Vasyl Sydor | |
---|---|
Native name | Василь Сидор |
Nickname(s) | Shelest, Vyshyty, Konrad, Zov |
Born | Spasiv, Austria-Hungary (now Ukraine) | 24 February 1910
Died | 14 April 1949 Rozhniativ Raion, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Ukraine) | (aged 39)
Allegiance | |
Rank | Colonel |
Unit | |
Battles/wars |
Vasyl Sydor ( Ukrainian: Василь Сидор; 24 February 1910 – 14 April 1949) was a colonel of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), political activist, soldier of the Nachtigall Battalion, commandant of Schutzmannschaft Battalion 201, vice-commander of UPA and leader of UPA-West for Eastern Galicia during World War II. Sydor was killed in combat with Soviet troops in the Limnytsia river valley. [1]
On 1 September 1944, Vasyl Sydor (Shelest) as the UPA commander for Eastern Galicia, issued an order to end "mass anti-Polish actions" within the borders of postwar Poland, thereby focusing on resistance rather than ethnic cleansing. [2] Murders of civilians continued, but only in retaliation. [3] From then on, UPA units began concentrating on attacking those who served with the pro-Soviet forces (although it took several months for the orders to reach individual commanders in the field). [2] In 1945 the Home Army issued a manifesto calling for an end to fighting between Poles and Ukrainians and for cooperation, printed it in 7,500 copies and distributed it in the surrounding villages. [4] At the same time, the leadership of UPA in the region made similar moves aimed at the same goal. After mediation by Catholic and Eastern Orthodox clergy, a meeting was arranged in Puszcza Solska (Solska Forest) between the commanders of both groups. [4] The top commander on the Polish side was Marian Gołębiewski (Ster) and on the Ukrainian side Jurij Lopatynsky (Szejk). [2] On the night of 27 May 1946 the Home Army and UPA conducted their one-and-only joint operation against the communist forces of UB and NKVD in Hrubieszów. They parted their ways the next morning after a successful attack. [2]