Relationships Between SB OUN and Volyn Czechs

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Relationships Between SB OUN and Volyn Czechs

Ya. M. Antoniuk

State Branch Archive of Security Service of Ukraine

Key words: Volyn Czechs, Security Service, OUN, UPA-South, cooperation, «Blanik» organization, population exchange, Czechoslovakia.

The article analyzes the relationship between the Security Service (hereinafter - SB) of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (hereinafter - OUN) and the Volyn Czechs. The attitudes of the both parts are clarified and their cooperation establishment preconditions are examined. It was confirmed that the Volyn Czechs had enduring friendly relationships with the local Ukrainian population and supported Ukrainian aspirations for national liberation. Many of the Czechs assisted the OUN, and some of the SB OUN leaders were connected with the Czechs by family ties. volyn czech nationalist

Since the summer of 1943, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (hereinafter - UPA) leadership attempted to establish a cooperation with the Czech underground organization «Blanik». That task was entrusted to the intelligence unit of the UPA-South. The negotiations on the matter were held during October - December of 1943. Both sides agreed on neutrality and mutual assistance in their resistance to the Germans. At the same time, the Czechs stated that they would adhere to the instructions given by their government in exile. It was a reason why, the Czechs could not oppose the Soviet partisans.

A small part of the Volyn Czechs was aimed at the cooperation with the Poles or Germans. Those were the only ones who were the objects of persecution by the SB, due to the fact that, they were considered as a hostile agents.

With the Red Army approach to the Volyn territories the Czechs took the clear pro-Soviet position. They actively supported the «red» partisans, and subsequently joined massively the brigade of Ludwika Svoboda. Thus they tried to contribute to the liberation of the Czechoslovakia from the Germans. Despite their position, the Czechs managed to maintain a friendly relationship with the OUN underground. The Volyn Czechs had not undergone any particular persecutions in the large-scale SB action on the extermination of the Soviet agents.

During the population exchange between Soviet Ukraine and Czechoslovakia in 1947, the Czechs helped many of the OUN members to legalize themselves and immigrate to the West. The SB employees were among those who received their help. The most part of them managed to hide their past and start a new life.

Взаємини Сужби безпеки ОУН та волинських чехів

Я. М. Антонюк

Галузевий державний архів Служби безпеки України

Ключові слова: волинські чехи, Служба безпеки, ОУН, УПА-Південь, співпраця, організація «Бланік», обмін населенням, Чехословаччина.

У статті проаналізовано взаємини Служби безпеки (далі - СБ) Організації Українських Націоналістів (далі - ОУН) та волинських чехів. З'ясовано позиції обох сторін та розглянуто передумови їх виникнення. Доведено, що волинські чехи мали давні дружні відносини з місцевим українським населенням та підтримували їх національно-визвольні прагнення. Чимало з них надавали допомогу ОУН, а частина керівників СБ була пов'язана з чехами родинними зв'язками.

Починаючи з літа 1943 р. керівництво Української повстанської армії (далі - УПА) намагалося налагодити співпрацю з чеською підпільною організацією «Бланік». Це завдання було доручено розвідувальному осередку УПА-Південь. Переговори йшли впродовж жовтня - грудня 1943 р. Обидві сторони домовилися про нейтралітет та взаємодопомогу у протидії німцям. Водночас чехи заявляли, що дотримуються вказівок свого еміграційного уряду. Тому не можуть виступити проти радянських партизан.

Незначна частина волинських чехів орієнтувалася на співпрацю з поляками або німцями. Саме вони, виключно як ворожі агенти, стали об'єктами переслідувань СБ.

З наближенням до Волині Червоної армії чехи зайняли чітку прорадян- ську позицію. Активно надавали підтримку «червоним» партизанам, а згодом масово записувалися до бригади Людвіка Свободи. Таким чином вони намагалися внести свій вклад у звільнення від німців Чехословач- чини. Незважаючи на таку позицію, чехам вдавалося зберегти дружні відносини з підпіллям ОУН. У масштабній акції СБ із винищення радянської агентури, волинські чехи не зазнали особливих переслідувань.

Під час обміну у 1947 р. населенням між Радянською Україною та Чехо- словаччиною, вони допомогли багатьом учасникам ОУН легалізуватися на виїхати на Захід. Серед них траплялися й співробітники СБ. Більшості з них вдалося приховати своє минуле та розпочати нове життя.

Recently, some Czech politicians made public statements condemning Ukraine for awarding the underground members of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) the Ukraine's veteran status. They emphasised on the mass killings of their unarmed compatriots by the soldiers of these organizations. In the context of those allegations, the topical study subject is the relationship between the Volyn Czechs and the Security Service (hereinafter - SB), which served punitive functions in the OUN underground. The subject was indirectly covered in the scientific articles written by such historians as Volodymyr Kovalchuk [25], Yaroslav An- toniuk [1], Igor Marchuk [28] and Svitlana Shulga [38, 39]. Nevertheless, no research dedicated to the relations between the SB OUN and the Volyn Czechs had been written yet. Consequently, the objective of the study is to investigate this recondite history page and give it an appropriate assessment.

The interpretation of preconditions for the Volyn Czechs position in the Ukrainian liberation struggle is impossible without a brief examination of their past.

The Polish uprising defeat of 1863 had drastically changed the attitude of the Russian authorities to the Catholic landowners. In Volyn region the Poles began to sell their lands massively and cheaply. That fact was a reason for the appearance of the first Czech colonists here in the early 60's of the nineteenth century. Moreover, the Russian Empire authorities considered them as exemplary landowners who would raise the overall level of agricultural technology and agricultural culture [37, 44-45].

After an adoption of a special resolution of the Committee of Ministers «On the settling of the Czechs in Volyn» on June 10, 1870 by Emperor Alexander II, the colonization process increased significantly. The document had anticipated that those colonists who accepted a Russian citizenship, would be granted a privilege in acquiring land, permission to establish their own schools, exemption from taxes and military service [36, 14].

On 1897, Volyn province The administrative unit of the Russian Empire. Currently 152 includes territories of Volyn, Rivne, Zhytomyr and northern Ternopil regions of Ukraine. had been already inhabited by 27670 Czechs, who represented more than a half of all inhabitants of that nationality in the Russian Empire. 18323 of those representatives were Orthodox, 7916 - Catholics and 1424 - Protestants [37, 63].

According to the census of 1931, the territory of Volyn voivodeship (predominantly in the southern provinces) was inhabited by 30977 of the Czechs (28465 of whom lived in villages). In most cases they settled densely and tried to maintain friendly relations with all other nationalities [28, 219].

Nevertheless, a balanced lifestyle of the Volyn Czechs was disrupted by the tragic events of the Second World War. Due to the fact that the Czechs were a relatively small and wealthy group in the area with many other nations, they traditionally tried to stand aside from any conflicts. At the same time, they emphasized their loyalty to all representatives of the authorities who controlled their residence territory. Although, despite their caution, the Czechs, as well as the other Volyn residents, failed to escape persecution of the Soviet authorities [13, 204-211; 14, 10-91].

The relations between the Volyn Czechs and the Ukrainian nationalists commenced simultaneously with an appearance of their first underground cells. Accordingly, at the beginning of 1941 the NKVD (People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs of Soviet Union) apparatus uncovered the OUN «piatirka» (a group of five soldiers) in Ivanychi district, center of Volyn region. The insurgent organization included a local Czech by the name of Ivan Albel [33, 16].

In fact, such cases were rare. To a large extent, the Czechs' close cooperation with the Ukrainian nationalists was caused by family ties. One of the SB OUN leaders of Rivne region, Sviatoslav Tytkov («Roman») Tytkov Sviatoslav Vasyliovych («Roman», «Tverdyi»), was born in 1921 in Mohyliany village of Ostroh district of Rivne region. He was a member of the OUN since 1938. He illegally moved to territory of Poland occupied by Germans in the autumn of 1939 and returned home on 07.1941. He worked as a school principal in Ivanivka village of the Korets district of Rivne region. Next positions were an interpreter in the German police and an employee of «Tsukrotrest». Since the summer of 1942 he worked as an interpreter in the criminal police of Rivne city. In 10.1942 he came into the underground. From 08.1943, he was a deputy of the Korets subdistrict OUN SB(Security Service) referent. He occupied that post of referent in 1944. From 02.1945 he was a head of the Korets subdistrict of the OUN. From 01.1946, he was a SB referent of the regional «Odesa» leadership. He was killed on July 12, 1948 in a gun battle with an operative group of the MDB near Samostrily village, Korets district., was originated from the Czech-Ukrainian families.

It was known, that Oleksiy Prysiazhniuk («Mit- la») Prysiazhniuk Oleksiy Vasyliovych («Volia», «Gryts», «Karuspun», «Klym», «Makar», «Mitla», «Paliy») was born in Polonka village of Lutsk district, Volyn region, in 1915. He studied at the Polish State Gymnasium named after Tadeusz Kosciuszko (1931 - 05.1935). In 1936 he graduated from the Lutsk Ukrainian gymnasium, where he joined the OUN, and starting from 1937 he was a head of the Youth League of the OUN of Lutsk County. He was arrested in 1938 by the Polish police and released on 09.1939. In order to escape arrest by the NKVD bodies he came into the underground. His parents were deported to Omsk region in July, 1941. Since 1941, he was a head of the OUN of Rivne district. He lived in Korets town, Rivne region, and was an owner of a dinnerware shop called «OKO» (it was a confidential apartment of the OUN underground).He was a commander of the OUN SB in Volodymyr-Volynsky district from the spring of 1943. Since the end of 1943, he was a deputy of Northwest Ukrainian territories (PZUZ) head, «Bezridnyi» . On November 1, 1944, he became a counterintelligence department head of the of the Military SB headquarters of the UPA-North. He headed the OUN territory leadership on PZUZ. He died on March 24, 1945 in a battle with the NKVD operational group of Klevan district department at Novostav hamlet, which is situated near Sukhovets village of Kostopil district of Rivnen region. Posthumously, dated 04.1948, he was given the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel of the SB Counterintelligence. That was announced in the UHVR(Ukrainian Supreme Liberation Council) order from 11.10.1952. He was rewarded by the Silver Cross of Merit, and later by the Golden Cross of Merit., an OUN Security Service leader of the North-Western Ukrainian territories, had a wife by the name of Nina Beshta, who was a Czech from the village Plonka, Lutsk district.

The SB OUN sociopolitical report for August of 1943 of the Volodymyr-Ghorohiv circuit stated: «... The Czechs of Ivanychi district sympathize with our struggle, the Czechs near Ghorohiv (couple hundreds from the population) are interested in our movement and have a favorable attitude. They subordinate to our organization and cooperate with us, moreover, they create their own stanytsias (units)» [27, 91].

Nevertheless, the vast majority of the Volyn Czechs attempted to avoid any underground movements. In a trial to avoid repression, the Volyn Czechs were loyal to all sides of the confrontation in Volyn. In socio-political review of the «Bohun» military circuit (south part of Rivne region) stated on 31st of October 1943: «The Czechs citizens are one of the national minorities, dwelling in the region, with whom we found a common ground. Since they are loyal towards us as land possessors here and support our national Ukrainian liberation struggle. To tell the truth, they try to be loyal for everyone, as they are toward us, also they treat Germans favorably. Notwithstanding their hatred of Germans, they still wish to live in peace...» [24, 65].

At the same time, the Czechs tried to create their own anti-German underground organizations. The SB OUN (OUN Security Service) almost immediately detected that fact. The SB OUN information report on June 13, 1943 stated that a meeting of 13 representatives of the Czech settlements in Volyn took place in the village of Moskovshchyna, Mlyniv district, Rivne region. On that meeting the Czechs created an anti-Nazi organization «Blanik» (the name of the mountain in the Czech Republic) and chose its leadership [38, 122].

Myrohoshcha village of Dubno district, Rivne region was an actual center of the Czech underground movement. It was planned that the main direction of the Czech underground activities would be to prepare an uprising against the Germans. For that purpose, they organized military training of young people, carried out an intelligence work and accumulated weapons and military equipment. In August 1, 1943, the publication of the underground newspaper «Glashatai» was started. Also a network of the underground cells was created. It was planned that the network would cover 5 circuits, which would be split into 3 - 6 divisions, and those consequently would be divided into 3 to 9 subdivisions. As of the end of summer 1943, about 40 «Blanik» cells had been already functioning. Most of them were located in Czech villages around Dubno, Rivne, Lutsk, and also Kozyn [31, 66, 71-72]. A leader chosen for the organization was a teacher, Volodymyr Knop («Vlcheka»), and his deputies were: an editor of the Czech magazine, Josef Raisek («Vinaritski») and an engineer Irzhy Raisek («Broz»). All three lived in Myrohoshcha village [39, 46].

During that particular period, the SB OUN and UPA underground on Volyn territories were highly interested in the activities of the Czech community. For instance, in the report on propagation work at the departments of the UPA «Eney» group, it was noted that the insurgents were interested in the issues «Do the Czechs have their partisan formations on the UPA territories?» and «Do the Czechs have their national departments within the UPA?» [26, 370, 378].

The activation of the Czech underground in Volyn prompted a leader of the Zapillia UPA Rostyslav Voloshyn («Gorbenko»)4 to establish contacts with the «Blanik» organization. Due to the fact that the Czech underground center was situated in Dubno territories, the task was assigned to the SB intelligence cell of the UPA-South group headquarters.

In particular, to a chief of the intelligence, Adam Kysil («Nemo»)Dubno district, Rivne region. He graduated from the Rivne Gymnasium in 1929. On 1.04.1930 he entered the Law Faculty of Lviv University. He was a member of the OUN Executive Office in Rivne circuit. He was arrested on 21.08.1933 by the Polish police of Dubno county and, due to lack of evidence, was released. He was arrested again on 14.06.1934 in Lviv on suspicion of being involved in the OUN network and was in Krakow prison until 21.11.1934. He was arrested on 22.01.1935 in Lviv. Since 20.02.1935 he was imprisoned in the Bereza Kartuska prison but released due to illness on 29.05.1935. A week later he was arrested again. He was in the Lviv prison (4.06 - 6.08.1935). He was a co-editor of an underground youth newspaper «Yunak» and the journal «Studentskyi visnyk». On 5.08.1937 he was again arrested by the police. He was in the Ostroh prison until 05.1939, and then - in Bereza Kartuska prison (01 - 18.09.1939). He was arrested on 20.10.1939 by the NKVD bodies and was in Rivne prison.He was released on 5.07.1940 and recruited as an agent under the operational pseudo «Pavlov». The eviction of his family (parents, wife, son and daughter) was canceled. He was a deputy head of Rivne region leadership (07 - 09.1941). He was a head of the OUN PZUZ regional leadership (25.08 - 09.1941). He was arrested by the Gestapo and remained in Krakow prison (09.1941 - 06.1942). After his dismissal, he worked as a deputy director of the circuit Cooperatives Office in Rivne. He came into the underground in 12.1942. In the spring of 1943 he joined the UPA. He headed the OUN Revolutionary Court in Derman village. Since the summer of 1943, he was a rear commander of UPA headquarters. He was a general secretary of the UHVR Ministry of Internal Affairs. He died on 22.08.1944 in a battle with the NKVD forces near Nyzhniy Gai village, Drohobych district, Lviv region (during the transition of the front line). Kysil Andrii Arkhypovych, («Golubenko», «Dolnytskyi», «Nemo»), was born in 1912 in Derman-1 village of Zdolbuniv district, Rivne region. He graduated from Rivne Gymnasium and was fluent in English, French, German, and Hungarian languages. He worked as a personal secretary of the ambassador of the Polish Sejm in Ostroh (1934 - 1936).He was twice arrested by the Polish police and served his punishment in the Bereza Kartuska. In the autumn of 1939 he got to work for the department of the Rivne Regional Executive Committee. He illegally crossed the Soviet-German border near Chelm (Poland) city and settled in Germany. In the summer of 1941 he returned to the city of Rivne as an interpreter for the German army. He worked for the «Tsentrosoiuz» trade network. He lived in Kostopil, Mizoch and Zdolbuniv of Rivne region. Later he worked as a deputy director of the procurement office in Rivne city. According to the OUN's order, he went into the underground in 06.1943. He headed the diplomatic department at the OUN PZUZ regional leadership. He was an intelligence chief of the UPA «South» headquarters. Since 01.1944 was a representative of the UPA in negotiations with Hungarian troops. He had a military rank of the major of the UPA. He moved to Khust city of Zakarpattia region in 07.1944 and in the end of 09.1944 - Budapest. He was in charge of the Hungarian scouts and saboteurs training. In the spring of 1945 he moved to Bavaria. Subsequently he emigrated to Canada where he died on 6.07.1982 in Montreal city. and his deputy - Vasyl Koreniuk («Modest») Koreniuk Vasyl Semenovych, («Modest», «Paliy») was born [28, 220], who was an employee of the SB OUN. The first negotiations with the Czech population had been conducted by them in the summer of 1943. The both sides agreed on neutrality and assumed that the Czechs would create their own armed subdivisions and fight the Germans independently of the UPA. A runner called «Verba» had been operating at the UPA headquarters of the «Bohun» group specifically for communication with the Czechs. He assisted in the contact with the Czech community in Yosypivka village [4, 12].

The first official negotiations between the «Blanik» representatives and the UPA-South headquarters of the intelligence unit occured on October 24, 1943, in Derman village, Zdolbuniv district, Rivne region. At that time, the village served as a so- called capital of the Ukrainian «insurgent republic». The meeting was settled by a Czech by the name of Krejch from Gilcha village, Zdolbuniv district, he was an authority figure of a considerable influence among local Ukrainians [38, 123]. Before the negotiations started, the UPA team had produced leaflets in the Czech and Ukrainian languages. Those leaflets had an appeal for joining the Czech Insurgent Army, which was a part of the UPA and was headed by a Czech, Antonin Nekhutnyi [31, 72]. One of the leaflets called for a united struggle against Germany, the Soviet Union and Poland, which were eternal enemies of the Czechs and Ukrainians [30, 128-130].

The Czech delegation on the negotiations included three representatives - Knop, Tsilts and Liz- alek. According to the previous agreements, they arrived without any weapon on an ordinary rural cart pulled by a white horse. At a certain distance from Derman village, they were met by the UPA representatives and escorted to a one-story brick house which belonged to Iosyp Shevchuk [19, 268-269]. It was the very place that negotiations had started and lasted for about two hours. The Czech representatives recalled: «Two Banderivets (both well dressed in civilian clothes) came out of the opposite door. After we had introduced ourselves the negotiations started. Yerzhy Lizalek spoke first on behalf of our delegation. He spoke the Czech language... From the other delegation the negotiator was a middle-aged man with an alias «Nevidomyi». We were surprised that he had refused to get help from an interpreter. At subsequent meetings with Antonin Bochko, who headed the «Blanik» security department, «Nevidomyi» reported that he was a graduate of the Philosophical Faculty of Charles University in Prague ... The negotiations were objective, calm and filled with respect from both sides» [31, 71-72]. The Czechs claimed they understood a state creation aspirations of Ukrainians, but they decided to adhere to neutrality. They explained their position as an adhering to the instructions of the Czech government in London, which was an ally of the Soviet Union. For their nearest future plans, the Czechs stated that they would probably oppose the Germans. However, they were going to do that as part of the Czechoslovak troops under the command of Ludvik Svoboda. The «Blanik» leaders declared that they did not support the creation of the Czech Insurgent Army and could not agitate the Czechs to join it. They stated that they know about Antonin Nekhutnyi's connections with the Germans and advised the ounivtsi (OUN members) to treat him with caution [28, 221].

In response, the UPA representative Grygorii Fry- dryh («Nevidomyi») Frydryh Grygorii Kindratovych, («Nevidomyi»), was born in 1916 in Derman-2 village, Zdolbuniv district, Rivne region. He graduated from the Law Faculty of Lviv University in 1938. He worked as a school teacher in Ostroh city. Since the beginning of 1941 he was a director of the school in Khoriv village, Ostroh district, Rivne region. Since 07.1941 he was a communal department head of the Ostroh City Council. Since 08.1942 he became a judge of Mizoch district. He moved his activity into the underground on 08.1943. He worked at the UPA «South» intelligence cell led by Andriy Kysil («Nemo»). There he was responsible for the UPA negotiations with the Czechs and Hungarians. On 15.01.1944 he caught typhus and came back home for care. In the autumn of 1943 he acted as a staff member of the diplomatic referendum of the Rivne OUN district. He was arrested on 15.11.1944 by an operational group of the Mizoch district NKVD department. On 14.05.1945 he was convicted by the NKVD military tribunal to 20 years of imprisonment. He served his punishment in «Berlag», Magadan region (Russia) and was released in the spring, on 4.05.1955. After his liberation resided in a special settlement called Garmanda, situated in Severo-Evensky district of Magadan region. He worked at a collective farm called «Shliah Lenina». In the spring of 1956 he settled in Ostroh city, Rivne region. He was rehabilitated on 14.01.1993 by the prosecutor's office of Rivne region. said that he had understood the Czechs' position and would report it to his leadership. He also asked the Czechs to help Ukrainian farmers with agricultural machinery in the grain threshing. After the negotiations, «Nevidomyi» continued to coordinate the relationship between the UPA and the «Blanik» organization. For example, he agreed with the Czech representative from Ozerky village, Mizoch district, that the horses which were taken by the Germans from Derman village and left in Ozerky, would be returned back to Ukrainian owners. One night at the end of November 1943, near Gilchi Cheski village, the detachment of the UPA was shooted by an unknown group of people. «Nevidomyi» immediately arrived to that place to clarify the situation. It became apparent that a Czech self-defense group was created by the Germans, in order to protect the place from the partisans. However, that group did not take part in the shooting. «Nevidomyi» agreed with the Czech self-defense group that in case of the Germans appearance, they would give out a red rocket signal to the UPA unit.

In addition to that, he analyzed the complaints filed by the Czech representatives against the Ukrainian insurgents actions. One such incident happened in Botsianivka village, where the insurgents tried to expropriate the provision from the Czech residents by using weapon. The complaint was received from a head of the «Blanik» organization in Mizoch district, a teacher by the name Dzhus, from Borshchivka village. He stated that the rebels of the «Nemo» UPA department had seized horses from couple of owners. Immediately after that complaint, the property was returned to the Czechs. Another situation occurred during an election of the village elder of Buderazh, where a mixed Ukrainian- Czech population lived. At Dzhus insistence, each of the communities chose its own leader [4, 12-14].

At the beginning of December 1943 the meeting between the «Blanik» organization representative in Zdolbuniv county, Dzhus, and the head of the UPA «Nemo» intelligence unit occurred. After the agreements between Edvard Benes and Joseph Stalin, the Czechs had radically changed their position. They decided to break any ties with the UPA and move towards their own government. What is more, the Czechs were wary of being drawn into a conflict with the Poles. Therefore, they urged their compatriots not to join the UPA units. Specifically, for that position's announcement, according to Volodymyr Knop, the «Blanik» issued leaflets «Mission of our national minority in Ukraine» and «Declaration of Czechs in Ukraine» [28, 223].

After that, the attitude of the Volyn Czechs to the OUN and UPA underground had changed significantly. At that time, the overwhelming majority of the Volyn Czechs were aimed at the cooperation with the Soviet partisans. In the summer of 1943 the «Blanik» established a connection with representatives of the Sydir Kovpak's partisan units [39, 48]. On October 20, 1943, in the «Information message», made by an intelligence chief of the OUN «Ozero» security service in Rivne sub-district, was noted that at night the Novokraiv Czech colony had been visited by unknown armed people who spoke Russian. They got an intelligence data and provision from the locals.

A part of the Volyn Czechs was aimed at a cooperation with the Poles. The sociopolitical review of Lutsk circuit for August 1943 informed: «Recently some accidents of the Czechs becoming secret agents have occurred. They have relations with Poles and Germans. That happens not everywhere but it exists... 15.VIII.43 in Lavriv village the Germans arrested 12 people, 6 of them were taken to Lutsk, and 5 in an unknown direction. In addition, the Germans shot three of those men right away. That was done as a result of a complaint made by a Czech who had connections with the Poles» [16, 36].

The SB OUN tried to prevent that connection establishment. For instance, on October 9, 1943, by order of Ivan Yavorskyi («Kherson»), who was a security service head in Mlyniv district, Olga Rudyk, a Czech by nationality, was shot in Ivankiv forest, due to the fact that she had collaborated with the German intelligence [3, 15]. A similar incident took place in Krupa village, Lutsk district [35, 23].

However, the vast majority of the Czech colonies managed to maintain neutrality during the period of the Polish-Ukrainian conflict.

The great number of the Czechs adopted a strong pro-Soviet position on the Red army units' approach to Volyn region. The red partisan band of the 3rd Moldavian unit, which raided on Dubno territory in January 1944, repeatedly reported that, unlike the Ukrainians, the local Czechs always welcomed them and voluntarily assisted [34, 65, 79, 86, 89]. The Czechs met the front-line troops of the red army as their liberators. They massively joined the Ludovic Svoboda brigade. The people were coming by entire families: fathers with sons, those who were over the maximum age limit tried to reduce their age data and the ones underage, conversely pretended to be older [23, 22].

Such a «euphoria», caused by the Bolsheviks return, was not approved by the SB OUN. In the «Vistky» newspaper from Lutsk and Senkevychi districts, Volyn region, from 15th of February 1944 was stated: «The red live in a great accordance with the Czechs as they drink and eat bread together. They red do not rob the Czechs and do not take away their horses» [17, 20].

At that very time, the SB OUN lead an extensive liquidation of people who could have cooperate with the Soviet authorities. The process did not exclude the Czechs [3, 113]. The SB instruction from the 1st of January 1944 of the Zdolbuniv territory indicated that «The Czechs who were the secret Bolshevik agents and communists should be liquidated but with as much obscurity as possible in order to withhold any evidence about the activity. The Czechs arrests may be done without accord with their leadership. Nevertheless, the arrest should be launched only after gathering all the necessary materials, in order not to be discredited.» [24, 280]. For instance, in the August 1944 the OUN members killed Czech family the Gradetsias (consisted of 4 people) and Joseph Mashek [32, 97] for relations with the red partisans. It is worthy to emphasize that the Volyn Czechs did not suffer any persecution for their nationality. The SB terror towards some of them was caused exclusively by their active work on the Soviet state security agencies.

Nevertheless, in general the OUN underground continued to consider the Volyn Czechs as their friends. In July 17, 1944, at the Great Congress of the Ukrainian Supreme Liberation Council (hereinafter - the UHVR) it was noted that the Czechs of Dubno and Lutsk districts supported the OUN struggle. Moreover, the eagerness for cooperation emerges from the average people [18, 65].

The OUN's attitude was tolerant even to those of the Czechs who were employed in the Soviet authority bodies. At night of December 1946, four armed OUN members came to the house of a Czech Vatslav Rebel, who was a head of Kopche village council, Te- remne district. To the question «Why does he works so hard for the state?» Vaclav responded that he only did his job. They replied that if only he were not a Czech but a Ukrainian, they would «speak to him in a completely different way» [22, 73-75].

In July 10, 1946, an agreement on the exchange of people was signed in Moscow between the USSR and Czechoslovakia. It was supposed that they would relocate the Czechs from the territory of the former Volyn province, and their territory would be taken by the Ukrainians-Rusyns from Czechoslovakia [10, 2-3]. In the Senkevychivka district MVS (Ministry of Internal Affairs) report from November 1946, it was stated that the local Czechs greeted the news about resettlement and encouraged the resettlement commission [21, 313]. As reported in the underground OUN magazine «Informator», withing all the year of 1946 the Volyn Czechs had been discussing a possibility of their departure. Many of them initially hesitated because they knew how much the Czech Republic was «free» and «independent» [15, 163]. However, a huge influx of the hungry people to Volyn territories from the eastern regions of Ukraine, absolutely dispelled any of their uncertainties [2, 10-18].

Interestingly, even some representatives of the relocation commissions happened to be the OUN underground members. For example, a native of Shklyn-1 village, Senkevychivka district, Volyn region, Ivan Tverdiak («Borys») was the commission participant. In 1944 he pretended to be a Czech and joined the brigade of Ludwika Svoboda. After his demobilization, he settled in Kosice city and even came to visit his relatives who lived in Volyn in 1947 [11, 232-235].

As at June 1, 1947, there were 10.511 families (34.058 people) registered to immigrate to Czechoslovakia. Including the regions: Rivne region - 6425 families (20149 people), Volyn region - 2477 (7856), Zhytomyr region - 1177 (4432), Kamianets-Podilskyi region - 432 (1618) and north districts of Ternopil region - 78 (266) [10, 121].

Some of the OUN underground members (including the SB employees) used the Czechs resettlement as a means of their own legalization. In 1947, with the help of luzef and Ivan Linger, who were the Czechs from Ivaniichi village, Verba district, Rivne region, an SB OUN referent of Dubno district, Mykhailo Furmanets («Orlyk») Furmanets Myhailo Onysymovych («Orlyk») was born in 1923 in Ivannie village, Dubno district, Rivne region. From 1940 he studied at the Dubno Forestry College, where he joined the OUN. In order to avoid of being arrested by the Germans, he switched to an underground position in 1942. He was appointed to be a military commander of the OUN subdistrict. Subsequently, he became a head of the SB OUN in Dubno district. In 1947 he immigrated to Prague. Misko Mykola Lukianovych («Boiko», «Chornota») was born in 1922 in Gilcha Ukrainska village, Zdolbuniv district, Rivne region. From 1942, he was a commandant of the Ukrainian police in Kopytkiv village, Zdolbuniv district. At the end of 06.1943, he headed the SB OUN of Zdolbuniv subdistrict. He became a khorunzhyi of UPA on 24.05.1945. According to one of the versions, he died on 10.12.1945 in the ambush made by the NKVD forces in Kunyn village, Zdolbuniv district. According to another version he immigrated to the Czech Republic. [12, 244], traveled to Prague. In the capital of Czechoslovakia, he settled down to work as a tram driver [29]. Shortly after, his wife Maria Dyvyshek, who was an OUN member and a Czech by nationality, was taken out by the Czech family of Mykola Vaganov and joined him in Czechoslovakia [12, 244]. In addition, according to the KGB data, a head of the OUN in Zdolbuniv district, Mykola Myskiv («Chornota»)9 [20, 5] illegally departed for Czechoslovakia. He took the members of his boivka (a combat group) with him: Mykola Kovtoniuk («Bereza») and Fedir Savytskiy («Nezivai»). Their arrival to Libcany town of Hradec Kralove region in Czech Republic was detected in letters to fellow villagers from the former Zdolbuniv district inhabitants, the Czechs Yuzef Zivol and Vladek Kucher [12, 255-256].

The Czechs were replaced by 2036 (9091 people) Ukrainian families which arrived from Czechoslovakia. 1904 families (8143 people) were set in Rivne region and 700 families (3321 people) - Volyn region [10, 121-122]. They received 5-6 hectares of land and housing from the government. Many of Ukrainians were unsatisfied with their new dwelling and claimed that their left households had been much better. They were strongly influenced by the Soviet propaganda and stated that they would help Soviet authority to fight militarily with the Ukrainian nationalists. Moreover, in the area the repatriated Ukrainians supported creation of collective farms which were naively imagined by them «with rose colour glasses». Having an unclear imagination of the «Stalin's well order», they expressed «democratic» towards it [15, 234]. It came as no surprise that the OUN underground treated the Rusyn immigrants with a lack of confidence [5, 72-73]. Almost immediately after arriving in Volyn and seeing so called «Communist Paradise», most Ukrainians, who came from Czechoslovakia, wanted to go back [6, 2]. Some of them really went to cooperation with the NKVD bodies [7, 63].

The future of the SB OUN staff who left for Czechoslovakia developed in different ways. Most of them managed to hide their past. However, some of them were detected by the State Security Service of Czechoslovakia (Statni bezpecnost). In particular, in 1958, the state security bodies of Czechoslovakia arrested a former SB head of Dubno district, Mykhailo Furmanets («Orlyk»), who resided under false documents of a Czech settler, Volodymyr Dyvyshek [8, 38-40]. In July 1960, he was questioned by the district prosecutor in Plzen city, where the ouniv- ets was kept in single jail cell. Due to the emotional turmoil caused by his arrest, «Orlyk» started to experience nervous disorders and in August 1960 tried to commit suicide. Eventually, in May 15, 1961, the state security organs of Czechoslovakia appealed to the USSR KGB with a proposal to transfer the prisoner. However, the Soviet side refused their offer. They explained that the KGB decision was influenced by the fact that the crimes he had committed were in the long past (17 years ago), and also his mental state was not well [9, 119-124]. Unfortunately, the fate of Mykhailo Furmanets is unknown.

In conclusion, on analyzing the OUN Security Service's attitude towards the Volyn Czechs, it was even better than that of the local Ukrainian population. The OUN underground strived to maintain friendly relationships with the Czechs and avoided any confrontation. Atypical cases of the Volyn Czechs executions which were performed by the SB employees had no connection to their nationality. Those executions always related to an extermination of the German or Soviet agents and was a military period necessity.

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