Ukrainian company in Ustasha units

[Semenov]

Hi,
Few years ago I read about Ukrainian company in Ustasha units (prorably on site SS-Galicia). It is fiction or not?

Regards!

[Larry D.]

Semenov -

Not that I recall. Do you have any more information, such as a date, or the identity of the Ustasha unit, or a specific location in Croatia, etc.? I suspect that this might be a reference to the very last week before capitulation (c. 8-15 May 45) when Ustasha units were retreating through eastern Slovenia toward Maribor and the Austrian border. SS-Galicia had elements in that area and they many have attached themselves to one or more Ustasha units.

[Askold]

The Ukrainian Ustasha legion has nothing to do with SS Galicia division. If you can look it up on my site, it says that the unit was formed from Ukrainian students in Croatia as a self-defence unit from the Yugoslav communists. Originally it was a Domobran unit.

[Larry D.]

Askold -

According to your web site:

UKRAINIAN USTASHA LEGION IN CROATIA
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Ukrainians had lived in former Yugoslavia since the 18th century. A large minority of them had lived in Croatia, since Croatia was a catholic state. During the war, in 1942 Ukrainians formed their own unit known as "1st sat Ukrajinska Legionara" - 1st Company of Ukrainian Legionaries, who became part of Croatian Domobran (Home-Defence) Army and latter joined the Ustasa Voinka - the Ustashas. The legion drew its members mainly from Ukrainian Fashist Party (UFP), sponsored by Mussolini and from Ukrainian emmigrees, which settled in Croatia after Ukrainian Republic had falled to the Bolsheviks in 1920's. The legionaries wore regular army uniform - based on German style and their distinction was a white sleeve shield with black Ukrainian Trident. Legions main pupose was to protect the Ukrainian families from the communist partizans and help the army to patrol the borders. Most of the members were executed by Tito at the end of the war.

In my 25 years of researching the war in Croatia, which involved reading all of the German and Italian military and diplomatic microfilmed records together with more than 500 books and journal articles in Serbo-Croatian, German, Italian and English, I never encountered a reference to a "1. satnija Ukrajinska Legionara" nor to any communities in Hrvatska that were designated as Ukrainian. That is NOT to say that the unit did not exist, but it would be of immense interest to me to know where the Ukrainian communities were that they protected or where its garrison was located, and the identity of the larger formation of the Domobranstvo or Ustasa Vojnica that the company belong to - be that bojna, zdrug or whatever.

--Larry

[Allen Milcic]

Hi Larry:

Askold is not entirely incorrect, a company (satnija) composed of members of the Ukrainian minority in the NDH did, in fact, exist - originally as part of the NDH Domobranstvo and later as part of the Ustaska vojnica. I do not have my books and notes handy (posting from a remote location), but will look up more detailed info and will post an update accordingly.

I note that, to this day, there is a sizeable and recognized Ukrainian community in Croatia - so much so that it has a guaranteed seat in the Croatian parliament (current representative Borislav Graljuk).

Best regards,
Allen/

[Askold]

Its a very obscure formation and what I posted is prety much all the info I could gather. The Ukrainian settlements in Croatia began in 18th C. when number of Galician Ukrainians were offered lands at the Austrian boards in exchange for military services. I belive they were called "granychary" (boarderguards). From them developed the modern day Ukrainian community. Because they were Uniate (Greek-Catholic) they suffered attacks from the Orthodox partizans. Self-defence units began to form to protect the colonies. I think the unit changed from Domobran to Ustasha when it fell under the influences of Ukrainian Fashit Party (sponsored by Mussolini). I have one of their publications, If I remember correctly it was from Zagreb. So perhaps Zagreb was the HQ for the legion.

Cheers

[Larry D.]

Thanks to both.

I do not have my books and notes handy (posting from a remote location), but will look up more detailed info and will post an update accordingly.

That will be interesting, Allen. I went to enormous effort to ferret out even the tiniest Domo. and Ust. unit and I have no recollection of seeing any reference to this one. It just seems like it should have popped up somewhere. It sounds like a made-to-order article for Hrvatski narod, given its infamous reputation for parroting Ustasha party propaganda, but I must have missed it. Anything - even the slightest - that showed the NDH to be allied with other nationalities, such as the Dt. Volksgruppe in Kroatien, was lavishly covered in Hrvatski narod. Can you imagine reading every wartime issue of that paper on microfilm? I wonder if it was planned but never actually formed, or possibly existed for only a very short time?

--Larry

[Askold]

If you look, you will find! This is possibly the only existing pic of Ukrainian legion, taken in Zagreb, 1941. Published in book "Riko Jary - Zahadka OUN". Note the combination of Ukrainian collar tabs (so called "wolf's teeth")with Croatian uniform on the second officer. Can anybody tell me what collar tabs are worn by others?

[Askold]

What kind of cockade is he wearing?

[Semenov]

I'm wonderfull!

[K.Kocjancic]

Info on this subject can be found in a book titled "Rusi i Ukrajinci u oružanim snagama Nezavisne Države Hrvatske 1941. - 1945. = Rucckie i Ukraincy v vooruženn'h silah Nezavisimoj deržavy Horvataija 1941-1945", written by Andrej Andreevič Samcevič.

Regards,
Klemen