Criminal
12-23-2004, 11:51 PM
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The Ukrainska Povstanska Armiia, or UPA, was formed October 14, 1942 in Volyn. Its commander in chief was Roman Shukhevych, alias Taras Chuprynka. The UPA was the military branch of the Oganization of Ukrainian Nationalists, or OUN. The goal of the UPA was nothing less than an independent Ukraine, free of all foreign occupation. However, the UPA was caught between the world's two largest totalitarian regimes- Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. The two were fighting each other during this time, and neither was going to give up Ukraine's fertile land and many natural resources without a fight.
The UPA was a guerrilla army, and unlike many other guerrillas armies in WW2 and since, the UPA never received any outside help from foreign powers. The UPA's weapons were mostly guns and ammunition captured from the Nazis or Soviets. Their uniforms were a mixture of everything from captured enemy uniforms (without the insignia, of course) to whatever they had at home. The UPA did have some training schools for officers, but most training came from "on-the-job" experience.
Another interesting aspect of the UPA was that people of many different nationalities could be found within the UPA. The UPA had thousands of Russians, Georgians, Armenians, Uzbeks, Azerbaijanis, Germans, Italians, and Tartars. The UPA also frequently made leaflets addressed to Red Army soldiers, calling on them to join the UPA against Stalin. Many Jews could be found in the UPA, as doctors and medical orderlies. Stories of Jewish UPA doctors fighting it out with Nazis or Soviets to the end to protect their patients were not uncommon. People of many different nationalities owe their lives to the UPA, who would frequently rescue prisoners during raids on enemy convoys, deportation centers, railway systems, and from Gestapo, SS and NKVD custody. At its peak in 1944, the UPA had around 500,000 men and women from various nationalities within its ranks, working as soldiers, medics, informants, saboteurs, etc. Two men who were assassinated by the UPA were Chief of Staff of the Nazi SA Viktor Lutze, as well as Red Army Marshall Nikolai Vatutin.
After the Soviet re-occupation of western Ukraine in 1944, the NKVD quickly began a campaign to root out the UPA freedom fighters on an immense scale. Entire villages were deported and destroyed, family members threatened by the secret police, and there were large-scale battles between the UPA and Soviet forces. Some UPA units were ordered to go west and tell the world about their struggle against the Soviet Union, such as Company 95, which fought its way from Ukraine to West Germany and made it to freedom in September of 1947. Out of more than 100 men in Company 95, only 36 insurgents made it to West Germany.
Roman Shukhevych, the brave leader of the UPA, was in his hideout in the Lviv suburb of Bilohorshka recovering from a long illness when his house was surrounded by Soviet MVD troops. Fighting it out to the end, Shukhevych killed himself and several nearby Soviets with his last grenade. He died March 5, 1950. Coincidentally, Stalin died March 5, 1953, exactly three years after Shukhevych died.
The UPA’s last official military engagement occurred in October 1956, when some UPA survivors fought bravely on the Hungarian border to assist the Hungarian anti-Communist revolt.
We can NEVER forget the sacrifices of so many of Ukraine's bravest sons and daughters. Their wish for an independent Ukraine finally came August 24, 1991
See link for more....
http://hometown.aol.com/shukhevych/
The Ukrainska Povstanska Armiia, or UPA, was formed October 14, 1942 in Volyn. Its commander in chief was Roman Shukhevych, alias Taras Chuprynka. The UPA was the military branch of the Oganization of Ukrainian Nationalists, or OUN. The goal of the UPA was nothing less than an independent Ukraine, free of all foreign occupation. However, the UPA was caught between the world's two largest totalitarian regimes- Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. The two were fighting each other during this time, and neither was going to give up Ukraine's fertile land and many natural resources without a fight.
The UPA was a guerrilla army, and unlike many other guerrillas armies in WW2 and since, the UPA never received any outside help from foreign powers. The UPA's weapons were mostly guns and ammunition captured from the Nazis or Soviets. Their uniforms were a mixture of everything from captured enemy uniforms (without the insignia, of course) to whatever they had at home. The UPA did have some training schools for officers, but most training came from "on-the-job" experience.
Another interesting aspect of the UPA was that people of many different nationalities could be found within the UPA. The UPA had thousands of Russians, Georgians, Armenians, Uzbeks, Azerbaijanis, Germans, Italians, and Tartars. The UPA also frequently made leaflets addressed to Red Army soldiers, calling on them to join the UPA against Stalin. Many Jews could be found in the UPA, as doctors and medical orderlies. Stories of Jewish UPA doctors fighting it out with Nazis or Soviets to the end to protect their patients were not uncommon. People of many different nationalities owe their lives to the UPA, who would frequently rescue prisoners during raids on enemy convoys, deportation centers, railway systems, and from Gestapo, SS and NKVD custody. At its peak in 1944, the UPA had around 500,000 men and women from various nationalities within its ranks, working as soldiers, medics, informants, saboteurs, etc. Two men who were assassinated by the UPA were Chief of Staff of the Nazi SA Viktor Lutze, as well as Red Army Marshall Nikolai Vatutin.
After the Soviet re-occupation of western Ukraine in 1944, the NKVD quickly began a campaign to root out the UPA freedom fighters on an immense scale. Entire villages were deported and destroyed, family members threatened by the secret police, and there were large-scale battles between the UPA and Soviet forces. Some UPA units were ordered to go west and tell the world about their struggle against the Soviet Union, such as Company 95, which fought its way from Ukraine to West Germany and made it to freedom in September of 1947. Out of more than 100 men in Company 95, only 36 insurgents made it to West Germany.
Roman Shukhevych, the brave leader of the UPA, was in his hideout in the Lviv suburb of Bilohorshka recovering from a long illness when his house was surrounded by Soviet MVD troops. Fighting it out to the end, Shukhevych killed himself and several nearby Soviets with his last grenade. He died March 5, 1950. Coincidentally, Stalin died March 5, 1953, exactly three years after Shukhevych died.
The UPA’s last official military engagement occurred in October 1956, when some UPA survivors fought bravely on the Hungarian border to assist the Hungarian anti-Communist revolt.
We can NEVER forget the sacrifices of so many of Ukraine's bravest sons and daughters. Their wish for an independent Ukraine finally came August 24, 1991
See link for more....