FOCUS ON PHILATELY
by Peter Cybaniak, Roman Dubyniak and Ingert Kuzych
Postcards recall Ukrainian heroines of World War I
We are constantly amazed by the fascinating information that can be gleaned from examining postcards. Austria led the way by introducing postal cards (blank pieces of thin cardboard without a picture but with a pre-printed postage stamp design) in 1869. Picture postcards followed just a few years later. Their low price made them extremely popular, and they became the e-mail of their day.
Many of our best depictions of late l9th and early 20th century Ukrainian life come from postcards, particularly those mailed from the lands of western Ukraine (Halychyna), then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. These cards are not only valuable historical records of places, but also of people, and this month's article will describe three prominent Ukrainian women who took part in the first world war and who were eventually depicted on postcards.
The first two ladies are relatively well-known, for when the semi-military Sich Riflemen (Sichovi Striltsi) unit was formed in Lviv in March of 1913, these were two of the first female students to join in a special women's platoon. With the outbreak of the war in 1914 and the formation of the Ukrainian Legion, there was suddenly a severe lack of Ukrainians with any military experience. Although it was forbidden in the Austrian army for women to fight as front line troops and to join a formation such as the Ukrainian Legion, these two girls volunteered and managed to join the legion using their own names. Their previous military experience undoubtedly contributed to their acceptance.
Other brave girls also managed to join the Ukrainian Legion, changing their Christian names to male equivalents. For example, Pavlyna Rys joined the Ukrainian Legion as Pavlo Rys. The Ukrainian Legion was the only formation in the Austro-Hungarian army where women - wearing the same clothes and undergoing the same hardships as their male counterpart - fought as regular troops in the front lines.
Shown in Figure 1 is a well-known portrait postcard of Olena Stepaniv (perhaps most famous for its Mona Lisa-like smile). Born in Vyshnivchyk (today in Khmelnytskyi Oblast) in 1892, she joined the legion at the outset of the war in 1914 and fought at the battle for Makivka. Decorated for bravery, Ms. Stepaniv was promoted to second lieutenant, but then languished in a Russian POW camp in Tashkent for two years (1915-1917). She served on the legion's Supreme Military Board, which organized the audacious (and bloodless) takeover of Lviv from Austria on November 1, 1918. She next commanded a platoon of the Western Ukrainian National Republic's military force, the Ukrainian Galician Army (1918-1919).
During the 1920s Ms. Stepaniv completed a Ph.D. in history and geography at Vienna University and then taught at the Basilian Sisters Gymnasium in Lviv. Forbidden to teach by the Polish authorities in 1935, she participated in various community organizations including the Ridna Shkola guidance department. During the 1939-1941 Soviet occupation she resumed teaching, and during 1944-1946 lectured at Lviv University. Her Ukrainian nationalistic outlook caused her to be arrested and incarcerated in a Mordovian labor camp from 1949 to 1956, where her health was seriously undermined. She died in Lviv in 1963.
We have been able to locate three other postcards that show Lt. Stepaniv in full-figure views. A somewhat formal photo in Figure 2 shows her wearing a sword; Figure 3 depicts her with her brother Ananii, also in the uniform of the Austro-Hungarian army; and Figure 4 presents her in a rather pensive pose, seated on a bench next to a battle-scarred building.
The young lady in Figure 5 is Lt. Sofia Halechko, who was born in Novyi Sanch in 1891. After serving in the Sich Riflemen, she volunteered for the Ukrainian Legion where her front line bravery brought her to the rank of second lieutenant. When the Austrian army authorities began to remove women in earnest from the Ukrainian Legion in 1916-1917, she was released from the legion. She died in 1918.
The sad rumor in Lviv was that after she left the legion she planned to marry but was let down by her lover, who had left her with child. The shame caused her to take her own life by drowning. If true, this would indeed be a tragic end to a brave heroine.
Figure 6 shows a profile view of Lt. Halechko on another postcard, while Figure 7 depicts her carrying a rifle. Interestingly, this latter bilingual postcard was not printed in Austria or by the Ukrainian Legion; instead it was published by the American Ukrainian Exchange, whose New York City address appears on the reverse. So, the fact of Ukrainian women serving in the Austrian armed forces was known in America. The inscription states: "Sophie Halechko, a Ukrainian girl in Austrian army."
Figure 8 is a unique Ukrainian Legion postcard titled "Ukrainian Sich Riflemen in the Carpathians." Shown second from the left is Olena Stepaniv; Sofia Halechko appears on the far right. The photograph was made on March 8, 1915, on Mount Makivka.
Our final heroine was also the youngest. Rosa Zenokh (Zenoch) was only 12 or 13 (the accounts differ) in the fall of 1914 when, during the Russian offensive on Lviv, the front line moved up to the vicinity of her father's farmhouse near Rava Ruska (about 50 kilometers, 30 miles, north of Lviv). Ignoring the bursting of shells and machine gun strafing, she supported the defending Austrian army soldiers in the trenches by bringing them food and water until she herself was badly wounded by a bursting shell that ripped her left side.
Some of the soldiers that she had shortly before assisted (most of whom were probably fellow Ukrainians serving in the Austrian army) came to her aid and rushed her to a field hospital. Although the doctors were able to save her life, she had to have her left foot amputated.
The gallant actions of Rosa Zenokh did not go unrecognized. She was decorated personally by the Austrian Emperor Franz-Joseph with a war decoration, received a silver medal of merit from the Red Cross, was given the title of Samaritan, and became known as "Rosa Zenoch, the Heroine of Rava Ruska."
A full-color drawing of Rosa assisting the troops was made into an official Red Cross postcard that was sold to raise funds (Figure 9). The card was printed in 1915 by the Alb. Berger Print Shop in Vienna and was in use for the duration of the conflict. We have used examples with dates ranging from January 7, 1916, to May 14, 1918.
Unfortunately, we have not been able to find out what happened to Rosa after the war. Can any reader supply more information?
Ingert Kuzych may be contacted at P.O. Box 3, Springfield VA 22150 or at his e-mail address: [email protected].
Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, July 1, 2001, No. 26, Vol. LXIX
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