortnately tlro lreeks ago tltat lntent Lracl been aftered becar.rse the state farn in rqlunke had no deslre to srbnlt itseU to J-tquidatlon Sather, lt desires to continr:e to sponge oD
state funds.
IJe do

not know who has lnfluence on the liquidation or restructurins

of, speclflc state

farns.

Eowever, the Mln:stry of igrlculture, to uhich botb

state farms and indivtdual faras are subordinated, should decide uhich state
farnrs ltave reasq

to e:cist

snd nhich should be liquidated moreover,

either

Ln parb or

in their entirety. lle are of the pplnioq

that a state farnr such

poklia-S)
ajs

that in

Yasiur&,ae

uhlch sose

fYora

the spilling of peasant blood and consl-sts

be-

of lands

soa.l<ed

r.rith peasant sreat and tearsr should

in the fbont line of

liquldation.
lfs affirn our readiress to aceept end pay the narket pice for naterials

this state fbrm, as uell as readiness to engage ln rational farning ln the entlro area of our
vil'lage,
Xasiunka.

obtained flon the eventr,:a1 deraolitiog of the farn thdldtngp on

For

this

purpo6s, we undelsigneil, r.lho represent over

half of

the

fcrner inhabitants of Iasiunkay reqr:est that the Council of Mlnisters negotiatE

vith the approprlat ninistrTr for the liqutdatton of the stafu farn ln
Xasiwrka and make signed

possible the retr:rn of those peasant fanilies that

were evacuated

have

bloll rrd
An

flon that vi1lage.

officlal reply flom the Offlce of the Council of Ministers, llarsalt,

dated 25 Jurn, l-957' reads as follor.rslfu:. reply to the nemorandum of i*.tLzens dated l?.furs of the cwrent year to the fffice of the Councll of Minlsters regardlng tbe llquidation 'of the Jasionk* state farm, Zespol Siarye Rreszfrw district, a.nd the retwn of forty three farnilies specifidd tn the above note, ve announce that the Jaslonka state farn w111 not be liguidated, for there do not exist Jwtifiable econonic ba"ses for its liquidation, and that therefore )rour retr:rn to the indicated farn ls Smpossible at the present time.

the FlenlPotentiary of ttre Governent in 1latters of Rec orrstruc t ion of Southeas tern Territor ies,

St. {kecrcv, Vlce-MlnLster. Another rep1y, fron the Presidiun of the Dis t'rict Beplest Couneil,
Distrj.ct Offlce of fnternal Affairs, ln llroclau, dated 1 .fdy,
as follovs:.1955, reads

fhe Socdal-Adninistrative Branch of the Dlstrlct Offlce of fnternalAffairs inforns ths eLtizens that your'petition regarding the grant of permission to reslde ln the county of Gorllce has been resolved negativsly bf the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Stanlslav Krupa Director of the
Branch

Doklla-Z0 A

third denial,

15es the County

Agricultural 0ffice in Gcrlice,

dated 27 l'larch, 1957, reads as fo1Ior"rs:-

In reply to a request flori citizens dated IL lr,arch, 1956, directed to the hesidiilr:m of the County Peoples I Council ln Gorlicee eoncerning the retwn to their former place of residence in the village of Jasiorrka ln the sounty of Gorltce, the hesldirrrn of the County Peoples I Council and the Gount5r Agricultural Office inforn the citlzens'that the farns left behuing ry you have been redistributed as the popedty of a state farn. Under such conditionsr return of tt'e farns ia this county: onda
ovne{ by citizens cannot take place.
The

Jozef

Director of the County Agricultural Office

Gt:rguJ.

Schools
and change

in this gluster

of-.four. villages. reflected .ethnie tensi.ons

gchool uas localed

in poditical tnasters. flre elenentary

in

Krtrnra,

and children fbon the

vtllages, fron age sevetr to foi:rteen, va]ked to attend

Rutbenian. Dwing the

classes.

Around

sixty pupils attendkl-dr:ring the school year. fn post-Versall1es

and. Gerrnan and

Poland, the langr:ages first used'were Polish

occupatlon, IlkraLniat and Crerm"[ lrere paralnount, and

in

19/+/+-194?

Ps].idl

Ukrainlan. Before 1920 all loca1 teachers vere lenkos or Buthenlans-Koba^nli,

Eolovka,, Feretma;'r anrl Polosbenov5rch.

Polonlation uas the obJeetive of ths

in the 1920ts and 1930ts, a Pollsh ladye Jaclr.rlga &.bel, spearhading the drive. Ierako teachers u6re renoved fbon the region and sent to teaeh ln
school

ethnrcally solid Portsh a"reas.

compared

Slhe ner,rconer,

l,lrs. Hru"t, *

with peviousr teachers, but she wss a decllcated polonLzer.

the Ledlo dlalect and vas unable to teacb it.

""J

uhsn
Sh& did

not

know

the priner used ln

L73849 the Krl
r,6,

tbose years was author'ed by Trokhanovsky.

ry tbe wl.ntar of

school uas conBulstely Polonizecl. IIse of the native language uas rldl-cuIed
and

to be in Pollsh, fucs tbe puptls rebelled and insisted on saying Otc'he l$ash (tn" pr"y"r r 0rr Fathern ) tn tire len&o
Sven prayers had

forbldden.

dialect. !trs. Eabel uent into

an apoplectis

rage.

Soon

the Germans anived,

houever, ard she lefb the villaga, never

to

be s een agaln.

Doklia-21.

!,fber 1939 scbools in the region featrred the likrainian

Sone had

la,r:guage.

difficglty with 1t,

and

the aspect of srhifbing aecents ltas elusive.

Str:dy of Gernat began

tn the third-year slass, During thg wa.r the teacher ltas Liubonyra &idr:kevych, tte wife of the 1oca1 vlcatr. She uas an erceIlent teacher'
geograplly, historyr

Father Ebiduke.nryeh helped; teaching not only rellglon but also pbysical educationt

ad dra.oa. lhe lady rorked hard to put together an

i"yw school uas reopened,

excellent choral group. As the front approached in early l9/*l+r the ltoid1kevych farnily left the dro&o Ih early l9/r5
e:cpelleil flon the region

the neu teachers

being An&it Seifert, of bnytsl"a and Eazarnyk of PaJ:kra. \n Lgl+? both were

the erpulsiotr of the Lenkos the Pollsh authorLties set up new schools for nevconeyg,p as welL as for g4psies reroalning ia Kryva. t?6 nsu teachrer ltas a Po1ish lady, rlarne unrecallecl, vho hed replaced e Iemlio llo&an nased l-firta.].lak, who lrad returned flom exile, T,he nev school. wag housed ln the
Afber former 6'""1s4atho11c reot,ortrr. lhs gorner school bullding uas assigned ln

part to a eooperativel grd lts large elassroon

seasonal }:nbernen. Krlnra usecl
Rr.rssophile Kachkovslqy $oclety rretwork arrd

was

utillzed as a barracks for

one

to hoast of two reading-*oonsr

within

the

the other a link in the ilkrainian

trProsvitar ehain.

A neu school r,as hr-rlIt in &rrgftsia ln ]?3l+4,6.

1\'ro

teachers $ere
occupation t,he
neu

fi.rst

enployed theree both Polish

r.rae

patriots.

Dr:rlng the

Crerrnan

teactrer

i&* qlfe of lnilrel Selfert..sbe nslr uith

her three chlldien lives

in the Untteil States. Fer hwband Andrel uas orpellect to the Zielon:r 0lra . dlstrict ln uestern Poland. Tn Jlg/+5-tfl tb BarytsLa school did not firnction, for nost of the vlllagers had been transported to the Sovlet Unl-on. I Eanyt**a
natlve prominsnt in lte cultural life was Fetro Sclfert, the bother of Anctrel.
Petro Sa{fert had gone abroad, vhere he published a lemboc Ee$rspapr, rblob fetba
because

of lack of support. .6.nother botherrOsyp $eifert, vas nentally Ltt snd lived ln tsanyfsia. Eefore the outbea.lc of llorldlrlar lwo Petro Saifert retrrrredl

Dok1la-22

from A,nerica to Bargrtsia. Ee

lived later in Poniarkyr but early during tlorld

lJar Tvo he va.s taken by the 6synans

to

Oswiecinr fron uhish he never returred.

Zhdynia

Andrei S'aifert, e teacher

ty trainingr taught in

to

):91&, Fron 1945

io I9W ire taugbt ln f,ryoa, and after resettlenent ln the Zielona Gtra district. His children are in the gnited States. After'191*\ the Polish authoritles tore down the Barrybsia school building arlil retrullt it in Gladysztw.
School teacherg and pollcg

officerg represenied state poller in

Lemko

connunities. tlre village uEJt (vfft ln the loea1 version) vas the visible

vlIlsgs leader or bayor. tn

Lg3/+

the Polish adrninistration installed a

trew

title, that of gg!!Ig. lhe last soltvs itr r?stfftlca"vr',Fetskoj'!,Viulyki'lrho' was exiled in 194.?. Subordinate, lljll*Be had pld.soltvsy (adeputy nayorsil ). During the C'ernan oceupatlon the pidsoltvs in Yasiunka ltas Senan SrneXr while lStro Kiets was the soltvs ln &nytsia. llhe last lenko offlcial ln Yeslulka uas lvan }Ia{tkCI, vho afber exlle ln uestern Poland returned to Ztrdynla, uhere he now resides. Sg is considered the spokesman for forner Iasiunka resiCents.
In the olcl
days q,'l'l lnko

officlalg rere vlthout power, for they

pJayed.tr

served nerely

as

one-uay ebannels

for

orders lbon hJ.gher echelons. ntbe! had to dance

to the tune that the occupiers

Rellglous Strlfe
DoklLa, uhose

rritings

chow soee

epfeciation of ttre Jmpact of

1596-

history on contenporary problensz noted that tbe

traglc for the Ienkos

factlons" the

beca:use

snlitnthe Ruthenians lnto tuo hostlle religious

rr

Oaion

of &est

was

Orthodox end the Unicte

&eek-Catholics. Ef l@2,, the

Iernkogr

the vesternmonst-poeltioD6d of the Butheni.nsr !rer6 a't'l uitbin the Gteek-Catholie

dl:rchr the Orthodox havlng been e'l,rrirlratedl. Both unCer the Eabsbr:rgs and

ln post-Versailles Polald,

sore lcnkos reverted

to futhodory as a result of

tangled personal and po1ltica1 msblnations. Politicajl factors lrrwlved

Dok1la-23

included Rwsian ft.n-.51avisn1

fesr of Ulsainiarr l-rredentig,

a-lleged3-y

and the neu

Polish governentts policy of ffagnenling mlnoritles.

rriu.nk*, Kryvae Eanybsi&
ancl

uteeliable ethnic

Volovets fornecl one Feek-Catholie

parishl vith Kryte as the site of the raln churchr that of Sts. f,osma and Da.uj-an. Tolovets trad a uood, ndaughterr church, bultt tn 1880 ard reblrilt in

igfF.

The

entire

Kr}nra paxlsh nirnbered

approcinately

664 C'reek

Catholics.

Le.tin Catholics vere fer.l, less tiral

gathered strength, the Orthodox
Greek

ten.

As the movement tovard futhodo4y

outnunbered the

in the area eventr:.a$r

Cathblics, regching a'tota1 of 765 adherents. In Austro-Htngar5an t{mes the idabitants of Kryra and TolQvets

quarrelei! over ubere the CIreek-Catbo1ic vicar should resicle', that

isr

whether

the rectory should be in one village or the other. li5. sulh*itles desidd

in favor of Kryua, tnrt relations betveen the firs{tr,ro vilJ-ages renailred s'trairred, culmlnating in ]-?27-28 t$ the @nverslon of nost Tol0vetE resiilenT,f, to futhodory. l-n ].:933 the @eek-athollc bishop of hrelqysl approveil the Imting of a reetory ln Volovets, arrd the local pniest lived therp untl1 he !.tas e$eUd
Ln t9ti?.

In

1969

t'lytfrall llaitkor ttren an etghty-year-o1dt Yasiulka native.

livtng in the United gfatesl gave ax aecount of religious lifs in hle pativa village, based on his fel-lib1e nenozT. llte church ln Kryra trad been hgned at
least tbree t{nesr the last ti.me f.lr 1915 by l{aryar troops who thought that
Br:sslan soldiers vere hlcling cburch was hauled

in lt.

Srirnettne

pnior to l{orlcl }lar 0ne1 the

Kr)nra

otf to Iasiunka by inhabitants of that village. A faction in Yasiunka wanted to trrn it lnto an Qrthodox church, but pel:Blsslon uas denied.
thts a.ction were lat,er sent by the Austrlan authorltles to
ca.np, r.ihere they

Forrr particC-pants 1n

the Talertrof deteriion

back t,o

perishecl. In

1917 the church was rnoved

Kryra.

Is.

3:920-i?/4

Yasiunka, Krpra, and Eer5rtsia shared the sane chr:reh,

1947 forced, evaeuation

r,rhich stands

to this day. After the

it

r"ras

ta.ken over

Dipklia-z/+

by latln-rite pol6s1 sefvlces being condwted by a priest fbon Gladysak. lfhen Father Andrill Barda.khovslry was tbe Gleek-Catholic rnlcar nost
Tologets and Banytsia inlabitants converted

to

Orthodolry,

in Fgt

beceuse he

lras a strong Ulaainian nationalist, Eaitko noted. Moreover, t he griest vas srrarLcj.ous and fl eeeedt' his charges as nr:ch as he cou1d. A poor paishoner vas unablg to nrry, give

birth, or even to d,iel lrwithout coughing up twenty dollars or more.n Sone resorted. to bwying thir dead'rilhout benefit of clerry. tsard.alhovsky uas eventuallXr possibly in the year lgtf , \fiSG renovedt to be replaced by bther VolodynXr &.id,uke$ch, r.rho remaineci in KrSrva until
Igt+V. After his b,nisbrnent Father
where he served
Eaiclukevyeh rese"btled

tn'thb"ttlttn'6f

"Szpnotaut

in e Polish parlsh but at, tinrese nostly on Easter cond.r:cted serviees.for the lenkos" in the Iegnica d,lstrict.
The
The church

and 0hrisfunas1.

late

Stepan D*ropa

slss sharecl his reninlBcenees uith Doltlia.

ln

Krynra vas

tmilt

by experts tarought

in flora the Bc!}o reglont

sultural
hub

eastern neighbors of tire Lenkos. The noroy ca;re the falthful aJlll flon enigrants
i-n Carada and the Unltecl

$tates.

Tte,

vlllagesr arrd nr:sh dependJid on the character of the f*4 griest. A good priest -) ua5 everf,bhingr-pastor, physlcian, l"arryerr ad agronomLst. A bad b'iest night be
a drurkardr e
Ukrainianize
uneclrcatetl

Ar* {_

uas the

of four

boor,

-on

n-ight play

politlcs (suc] sp attenlt-ifg to.

tl:e

Rt:s:nakp). .lttempts

at Ukraiaianization brought tragic

results, for they dividect the people into tvo hostile cdnpsr Since he servecf four villagesy livecl in Yolovetsland. leld sgvrces

ln the Kryva churchn the prlest b8d a transportatlon probfun. tb custon uas fcrf, hi.B to be telen to hls destination W cart or hrgry. Parisboners woul-d Nelgbbors of a slck person drive him to the chr.rrch ln s koliaka. uould fetch tbe pniest ln ttre sa.ne ua1r for a house visit. Sornetlrnes pungent scenes eruptg@. Poor people harr no nony for farcy cearlages and would hetrl bin softened by lauyers of stra*r. ln a eontraption ca,Llecl hninvbs'i (
\

Doklia-25
One

priest

eo propositiorEcl got angry and, refushed

to travel in that fashion'

He was Father Bardal<hovs}ry, vho

blurted out, lDo you tal<e &'fcr a suine

ull-ling to travel in a hniq'bs{?u

Andrel Shvedae' another Doklia'' sourog ln the united States born in

y*siu,,ka,
ccr:-Ld

reca1;led

tbat

vhen tre-1efb Yasiuxka only

six of its lnhabitants

read in s vil]ags

of eisty-six

Ienko households, a saloon-keeprrr

uhether'

sd
be

one Srpsy, ?tree villages fought over' --- ' the priestts residence shnuld located in Kryva ot Vol*rcts. lihen a neu chtrch was hrilt in Kryva, its

be1ls uere fiaaneed by enigrants in the United States. The,Fa"o-OrthodoE'

tendency uas stro$g

prior to Uorld llar

One,

the local priest being d Russophile

orientation. Barly in i,lorld ldar One he settleil in tsarist Bussia. Rev. MaTrs5pl Sand.ovyche an orthodox activlst" settled in ilrab, which became the first village in the area to accept 0rthodory. Obher nearby villagese Iypne, and l{eznayova, also for the r:ost part acc'epts}d Orthodoxs. In l9l2 electlons vere held loca11y for
suh as Chorner

sending a delegate

to the

parlla.eent in Vienna. CsrcDidates included a certain Dlugosh flon

Sanl'-ova and

tndrei fsysllal<( the father of tb ueII-known Tsysliak &wsophlle- activists) from Ustle Ruskle. Dlugosh uon. &r,X9t3 therelre nore conwrsions to Orthoclo4y

in the &ro&r f,r)wa ha.d an active

petro Bybeln the naryorr

of U}raisophiJ.esr,.enoug,ibar'...ihe';canto:: and the local recorder (pvsar). Xsstunka had a

group

Kechkovsky Society readtng-roon, frorn uhieb the

police

removed hooks published

that ftthodox activists ln Yasiunlca ancl tsar$tsla r'lanted Iilf !Ite13 ssrYxseso url fL'fntli' b.bgfliiDlC Ur to move an olcl c&urch fL'fntli.' ib'. lsdril:c b u$a fon their services. One t rnornlng dhrrk" zea.lots tore it dsrs alrd lratrled off its parts to nasiu-nka
in Sussla.
Rurnors spread

in uagon$.

+i

Th-shurch vas then reconstructed there on la.rrcl donated

Dry:t'ro

Pelesh. In three dars the pollce put a stop to this proJect. Kr5nra ialtabltants coraplalned that the chrtch had been stolen; and a trrierate mert a&ong then rrrote
an

article

on

the lncident thrrt lrc published ln the Unlted States ln the

Dokla-26
newspaper t{etrodna Yoliar

I llkrainian

veekly appearing

In

19/+l Andrei Shveda

agiveii tn the United

in Scranton, Fennsylvania'. States to stay uith his sister ln

Montala.

&r

husbandr

!6.. Chernetsky sho't.led Shvecb tlre Narodnia Volia article,

folk are e:reIlent thievds, for you stole a church ln broad. dayligbtl?. Slfveda alloved. that there lras so6e truth to that vers'ion, noting tbat tc bad tiikenparb in that eFleode and understood that the Yasiunka people had paid money for the
addtng trEou

chrreh.
EanYtsia

In several vays Banfbs,i^a vas & singulc

and Bbrtne, 5.n centuries past

Iemko

village in

Gor.t-j-ee county.
Panlcna

Sr:rrounded by other Lenko settlenentsr such as Volovetsr

KrFar Virkhnia,

it

i:arboifed adventluous peasants who raided the

J

properties of nearby Polish gentry, the word fron

r,rhtch

who

called the raiders ban4vsir or rrbanditsrr

the village

nq.rle a11egd1y

derives. It

r.ras

a strong centef of

Rirssophilism, and in the

t{entteth

century conversions to Gthodo:y clailud over

half of its lnhabitants. the Ofbhodorc hrilt for themselvgs a snall chapel and used the services of a priest from nearblr Tolovets:. In the 19301s Banytsia had an
Q.thodoc

rnajority, a Greek-Catholic ninority, and three Baptist farol-Iles.

bry

Poverty-stricken, riven

sestarian

strifer ad

rnisled

ty

half+dueatecl defiagogtlsst

thb peasants felt

doomed

fotrevrer.

German oppressive seasures ch.uing

llorld llar Two

vartins

intenslfBed village pesslmigra and gavs birth to a feeble local pro'connrunist

partlsan unit contalning eri.ninal elenents. ?olish oppression,

Gernran

lndignlties,

anct

So:'iet .arny excesses eonbined to tr:rn a onetlrne stronghold of

Bwsopbilisn into a fount+inhead of Ulrainlan nationalisn, nany l-ocsf youthe

srrrolling into the

IIPA, vhicb emerged as

]-.9/+Ir

the sole cbarnpion of the v,ita-l intgrgsls

of the Iocals. fn the sunner of

a British plane transporting Polish undergrounil

reinforcements crashed, near Bar5rtsia,

killing

a-11

aboatd. Llberation W the Scviet

amy ltas greeted wtth joy by Rwsophile elernentsi who spearlreaded the Sovlet resettlement driven theretry forfeiting the fina-l vestiges of their political significXnce. Isinety per-{ent of the vii.l.agers ue}e enticeil into the Soviet

Doklia-Z? Union, nostly to the Lviv and Ternopl,l obl.a.sts,

Gern:an excesses f\re1ed an

incipient

pro-comrmrnist partisan novsrlent,

later

magnified by Polandts comnunist masters

T}r Bar{fbsja"

into telling foof of

lndigenous

roots of connrunist hegenony.

native Petro Saifert perished in the

Osuiecim concentration camp. Another

native, Yevka Sl&lrnba, retr:rned {!on it

uith ber health in ruins. Sbe had been talcen to Osltis'i.n because a cor:slp; Sfufan Sileta, vas ln an anti-Gbrnan partlsan u.nit. ghat unit, organized. by Lukach Slrkyrnbar operated in the region. tn I9/Q,.-/+3, OrE of its secret nenbers Anrirei Zbt:r, uho had returned flon forced labor ln Gerrnarry, r,rhere he raastered
Crnan, arli afber hLs

r.ras

retrrn

r.lorked as an S.ntergreter

for the Gernan seeurlty in Gladysz&w.

Tbe

officer Dule,
Ukrainj^a,n

who connanded

a special fornation Ln Us';ie Buskie axd a Carpathottslcholrylgrrr) posted

auxiliary police rrsrtt (th

C,ernan

partisans l:aried
l :;

troops ln the l'fagr:ra reglon and at tfures cla.shed wlth

:A!

tul'd Eblqntrba uas kllled by the Gerrnans. Eis r,rldo'lr 1oud1y lamented htE deatb tb*tby pnonpting hEe sunriying conrade{_r uho \r ::' feared that she in her betray then to the Oermansr to errd that ryi"f night possibllity by ktdnapping and ktlltng her. That deed vas done a11ege&ty $r a partisan na-u:ed ilryts Kiets, r.rho is said to have confessed, The Gernans then pressed hard in order to stg-qp out:bhe repaining partisane. It seened that only one escaped death, eapture, or arrest. & was Giletar who pas later installect bf the Russians ts the iIB clrief tn ,,.|.&fan
'',1

the-rt$ichor4zky.r ghefr leader

Gorllce courrby. Gileta r:nleashed an orgr of revengiel shooting captrrred *Sicho$(yrrt

arrestlng war-time vrtbge laJrors

those against
vhom.

and,

giests,

and otherwise persecutin$

all

he had

personal gnrdge. In

Aprtl or May, ].i9i.+jr hor,revere

he vas revarded

for his nisdeeds, l{hiI spending a night vith relatives in Banytsiae Gileta was m^ra]cened {bom sleep by a UP!. unit" vhich ki1]d his relativesb tortr:red
h5rc, and then hanged hi-B frotn

a plne tree near Pslkna. This last of the Banytsia

partisans 1les br:ried in the Kryva cenetery, his grave Saced by a rnarker vith a Soviet star.

Doklb-e8
Eanyts5a 1s no$ deserted,

its

hor:ses

torn

down

and'fields overgrovn.

Its

school uas foansported to C,1adysztr,r. fn lgt+6UPA unitE occupied 1ocal

vooded &xas1 len&o youths retr:rning

fton forcecl labor in

Gernarly

or flon servics

in the Soviet artg Joining

the
UIA

IIPA

rarrks in acts of despdiF. :Pollsh arry efforts

gradually redrrced^lnto scattered ineffective remnaDtso Banytsie natives + suffered but individual and group traged,les, Andrel Fesh and his son returned'

felt constrained.to rnove on to the Scviet Union to Join his vife uho had been sent there prevj-ously. $[ro XLt" ""t*ned f]on Siberiar /\
fron
Gbrmaqy

but

uhither he had been banished

Germans.

because he had serveil es a vildage. Fyor. under ihe

Ib wqs unable to stay in his hone viIlago, hovever, for tte uith his r.life and chlldren vere packed. off to the USS.. I'fykhail 4"tt, whoss trother
Stefan
r^ras

killed

by the $sm.ans, retwned fho$ service

hone so

^ in the Soviet arnyt

Se
now

but found *onil.rrons at

Polisb arroy and

fYightfi:l that he Joined the IIPA.

One

resldes in either England or the Onited $tates. IE !gli*|!f cleshes uere fYequent
betr,reen
UPA

units tn the Bantrtsia envLrons.

night a Potish

unit entered Eanytsiar ln search of the enenX. Ehey found trohee Eowever, they did enter the home of Ievka, Daopa, uho notr lives in }fatervlietr N'ev Torkr ancl dis@ver6dn'r 11.sn

her klnsnan Vasyl

&ftal

sncl

his r,rifee both of vlten

ha.d

Just returned

foreed labor in Sernany. They killed Va:syl tsybel and a.rrested his guest,

fvan Petryshyn,

In the sunmer of I9L6 a UPA ualt, cpning'fron a r.redding ln flghting broke out. Ihsls wdro kllIecl and uounded
a:long Earryts{&

Panl&na

spent the nlght in Balytsia. The nesb dgy Polish soldiers appeared and
on both

sides, as ue1l
and accused

as

residents. llhe Poles torturecl the villagers

to uestern P oIand,
Banybsra

tha

of being ilBanderaites.tr Fighting in the reglon continued untll the remaining

I,enkos vere b:rLshed

expellees uere trans-

ported,

to the county of Glogow, *ispersed in its rlral eomnunities. The fanl1y of Petro Fesh vas enong the expelled. &'h{'nself uas hauled off to

goklia-29

the Javorzno canp, vhere he r,ras rnrrdered. Fesh uas fair

son M!:khall had joined

gane because

his

the UFA. Eis eldest son, Stefan Fesh,

pro-'conrnrnist underground, arnong'th*

belonged to

the pro-Soviet partlsans. & uas ki1led W th Gernans, alongrr.rlth other

BanyLsts natives

in the

id. t

Shh)"nba,

Asafat Kltsel, erua qfbe1, Parrlo Kuryror Fetsko Saifert', Ivan Guresb,
Kuma Kov,bko, and Antokba Ewtr'vo.

Ea4'tsia natirres e:cpelIed to the Glogotl region vere assignecl former'

Gernan houses, Fton

there

sorre were able

to join relatives,in the United

Statesl

&rnong sr:ch

fortunates one encounters Yevka Dzopa antt'thb -fanily

of Parrlo Kurpn. $uery bnytsia fanily had relatives ln the New Uorld.
&trigration sterted in the late nineteenth century.
One

of the flrst. to
and

depart was lSi-kolai Vasierrho, uho in 19@ was r.ras ninety-sir years-old

lived in Yonkers, Neu Iork.

Enroi

Dokllats leg&ggGg

ls

no xrorr

llhat renalns is the carcass of

failed Pollsh
gone

conmunist experinent

in social engirreering, gleiohschaltune

arrry. It ts fitting"-t&erefore, ln the tnterest of, conpleting the historical record, to delineate a few aspects of re*o lore that tbw far.
have eluded

this ess;Jrl pattdt$ binding toether

T.a

fhe establishnent of a nev politieal border separatlng Poland and

Czechoslovakis disrup*,eG estg,blished eeononic Carpathian hlghlands and the Hungariaa
the

plain.

the days of the

llapsbr:rgse

for

to do ha:rrest uork in Slovakia and }lungary, golngp as thsy used to day, nto Festt or rto the lfagtars.il
example,
\|va'si11p1s

pea.sants were agcustoned

fhey vould form a uork team kncwr as glEEEtr consisting of around a

harvesterg lrho r"rould stay
aauay

dozen

fron hone around, a nonth. They,returned to raeiunka

landor.rner

sttb {,@ tcilogram.s of grain as their paX'. In addition, the

for

r,rhon

thgy tolled served three neals daily. Breakfast for two nornings csnslsted of

9ok1ia-10

a loaf of bread, J0 decagra$s of

srnoked

reat,

and a

liter of aleohol.

the

harverrters did nowing, hauling, ard t&resbing. fhe sork vas hardr but

reuards were bountifirl,

for the grain alone pnovided for the fan{l-y throughout the r.rlnter. llorld I.Is Oae put an end. to this actlvity.
Iernko fartriLies vere enplo;n,.ent

large,

1a&1

ves scarcer and opportunities for

rarr

Eralgration served as a safety-valver renoving sores of

sir-rccess

discontent and providing youths uith visions of

The

in far-off places.

first

emlgrants

flon the

Iemkoland went

to what is

nou l{ungary and

Iugoslavia. le.ter they vent primari.l;." to the United States ancl Canada. Eve{y 'Ianko faroily in the county of Gorlice hacl relatives in the United States,
lhe first to
go there

flon

Iasiunl<a vas a

csrtain IyLiak, early in the latter

half of the nineteenth century.

IirfLs Pelesh,
and Ampol

Obhers uho soon followed r"rers

futro

Kobane

llaitko. Later ca-ms &

of youth, mar{f
Some

betveen

for but a fer,r years and then returned to their native villager hrt nost re[alned in the IIew lJorld for good. There vere colonies of Yasiunka natives in Nev Tork
stayed

the ages of fowteen and sixteen, both rnale and fenale,

state (Cohoes, lCateniliet, and Erookl.;m),

Ca:rada, Great

Britain, lkance,

Aastralia, Argentina, lhe

name

and

haz{l,
,thc 'sddec-tive'kr'iq',!r.',

of the village of Krylar5ooted je

ha.d

neaning bent' or crooked, suggeets -the bend

tn the strean along which

a populstion of arounfl 2ffi, or

the vill-age s';retches, In the 1930ts it

23 householdsr including a Jewish

tailor

and

four GYps,y fa:nil-ies.

l'taqy

of its

gifteq

young becane school teachers, such as Yaroslava &,idu!,evych

and Jva:: in
the

Koban. At least seven youths enrolled in the IrpA and fougNrt for the U}rainian
c&1tsor l\lo
United
UPA

veteransr }Iytro lb.lyk arrd !$khal Denchar, are

During $Iorld tJar
&"re

nor,r

States.

forn villagers vere sent to tie Talerhof

r,ras

detention calnpl the tsarist &rqy occupied the Ieroko region and there
extensive fighting bctveen the Russians and the Austrlan

arn;'.

A Russian Cossaek

Doklia-3l

fornatlon spent a lrintr in Krywa.

darnage becar:se

The

vjllage sufferecl considerable physical

of the fighting duringl'Iorld llar One' tife in post-Yersailles Poland was eharacterized by plitfcal optrressiotr, uhich generated a $pecies of of F. l,ryhalJk, uere book-reading for llliterateB
War Tf,lo

Illirainian natlonalisn. A Ffiros'ritan Society reading-room uas set up ilt the

hone
lras conducted and

petrlotic plays were stagedr

Drring llor1d
ltrfrra

The Polish pblice eventually cilosed

lt

down.

bec4Fle

a haven for Okralni.a.n and Russian ref\:gees.

With its end frryua

eomrnunism

was

visisted by catastrophe, vith the 5mposition of Polish

and the elfuaination of its e*istence'