BETWEEN HITLER AND STALIN

OLEH OLZHYCH

b. 8 July 1907, Zhytomyr, d. 9 June 1944, Sachsenhausen concentration camp

Oleh Olzhych was the pseudonym of Oleh Kandyba. Olzhych was a poet and nationalist leader. He emigrated from Ukraine in 1923 and lived in Prague. He graduated in 1929 from Charles University with a degree in archeology. In 1929 he joined the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and became head of their cultural and educational branch.

After the split in OUN in 1938 Olzhych remained loyal to the Melnyk faction and represented OUN-M in Carpatho Ukraine as Melnyk’s deputy. Olzhych’s poetry focused on themes of Ukrainian struggle for independence. He moved to Kyiv in 1941 and was instrumental in the formation of the Ukrainian National Council.

From 1941 to 1944 he directed the activities of OUN-M in Ukraine. He was arrested by the Gestapo for his nationalist activities, and executed in Sachsenhausen on 9 June 1944.