Carpathian Ruthenia on the Warpath

f

CARPATHIANRI.JTHENIA ON THE \TARPATH

by

JANKOSUHAJ

THE NE\y EUROPEPUBLISHINGCO. LTD.

J)'

t l U'f }

,.,./

/

,

a

a

\v Yt .' -?/

PRINTED BV PRINTING CO. LTD. PARAI\TOUNT i' ARCHER STREET WORKS SHAFTESBURY AVENUE W'

G

P CD _. Where is Ruthenia? What are the Ruthenians like ? Thos.equ:stions were often asked oo-i-n" eve of the Annlsttcein l918.Oneby onethepeopleof Europewere putting forward their claims ro naiiorial friedom'. Among then! were the Ruthenians.They are a pastgral ..y$ rncient. peopleliving on the slopeso'f tt" Dcautrlulcarp_athian Mountainsin the heartbf Europe. rney l(newthat th€y were.onlya small people. Their country rs smallerthan Northern lreland. They number lessthan a million. They asked,for freedom,not for conrpleteindepedence. T!.V knew that they were too smauto run a well-defended State of their own. Thev wanted to live in partnership with the CzechsuoOini Slovaks. Their leaderswent to the peace Co'n?i;;66 p"iir'"ro told the Allied leaders.that they. wanted to enter into-a close union with-tfrebiectrs and Slovais. - -*' TlEy wanted to becomean integral pqrt of the new czecnosiovat Republic.^ They had their way^.The Treaty_br st. Germain recognisedihat Ruthenia was an autonomous part:ofCzechoslovakia. So Ruthenia is marked all the rost-v_ersa,illes . maps of Europe. she lies betweeuEasrernGaliciaand.inHungary..She is Czechosrovatcii's uridg.ib n"ru"i" the link betweenthe oilfields of Rurninia and the Skoda *oit. oiCi.cnostovatcia.-I' . So long _asczechoslovakfrontier . guardsmen stood near the snowypeaksof the Carpathians,Germany'seastward-aggression waschec{ed.'irumaniatroit .ouiA flowismoothlyto tlte enginesof civil aircraft and private cars. Thefrontierguaritsf9l ol thc Carpathianrlouruains stood beiweenGermany aoo tfte pfoJstiill nelds., sooneror.iater,_since shehad madeup her mind to ruie ali Europe.Germanv woulo nave [o clflvethe.ltontier. guardsmenoff the carpathians. ---- ---' Fbr-Germaly the-.destructionof Czechoslovakiiwasa necessity of ,ui. . Sx. years ago Hitler marked Rutheniadown for certaindestruction. He boasted that hc would createa greaterUkraine under German putroo"gi. nuthenia *u, to become.parr _o_f his Greaier ukraine. He setout to *lo in" ;;;fi,; sympathiesoithe Ruthenians.He then.plan4edto make their bur" for his atfeaceiul;;fi;t-u tacksupon Polandandihe SovietUnion. mistaken.Rutheniansare a shrewd countryfork.They know that -"-T_t^yLt,_qrea-tly tnelr oestlnyas a tree peopleis bound up with the fortunesof the Cz6chsand the :I-ovqKl.lney relusedtopay any heed to Hitler's blandishments.At the time of Munich theirpatriotismwada, fi.m asa rock. A t-ewmonths later Hitler pretendedto alter his plans. He took Bohemia and

Moravla-r.the two Czech lands-for himself. He gave a mock lndependenceto Slovekia' But Rutheria'he handed over to the Hungarians. They lost no time iii occupfing Ruthenia.So Hungary sharedwith the Germansa common guilt for the Republicin March, 1939. The gods feared tolal';ismembermentof the CZeChoslovak thos; wiro came bringing gifts. The gift of Ruthenia merely bound the Magyars to tile'German war ihaiiot. Hitler meantin the end to numberHungary amongthe occuaiedcountries. The Rutheniansresisted. They are still resisting' And now the once invincible Germany Arrny has been driven back to the Ruthenian mountains.The GermanArmy is still retreating.Alreadypart of Ruthenia's fi'ontier hes been reachedby the advancingSoviet forces. With them areCzechosiovakunits formedon Soviet soil. Many Rutheniansare fighting with them. They all wear British battle-dress. The more the Germansretreatthe more they find the difficultiesof the mountaincountry magnified. Ruthenian guerillas allow them absolutelyno rest. They a1e in conialt t6uch with Soviet soidiersand with conscriptseagerto desertfrom the Gefman lines. They read the mind of the advancing Soviet Army. They know everyyard of their own mountainousand ruggedcountry. 1'hus the day of their liberatiorr is fast-approaching.For century after century the Rutheniani have struggled against the restlessand rapacious Germans and Magyars. Once,in the distantpast, Ruthenia belonged[o-a great-Bulgar_Fmpire, but-ihe greaterpart of her recordedhistory is one of bondage under the Magyars, TI{E*PEPUBLIC *

OF

CZECHO'LOVAKIA

ot;\K

1A

,/

,.,V\

! J

iffi&ffiffip\H ."4&ffiJmd*Bi\\|ih tr,

'ffiitififfiil,,lk5lL

who -heleisway over the Jlovaksas well. The Ma_ shatreredthe old Ru_ ,S,y19

nobiiity. a f.* ril.y

ll,Ti"", to alolved make common c a u s ew i t h t h e m , b u t t h e ornersthey put to the sword 6r el,s3reducedto a stateoi serfdom. The-v turnu,d all t n e t a r r n e r sa n d c a t t l eo r : _ zers into vaisa;i

_iof'1'I.xi'Jiii,"" was,acenturyof hopefor

a ! i d o u , n t r o d d c ipi e c i p l ei n tr.urope. Byrou fougfit for

c;.d;:."'d;1,';,,"""'^';

q|ffiiW{#JN-N_ri{*i;'lilfu"" ' ;"ft'1t#::;:4iffi1* 1\:.xffiI=. re:\."-Z

'"'*i

or ltalv-.Bulgariat^; i;

et{1'*'il

Hi11,,gfti:ilii -g*+.q*-*i------=r->s.3^t-<: ;['ilfi""1".Tiffii ffi

bringthem neartheirgoar.The Rurrrenians had an admirabre '.rl?i irtLt t:illr Thgv cer.:rin arrr!)i_inr arri,unt oi adainlstriitive or administr;rriie -actujly;",;; rrrrnnn,-,ard ?f^b:;ll:kr autonomv the ,,ght to ilii. f;i;;";ihJ;r.,rL.rirr

great a
Ivlagyar tyraony was .ince agrincomplele. No ri'ci
__Ruthenia was free, but poor and badly undevelop:d Enorrnous tasks lay ahead. They noeded for their successall the taient and abiliiy that the new CzeChoslovak Republic had at its command. Profourrd cirangeswere ineviiable. The Ruthenians did not want to remain backward. Tltey clamoured ior ne'v houses.new schools.new 'Ihey businesses. wanted to revive their ancient crafts, to found banks in which they couiC put tlieir savingsand to bring a general air of prosperityinto the nrarketpiace. They trad good rvine and fruit to exchange for tire industrial goods of Boiternia and h{cravia. T'hey rvunted to repair i.he neglectedhighways and to build ncw bridges. l'here was everyi.vherean air of gay confidcnce. r.;, Bi-ttthe difficulties w.'l'e rn.iny. The old Magyar adminlstration had been careless a:ril hopelcssty. corrupt. Adminisiration liad to be good, simple and cheap. only a f:;-rv l{utheniarrs harl becii ir:zi:nedfoi a-dmin isir:rtive woi'k. Time was nccded. "l'henerv Czechosiovakadministration set out to l-ieas simple as possible. Simple folk like to have their affairs settied on the spot. They d o n o l .r v a n ta l o t f o f b r n r a l i t i c sT. h e y m u s tt r l k with officiais x'ho speak their own languageand rvho try to be as helpful as possible. TIie lviitten word was usually in'Russian or Ukrainian, though the Ruthenians, the Czechs and the

Slovaks have very little difficulty in understanding each other. The Ruthenians had been oppressed by the old administration, and won that was swept arvay. They were also oppressed by their former landlords. 'The landlords hail gone. The land remained. But the systemof land tenure was in desperateneed of reform. Within 15 years nearly 30,000 Ruthenian tenant-farmers or farm workers had received grants of land. Another reform was the establishrnent of rnany self-supporting estatos. Their sites were carefully chosen and tliey worke
? '. \a l5r

rl iTi \h,1

? a \

t

t ,'"

/

'")y4 2^n

c-47

*\fry 1--

o^1

){{s< - Neq{yhalf the country,it is true,is coveredwith virgiirforests,Nature hasbeen bormtiful. IJut rnanis careless. and the Germanis'ruthiess.utiir'sr-fr"i, aar,"n ort - -qulckty,the damagewhich he is cloingmiry i:ral its rirarkfor ciiiiuries to come.RLrtheniadoesnot pretendto bs He. _arr.;thingb.ut oo- u_g.i"uiiuint peopleare deeplyrooted in tlrc sorl.FI.:r"o,ont.y.' r'inr:iyards yield c[erisheJ *ium i6i ifr" citizensof Pragueand Brno. lder abundant"fiuitiras gi""o a riorid-wide ra"ieJo jams of'rMoraviaand Siovakta.Czechoslovut toiruc"o !h_a is;grown.in' ILuthciria. " .Eut lturhenia, though a country of land_workers,is not wititout suLrs_icliary indusiiios. A nurnber of faclories .spi?ng up when the Rutirenians becamefree. Bef
were metallurgiccentresand chemicalworks. The country was given an abundant supply of cheapelectricity. / Czechoslovakiaset out to be an ideal democratic Republic. Shehad complete freedomof worship and+pinion. Shehad advancedsystemsof social insurance.All thesebenefitsflowedfreelyto Ruthenia. Moreover,theRutheniansinsistedalways upon giving somqthingthemselves.They werefully representedin the Legislature. Their ' sonshad a fine record of serviceas soldiersor airmen.They were,in fact, co-authors of Czechoslovakia'sdemocracy. At the time of Munich only two Europeancountriesto the south-eastof the Rhine still remainedfaithful to their democratictraditions. One was Switzerland.The other , was Czechoslovakia.In settingfoot upon Ruthenia the advancingSoviettroopshave setfoot upon a country pledgedto the dernocraticway of life. High wages were paid in Bohemia and Moravia. They reactedmcst favourablyupon agricultural Ruthenia. But man does not live by bread alone. He wants, arnoog other things, health

ill!n'a=

*--''€;!+.1t*

and a gc'od education. In the days of the Republic, Rr-rthenia gained both in abundant m3asure. shg had mii;1y new irospiials; ante-nat;rl adviie centies and tuberculo;is ciinics. A close vnatch was kept on the hygicne of every viilage, N{aishreswere drained, rivcrs cairaiisedaad tire'rowns proviiJJ with a prbper iewerag. 'ltre system. effect of all thesp ro;asurds upon the heelth or tir! Rutheniin people-rvel:rlrncst instantanecus.Under Mtgyat ruie tubriiulosis and spottedtyphus

the qountry.\wthiu 15 yearsthey had becomeonly a meniory; raged.tbroughout

Hit,r'GApy i lQlS

6l

f

i/tA

H/qHEB

SEaoilhzy sq@4

a tale told to the children now living under German rule. The health centreswere nor 476 l"{AAl 630iAAAt{t alone responsiblefor this proffi. Ai,iAA f,B AAAAA,TA videntialchangeofaffairs. *AAAA' ,IAAAAAA More than half the improvement was due to the reform of t5 education. Tht Magyars had kept a fundamentally good people in ignorance and poverty.They encouraged superstitionand tolerateddirt. Thev did not want the Rutheniair cz4c4ostot/AE/4 t tqt I

{ffi+

fr Al'A4fr

ffi+

E&'

t936

their. herirage. bythe .Authiswasto beended

effects of a faulty education- there is, p.thuir, little ":ftF*i"r*ff:T;?i1ti:"Jti chance of a fuil .r.upi. ttt" yollllg were grand material. Schools wele enlaiged and increased. Illiteracy^became a thing unknorvn among the young. Hundreds of books rvere printed in the Ruthenian lanluage. Ruthenian periodicals made their appearanie. Ruthenia rvas making a v"ery"clefinitecontribition to the cuiture r_'fCzechoslovakia and Central Europe. But shq had her growing pains. The evil.consequencesof the centuries-old Ma-

lF"

ii;

fl,

t!A' ii

tf

!$*;n;==*-

-'

't

gy_aftyranny were not completely overcome ln a yeat or even in a decade. Thomas Masaryk, the grbat President-Liberatorof Czechoslovakia, used to argue '. that Czechoslovakia neededa full halfrcentury of peacefuldevelopment if she was really to solve all ^her minority problems. czechoslovakiawas never.given a full half-century foi peaceful deveiopment. She had but two decades ofpeace.

They were not really decadesofpeace at all. Early in 1933 Hitler came to power in GerHUNqAey ? many. From that day the dream ofpeace was ended. Hitler was obsessed bythe greatness ofthe czEC//osl_ovAk/Ai Ukraine. He arsued that Ruthenia waipart of tft Ukraine. He was determined to become her master. In l940he ,950 had the rich prize of France. Britain lay exposed to attack. The British people expected their island-fortress to be inraded. Butthe loss of the Battle of Britain sent Hitler back upon his insanelust for the Ukraine. The Ukraine, he shouted, should be "free. " He forgot the freedom of the Ukrainian people the freedom of choice. The Ukrainian people fought with their life-blood. Their lr great ereat crtres cities were taKen. taken. 'lnelr Their nch rich cornnelds cornfields were laid rvaste. The granary which Hitler {itler coveted became a scorched earth. The Soviet people had the rvi,ll to resist. Back across the Ukraine went a rvounded and. _desperate German Leningrad, Moscow .Army-denied and-Stalingrad; denied the collapse of the Soviet people. That stature belongs also to the Rutheman

TLAT6 ft / r/NGAccotloDAr/oNs) ru uiuop. oo

t9to

aarrG )r

dtara

.taaa ))lr

,9r7

rafla rirda rlttt I

people. F;lAfter 20 years of freedom within the CzechoslovakRepublichavecomefiveyearsof oppression. Their Magyarmastersenteredinto possession again and it is certain that nearly all the reforms were sweptaway. Magyarsfrom Budapestmade their claimsupon the well-run land allotments. Land ownerstook awaythe peasants'heritage. If those new faatories are still working, they are under

I Magyar or German management. The schools, in ali probability, are once more in decay. Over the Nazi Empire hovers the spirit of death. The past five years have been a severe testing-time. For long. victory seemed doubtful or remote. I{itier was master of Euiope Far as the eye might range from a Carpathian ntountait-rthe land r,vcsFlitler's. What were the Rtithenian peaiants to know of British sea power, or, except in ietters sent home, of the vast potentialities of the United States? Yet thc Rutilenians never gave way. They had tasted freedom. They r.vouldbe content with nothing less. They saw, more than three years ago, that Hitler was preparing to attack the Soviet Union. The lust for tlte Ukraine had made him crazy. It gave the Ruthenians high hope. They beiievr: sincerely in the greatness of Russia. From Russia and Ukraine comes their culture and the form of their religion. These are things which their Magyar rnasters were always quite unable to destroy. Hard days lie ahead-pelhaps for all the Czechoslovak people. Czechoslovakia is the fortress of Eulope. The Germans will do the best to defend her, though the revoltandsabotageoftheCzechoslovak people will make things infinitelydifficult for them. No Rutheniail, r1o Cz9ch, no Slovak will shirk the tasks of to-day. None have asked that his couutry shall be spared the scars of battle.

Hail to the Ruthbnian. He seesthe Sovietsoldlerencampedin the earpathians. He knows that the German order in Europe is doomed. For his long relusal to rnake common causewith the enemiesof his country will comeat last the reward of freedom. He looks to us to shapethe comingpeacethat the Carpathianswill never again be madea citadel of iniquity. . SEE RUTHENIA AFTER THE WAR When the armistice is signed, what will you do ? Plan a holiday in Europe ? That is a long way off. The peopleof Europe hsve still to be freed, clothed, fed, resettledin the homesfrom which the Germansdrove them. A host of temporary officials will be wantedin Europe. The tourist will haveto wait. But not for ever. The tourist will havethe freedomof Europe again. It will be greater freedom. Wtrereverhe go:s the tourist will meet men and-womengrateful ? for the standwhich the British madein 1940. thenwill you go ? Why not to Ruthenia? Book your journey early. _ W_her9 Ruthenia will have many memoriesfor thosewho fought for freedomon the Eastern front. Many a Ruthenianvillageis likeiy to g"t a world-renownbeforethis war is over. Tastethe wine of Ruthenia. Swim in her tree-shelteredrivers. Climb her moun-. tains. Walk through her beautiful forest.s. Ride across country. Hunt the wild boar. Examinethe ruggedcastleswhich remindyou that Ruthenia'sbrief freedom was not won until shehad borne many centuriesof war. There are spa waters and brine baths. There are shepherd huts and' manY beautiful wooden churches. The forests and the mountainshave a beauty unsurpassedin Europe. Thereare springsof ice-coldwater in which to batheaftei a long walk. You may not be able to speak the people's language. That is a pity. They are friendly. Their ianguage is poetical. Their folk-lore is exceedingly rich. But here and there you will flnd a young man-or, maybe, even a middle-aged manwho fled from his country so as to fight for her freedom. He has learned in exile to speak English. He will explain the customs and festivitieswhich are crowded around the wooden church. The songswhich tire Ruthenians sing will not sound strange to you. Throughout the war you have been listening, even if a little unconsciously,to the music of Dvorak and Smetana. Both found good foundations in rhe folk-songs of their own country. Sone of those songsbelong to Ruthenia. -Ruthenia is, indeed,a land of song. Sorror.vand song may seem to go together. But life in Ruthenia is virile, tough, eager. The will to live has kept the Ruthenians together throug4 iire grimmest years. Above the hardness there is gaiety, sympathy, a nimbleness of wit. The sun shines and the air is vibrant with music. If you rilant a luxury hotel, keep away from Ruthenia. She has never built up a tourist industry. Go to Ruthenia only if you are sound in limb and wind. Go t-o Ruthenia if your heart is young and if you like the simple things of life - mquntain air and scenery, rocks and springy turf, the wind and the heather, loneliness ald the aompanionship of youth. Go to Ruthenia if you travel light-if you want swimming

shortsfor the sunrner and skis for the winter. Go to Ruthenia if'you are a man with 1gun. _Goto Rutheniaif you want snow-coveredslopesand froien mountain-lakes. Go to ftulhlnia_if you want wild, sun-clad beauty. Go to Ruthenia if vou ;"n;i; see where the west meetsthe_East ; the mountain fastnessof central Europe. .If you haveseenRrrthenia,you are at leasta well-travelledman.

'l

I

g?

: ;c. f

t a

',7tlQuzo* /

VEPECHEB t lL

l,i\.

/

tlorAo.sl{E P

,; Ern*-^

tt

rs o PEPFC/N a ilrrlcKE

ffi-,#

/'^uZHonaD X 6ffn.

oroitn'', ;,',.

)osvnt),uet,, , PANTYP P

ffi,,

ltfte

co.tle

,r,,,,f; //oyo

s

say?u{

ClTUST

@F,.=-FL-,4--5-14

-

kc$!tr .,, Soa ml/$

ffi

sL;rDoLupfu' $eto

Books on CarpathianRuthenia

Sunrise on Ruthenia '

BY HENRY BAERLEIN. . . a bald outline of Ruthenia's story; and in this ' book there are filled in .some details, lurid and beautiiul, with trage{V i" them and even comedy'

NEW EUROPE PUBLISHINGCOMPANY LIMITED Distributedby DRUMMONDLIMITED LINDS.A.Y

216

Death Stalks the Forest BY JAN CECH . . a story of partisan warfare in Carpathian Ruthenia' Secondenlargededi,tion.

LINDSAYDRUMMONDLIMITED

216,

,PU.BLISHING COMPANY'LTD. THE NEW EUROPE 2e GREAT JAMESSTREET,LONDON,W'C'l I

1t6