BETWEEN HITLER AND STALIN

MONSIGNOR AUGUSTYN VOLOSHYN

b. 17 March 1874, Kelechyn, Transcarpatha, d. 1946, in a Soviet prison

Voloshyn was a leading cultural and political figure in the Ukrainian region of Transcarpathia. After graduating from the Uzhorod Theological Seminary and the Higher Pedagogical School in Budapest, Voloshyn became a professor and director at the Uzhorod Teachers’ Seminary. He also edited and published Nauka, a Ukrainian language newspaper, from 1903-14, and was involved in the publication of several other Ukrainian newspapers and journals.

Voloshyn was one of the founders of Christian Peoples’ Party, and served as its president from 1923-39. In 1925 he was elected to the Czechoslovak parliament as a candidate from the Ukrainian region of Subcarpathia. At the same time he was a leading member of various cultural organizations. He was perhaps the most important figure in the creation of Carpatho Ukraine; on 26 October 1938 the Czechoslovak government, after granting autonomy to Carpatho Ukraine, appointed Voloshyn premier. On 15 March 1939 the Carpatho Ukrainian Diet declared independence and Voloshyn was elected president of independent Carpatho Ukraine.

With Hitler’s blessing, the fascist Hungarian government invaded Carpatho Ukraine, and Voloshyn emigrated to Prague. In Prague he worked in research and teaching at the Ukrainian Free University. During his time there, he published several textbooks and a general survey of pedagogy. After the occupation of Prague by the Red Army in 1945, Voloshyn was arrested by the Soviet secret police in May 1945 and deported to the USSR. He died in a Soviet prison in 1946.