Ivan Rohach (most left) in 1938

Ivan Rohach (Ukrainian: Іван Андрійович Рогач) (29 May 1913 – 21 February 1942) was a Ukrainian journalist, poet, writer, and political activist born in Velykyi Bereznyi (Hungarian: Nagyberezna), Ung county, Austria-Hungary (modern-day Ukraine).

From 1933 to 1938, he was the editor of the Novoyi Svobody newspaper in Uzhhorod, in Carpathian Ruthenia, then part of Czechoslovakia and today in western Ukraine. Between 1938 and 1939, he was the personal secretary to rev. Avhustyn Voloshyn, the nominal Prime-Minister of Carpatho-Ukraine during its several days of independence in March 1939 before it was occupied by Hungary following the First Vienna Award. Rohach was an active supporter and member of the Ukrainian scouting movement, Plast.[1]

Political career

Rohach was a prolific writer of political pamphlets and short stories dealing with various aspects of religion, human morality, the nationality question, and the cause for Ukrainian self-determination. He was a member of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and an avid supporter of the Andriy Melnyk faction. He moved to Kyiv during the German occupation in order to aid in the re-establishment of a Ukrainian administration in the nation's capital. In January 1942, Rohach became the co-editor of the Nove Ukrainske Slovo ('New Ukrainian Word')[2] newspaper and the magazine "Lytavry" (Tympani), which united those active in Ukrainian culture and arts in the Ukrainian capital.

The newspaper expressed strong anti-Semitic sentiments. In 1941, the paper described Jews as the "greatest enemy of the people."[3]

Arrest and execution

In 1941, Rohach was arrested by the Gestapo during a crackdown on Ukrainian nationalist activities. The arrested happened after he and others refused to cooperate with the Germans unconditionally.[4] Rohach was taken to Babi Yar where, along with his sister, Anna (Hanna), and his entire staff, was executed.[2]

Legacy

Wooden cross in Babi Yar in memory of Olena Teliha and other Ukrainian nationalists executed there in 1942

Poems from his collection of poetry "Brosti" have been set to music. A number of the songs have been included in the Plast song book "U mandry" (To wander) and continue to be sung by Ukrainian scouts today.[5]

In 1992, a wooden cross memorial was erected in memory of Olena Teliha and executed OUN members. It is located in Babi Yar south of Yuriia Illienka Street (formerly until 2018 Melnyk/Melnykov Street) at Oleny Telihy Street in northwestern part of Kyiv near Dorohozhychi subway station.[6]: memorial #15  Rohach's name is the 6th from the top on the right side marble plaque.[7]: 41 

References

  1. ↑ "(Ukrainian) Сьогодні у Києві вшанують пам'ять пластунів, розстріляних у Бабиному Яру (Today we honour the scouts who died in Babyn Yar". Archived from the original on 2008-12-04. Retrieved 2008-03-09.
  2. 1 2 Dougan, Andy (2004). Dynamo: Triumph and Tragedy in Nazi-Occupied Kiev. Globe Pequot Press. p. 117. ISBN 1-59228-467-1. Retrieved 2008-03-02.
  3. ↑ Dolinsky, Eduard (2017-04-11). "Opinion | What Ukraine's Jews Fear". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-11-06.
  4. ↑ Berkhoff, Karel (October 2018). "BASIC HISTORICAL NARRATIVE OF THE BABYN YAR HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL CENTER" (PDF).
  5. ↑ Пластуни вшанували своїх побратимів, що загинули в Бабинім Яру
  6. ↑ "Photos of Babi Yar Memorial". Retrieved 2021-11-28.
  7. ↑ Kutsovska, Galyna (June 2019). "Memorializing Babyn Yar: Politics of Memory and Commemoration of the Holocaust in Ukraine" (PDF). Retrieved 2021-11-28.
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