Berchtesgaden students reunite at Soyuzivka (07/13/03)

Berchtesgaden students reunite at Soyuzivka

by Helena Lysyj Melnitchenko and Eugene Melnitchenko

KERHONKSON, N.Y. - The former students of the Ukrainian Gymnasium (secondary school) at Berchtesgaden met once again on May 20-21, not in the snow capped Alps of their alma mater, but in the quieter beauty of the rolling hills southeast of the Catskill Mountains.

They came to renew friendships forged in the post-war years 1945-1949, relive their youth, share their achievements and exchange thoughts on how best to help. The 75 participants came from all over - New York City, New Jersey, the Mid-Atlantic region, Arizona, Florida, Canada and even Munich.

The conference was organized by Wolodymyr Sharko of Jacksonville, Fla., and Ihor Lysyj of Austin, Tex. Ola Hladyshowsky Sawkiw of Kerhonkson, a previous organizer of the gymnasium's reunions, was the contact and representative at Soyuzivka.

The conference consisted of presentations by prominent former students, panel discussions, a musical concert, a banquet and dance, a church service for professors and students who have passed away, and a bonfire with the singing of popular camp songs. Those who were unable to attend the reunion were there in spirit, some sending letters of greeting.

The Ukrainian Gymnasium at Berchtesgaden, classes one to eight, had only three graduating classes, (though its genesis was in Munich-Karsfeld, which graduated one class). However, it had an enormous influence on its students, many of whom emigrated from Germany after just a few grades. The enthusiasm of youth in the post-war years and the uncertainty of the future contributed to the students' bonding. An excellent faculty instilled skills, confidence and love of their homeland in the students, permitting them to achieve success in various foreign environments.

A microcosm of the Ukrainian diaspora, the former students brought a great deal of talent to the reunion. In their different ways, they have been working on behalf of Ukraine for more than half a century. They were the keepers of the flame of Ukrainian culture in schools, in churches, in museums, on stage and in newspapers. They were world ambassadors for Ukraine. They rejoiced at the miracle of independence and poured out their energy, skills and money, helping where help was needed. It was only natural that despite their disillusionment with the current regime, they wanted to discuss how to continue helping Ukraine.

A look back at the past

As if to underline this covenant to Ukraine, the first scheduled speaker, Dr. Lubomyr Wynar, was unable to attend the conference due to his conflicting commitments in Ukraine. He did, however, send two letters and a speech which were read at the reunion by his classmates. Ihor Lysyj read the protest from the presidium of the World Scholarly Council of the Ukrainian World Congress against making Russian a second official state language, as well as an open letter to President Leonid Kuchma protesting the observances of the anniversary of the Pereiaslav agreement.

Dr. Basyl Rodansky read Dr. Wynar's paper describing the work of the, Ukrainian Historian which was first released in 1963. Part of the journal's mission is to correct the falsification of Ukrainian history in the Soviet press and the acceptance of that falsification by the West. Ukrainian Historian has published 155 issues (in Ukrainian) and is distributed to some 70 universities. The famines and World War II receive special focus in the publication.

Erast Huculak, the former head of Friends of Rukh in Canada, shared his memories of the beginning of Rukh. Among its other accomplishments, the Canadian organization bought computers, copiers and other business equipment for Rukh and helped the victims of Chornobyl disaster. Mr. Huculak has the distinction of having visited Ukraine more than any graduate of the gymnasium - 56 times in all, and recently as an observer of Ukraine's elections. His talk was an insider's look into early Ukrainian politics with his memories of Ukraine's first president, Leonid Kravchuk, the late Vyacheslav the Chornovil, current president Kuchma and Viktor Yushchenko, among others.

Time for the arts

A musical program, a banquet and a dance provided a break between the two days of sessions. Here again, the organizers relied on the talent of their classmates and their children. The evening program got under way under the able direction of Bohdan Markiw, master of ceremonies. Suitable to this international, and sophisticated, audience, the evening program began with Villa Lobos' "Alma Brasillera," Albeniz's "Granada," Granados' "Andalusia" and Puccini's "Visi di Arte," performed by concert pianist Victor Markiw. These difficult pieces received an elegant, world-class rendition by the young Mr. Markiw.

Tenor George Tymczenko, who traveled from Munich, touched hearts with his lyrical performance of Ukrainian songs popular in the youthful years of the alumni. He also sang an aria from Zeller's "Vogelhandler" in Ukrainian. The vocal ensemble Charivnyi Homin, organized by Yaroslav Kushnir of class 7, charmingly sang popular songs by current Ukrainian composers. Ivan Mohylnytskyi's comic sketch "The cooking of dumplings" was well received, as humor has always been the Ukrainian way of dealing with the vicissitudes of fate. The former students of the gymnasium let the years roll away and danced up a storm to the popular ensemble Dva Kolory.

A light rain came the following day as the group walked to the Holy Trinity Ukrainian Catholic Church to pray for the repose of the souls of their late teachers and classmates. Orthodox and Catholics prayed together in the majestic space of the hutsul-style wooden church.

Pondering the future

Armed with slides, numbers and humor, the first speaker on May 21, Dr. Lubomyr Romankiw, the head of the worldwide Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization gave an overview of the organization, which currently numbers some 10,000 members in Ukraine and growing. Most of them are in the extreme western oblasts and, interestingly enough, the extreme eastern oblasts, as well as Crimea.

Dr. Romankiw underscored the fact that 26 million Ukrainians live on the Left Bank and need the most Ukrainianization. "The character of the people determines the country," he said, adding that Plast builds character from an early age. Their objective is "how Ukraine should be." He emphasized that the organization is very open-minded, recognizing that the circumstances of the lives in Ukraine are different from those in the diaspora and that allowances must be readily made for these differences. Despite these differences, the alumni of the gymnasium could easily identify with the work of Plast. Almost all were members of Plast in their youth.

The next speaker, Ihor Hayda, took part in the corps of executive volunteers in Ukraine in 1994. He said he highly recommends volunteerism as a way to help Ukraine. A specialist in food and nutrition, Mr. Hayda was assigned to a canning factory in Ukraine and taught marketing skills on site. He also gave a talk on health and nutrition, age-appropriate to his graying classmates.

Marijka Helbig of Scope Travel, too young to be a Berchtesgaden Gymna-sium alumna, in 2000 arranged a trip from Lviv to Berchtesgaden and beyond, retracing some of the immigration routes of Ukrainian World War II refugees for the alumni. She spoke about her dealings, sometimes difficult, with the Ukrainian travel industry. It was obvious that those who went on the group tour shared many adventures.

Smoloskyp (Torch), whose motto is "youth working for youth," is headed by Olexij Shevchenko. The organization offers scholarships to young Ukrainians, conducts seminars and publishes books in Ukrainian. Mr. Shevchenko displayed a book on Symon Petliura published by Smoloskyp. Petliura, a leader for Ukraine's independence in 1917, was a "zemliak" (countryman) of Mr. Shev-chenko, born in Poltava.

Dr. Osyp Moroz of Kerhonkson spoke of how the Ukrainian mindset, influenced by centuries of foreign domination, has resulted in a poor self-image. Ukrainians think in the short term and do not project into the future, which is necessary for nation-building, he underscored.

Sharing views, drawing conclusions

A discussion period followed. The tone was warm and open, as in a family setting. The views of the diaspora's continuing relations with Ukraine ranged from optimistic to pessimistic, and points in between. Many shared the view that it is unfortunate that some Ukrainians in Ukraine view the diaspora in terms of: "You left, we remained and suffered, now send us the money"; Or "You are Americans or Canadians, not Ukrainians. Don't tell us what to do." On the other hand, others noted that the diaspora is pained by their brethren in Ukraine allowing themselves to be governed by so many unethical oligarchs who have stained the good name of Ukraine that the diaspora has been promoting for so many years in the international community.

The conclusion was that both these views of "us and them" are convenient but incorrect. We have a shared history. Many of the 2.5 million members of the diaspora were born in Ukraine, were brought up to be Ukrainians by their parents and organizations here, pray in Ukrainian churches, and have preserved their heritage and culture. During the second world war, they were forcibly taken to work in labor camps by the Germans, and their parents decided not to return to Ukraine after the war because of all the atrocities and persecution they and their relatives had suffered under communism.

There are few in Ukraine and in the diaspora who didn't have members of their families arrested, sent to Solovky or Siberia, or shot. That suffering was shared by both. While Ukrainians in Ukraine suffered under Soviet domination, diaspora Ukrainians continued to suffer in their new countries, most of their parents starting at the bottom, washing floors or cleaning homes, or their children attending night schools, working very hard before moving up into their present positions. Even those who live comfortably now still have to work hard to preserve their comfort.

The diaspora had to adjust to living in foreign countries, while Ukrainians in Ukraine have always lived in their own country. Nonetheless many disasporans feel that Ukrainians in Ukraine have lost their moral compass. When some of the diaspora visit Ukraine, they feel like strangers in their own land.

Some of the participants of the Berchtesgaden reunion said they believe the explanation for this state of affairs in Ukraine lies with Moscow, which expropriated Ukrainian history. Surprised and shocked when Ukraine proclaimed independence, it is now trying very hard to regain control over its "little brother" by meddling in Ukraine's internal affairs, keeping Ukrainian aparatchyky in power and buying out the most successful Ukrainian businesses. The Ukrainian economy's dependence on Russia is increasing.

What is to be done? Taras Shevchenko's words seem appropriate now: "Skhamenitsia, budte lude, bo lykho vam bude, (Awake, regain your humanity, or misfortune will overtake you.) Ukraine needs to work with its diaspora, just like other successful countries have done, including Hungary, Israel, Korea, Poland and even China currently, to name just a few.

What is the Ukrainian diaspora interested in? It is interested in Ukraine becoming a successful, prosperous, independent, democratic country.

After the failure of Ukrainian independence in the early part of the 20th century, Petliura called from exile on all Ukrainians in and outside of Ukraine to work together for the benefit of their country and to rise above individual interests in order to attain and preserve independence. Ukraine needs to become a country we all can be proud of, a respected member of the international community, and to allow its citizens to develop and reach their potential. Ukrainians everywhere have to lose the feeling of being "little brothers." They need to rediscover their values, develop long-term goals and implement plans to reach them - this was the conclusion reached by reuion participants.

Former Berchtsgadeners agreed that it is time to set our differences aside, and for all of us to move in the same direction. The diaspora will continue to help Ukraine in myriad ways, including monetarily, but a better way has to be found to make sure that its help is channeled in the right direction to those who need it, and where it will do the most good.

Let us not forget that the Ukrainian diaspora has worked hard for independence throughout the 20th century and into the 21st, lobbying our adopted governments and sending financial assistance to help the democratic process in Ukraine. (The Ukrainian National Association, which was established in 1894, provides a striking example of such activity.) Thus, the diaspora had a hand in Ukraine's Independence. The way to make sure it endures is for all Ukrainians to work together.

Finally, the alumni of the Ukrainian Gymnasium at Berchtesgaden expressed the hope that the upcoming reunions at the renewed Soyuzivka of the Ukrainian gymnasiums in Regensburg, Bayreuth, Salzburg and Mittenwald also address some of these crucial issues, renew their friendships, relive their youth - and dance up a storm.

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