Мирослав Сипа

I had a sister 2 years older than me, she attended the gymnasium of the Sisters of Saint Basel the Great, and was on a skolarship of Metropolitan Andrew Sheptytskyi. That meant, that all expendatures for the education were paid for by the Chamery of the Metropolitan from his fund. The Polish authorities wanted her to finish the 6th grade of the gymnasium in Lviv in a school named "Queen Yadviga" a totaly Polish school and wanted my father to bring her metrics to the Polish church. Therefor my father took it from one church and brought it the Polish church. My father however went to Metropolitan Andrej to ask for assistance. The Metropolitan readily agreed and let my sister remain with the scholarship grant, therefore she had to travel by train for lessons. At that time the rail branch "Berezany - L'viv" was not in ruins, later I traveled by the same train.

In the end of January we came to the Carpathians. We were met. The snowfall was extremely heavy. We were met by Captain Chmelyk with his group. A sleigh with two horses had to precied us, so that we could walk. The snow was very deep. It was very romantic the way we entered the Carpathians. I had never been to the Carpathians before, and here with a full moon, and such a snow, falling continuously. The lights in houses looked like little fires. Arround morning we arrived at our camp site, near the beginning of the river Mizunka in the Region of Bolekhiv.

My parents were judged by the court in the village of Pohoriltsi in the Civil Hall, the trial was due to "anti-bolshevik" agitation. The man, that was elected on the head of the "revcom" in our town, who hailed probably from the eastern Ukrainian provinces, was probably spy left in our town, and lived there. He liked to crawl to other people storage spaces, etc. In town was stationed a tank group. A meeting was called and this man named Ivan was recomended as head of the "revcom". Many people protested this, but for some reason they head only my father and mother, because dad said: "How can a thief be elected as head?!". Well, this was quite a brave statement for which a court was called from Hlyniany and my father was sentenced to 5 years and my mother to 3 years for "anti - bolshevik" propaganda. However, thaks be to God, we did not sleep at home nights thatmuch when, the Red army was withdrawing. We slept in the garden or in the woods, and that way escaped being exiled at that time.

For students of the chemical school had to serve what was called duty to the country, for 30 days we attended a camp "Bauddienst". We built roads, bridges, and heavy duty works on land. For 30 days we did this, our supervisors were Folksdeutsch (Poles) in union with Germans and treated us badly. We were not fed well and our accomodations were inadequate. Without fail we went to prayes in the morning and in the evening, and had to work a full 12 hours: we had to dig earth, and bury masking the crimes of the German occupants in deep revines. There were executed officers and soldiers of the Italian forces held at the Citadel, and they were driven out. I was an occupant of an apartment on Khshanovs'ka street near the Citadel, so we witnessed all.