Микола Ставничий

I was born in Kolomyia. My father was an lawyer in Kolomyia and conductor in choir “Boian”. My grandfather was also a lawyer in Kolomyia - is Andrew Czajkowski. I was born in 1927. I spent my childhood in Kolomyia. Then the war began, and brought Bolsheviks with it, and after them the Germans came, but then again advancing Bolsheviks. And because my father was a public figure and very active then, as in Kolomyia was in Hungarians occupation (there was almost an independent Ukraine, for Hungarians behaved quite properly with the civilian population and civilian administration) ... In any case it was necessary to travel, that when the bolsheviks came. We traveled to Vienna, after we drove to Vienna and stayed there for almost a year, and then, as mobilized again Bolshevik invasion, we moved further west.

For me policeman in America - that is, a man whom I pay. And secondly: when I need something - something to learn, for example, then I turn to the policeman and ask him if he can show me where there is a street, etc. A very long time, when I was in USA already, I had an uncomfortable feeling everytime with policemen. Because, first was a Polish policeman, who was the enemy for me. Then there was Bolshevyk policeman, then was a German policeman. And each of them was my enemy. And I absolutely do not want anything from them, or to deal with.

In Bavaria there were several villages that German authorities appointed for division families. But there's going to be all Ukrainians, so I will say who departing from the bolshevik invasion. Then the war came to an end. And Americans began to collect those so-called "displaced persons" in the camps. There was also a problem that the USSR wanted to get their citizens. And we, those who were from Galicia were Polish citizens, so they have not had... And we began to gather in those camps. Americans began to create these camps at Dachau and created - at Munich, Dachau area (there was a concentration camp - that's one thing, but there was also a factory BMW). There was a large camp for the workers of the factory. Apparently, the factory was not working. They were simple huts, two-storey, wood, and there the Americans began to collect those "displaced persons". It was in the area, called Karlsfeld. We call it "Charles the field." In that Kalsfeld was created such a Ukrainian republic. They gathered - I do not know, now I do not remember - but there were about 7-9 thousands of people, most Ukrainians. There was created the camp council, school: there was a normal school (what is "normal"? 1 to 6 classes. Because they said "abnormal school"). And after the high school, teacher's seminar, trade school. And every kind of fellowships. And obviously came as a youth, the former scouts once established Plast. A promoter of this establishment there was Petro "Peak" Piasetskyy.

There [in Kolomyia] is the railway station, and then toward the Ivano-Frankivsk is a road through rail - road to Horodenka. And there was a nice "rampa". You know what the "rampa"? "Shlack-baum", in Ukrainian saying - "shlack-baum" (laughs). So of course it was that someone leave Kolomyia, we quickly run to that gate, and as the train was going, we waved. But when we were still at the station, I stood by the carriage. And look - and through the slats move some green monsters. It was the bolshevik tanks. And then the train started, and we began to ride. And when we were more or less where the road was the following tank shoot out. But it is good that they had the poor cannon - shooted to the road, and only stones shakes. We were lucky that the on the last platform of our train was German anti-tank cannon. And it held those tanks... Tanks were afraid, it seems, we shot out one of the tanks. And so we gradually got to Ivano-Frankivsk.