Hryhorii Perehinyak
Hryhorii Pereghinyak | |
|---|---|
| Native name | Григорій Перегіняк |
| Nickname | Dowbeszka-Korobka |
| Born | February 7, 1910 Staryi Uhryniv |
| Died | February 22, 1943 (aged 33) Vysotsk |
| Allegiance | Germany, Ukrainian Auxiliary Police Ukrainian Insurgent Army |
| Branch | Paramilitary |
| Service years | 1941–1943 |
| Unit | Commander of a sotnia (company) |
| Conflicts |
|
Hryhorii Perehinyak (Ukrainian: Григорій Перегіняк; February 7, 1910 - February 22, 1943) was a Ukrainian nationalist, war criminal and member of the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN-B).
Biography
He came from a peasant family. In 1935, he committed the murder of a Polish village head (sołtys) in his native village of Staryi Uhryniv, for which he was sentenced to life imprisonment. In prison, he met, among others, Stepan Bandera. In September 1939, he was released from prison and joined the organization founded by Stepan Bandera in Kraków. Shortly after completing an OUN training course, Perehijniak became a member of one of the Ukrainian sabotage groups created by the German army to conduct intelligence operations in Volhynia. He then joined the collaborationist Ukrainian Auxiliary Police, where he participated in the extermination of Jews.[1]
In the fall of 1942, he deserted from the Ukrainian police units and joined the UPA, adopting the pseudonym "Dowbeszka-Korobka." On the orders of Ivan Lytvynchuk (pseud. "Dubovyi"), he formed a sotnia (company) in the Sarny district, whose main tasks were to fight Soviet partisans and eliminate the competing group of Ukrainian nationalists centered around the faction of Andriy Melnyk (OUN-M). This unit is considered the first sotnia of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army.[2]
The first mass crime committed by Perehijniak was the massacre in Paroslia, which took place on February 9, 1943,[3] which has subsequently been considered the beginning of the genocide in Volhynia.[4] Even before the action in Paroslia, Perehijniak's sotnia launched an attack on a German police station in Volodymyrets, which was likely defended by a few to a dozen or so gendarmes (Germans and Cossacks). Ukrainian sources exaggerate the number of policemen defending the station, claiming that 63 gendarmes were killed in the clash with Perehijniak's sotnia, and 19 were taken prisoner.[5][6]
He died on February 22, 1943, in Vysotsk, Volhynia, during a battle with the German army.[7]
References
- ^ Koprowski, Marek A. (26 June 2018). "Zaczął od zabicia sołtysa" [He started by killing the village head]. Najwyższy Czas! (in Polish). Vol. 1467–1468, no. 27–28. pp. 49–51.
- ^ "75 lat temu UPA dokonała pierwszego masowego mordu na ludności polskiej" [75 years ago, the UPA carried out the first mass murder on the Polish population]. TVP Info (in Polish). 9 February 2018. Archived from the original on 11 February 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
- ^ Cyra, Adam (10 February 2017). "Zbrodnia w Parośli" [The Crime in Paroslia]. Wprawnym Okiem Historyka (in Polish). Archived from the original on 15 January 2026.
- ^ Motyka, Grzegorz (2006). Ukraińska partyzantka 1942-1960: działalność Organizacji Ukraińskich Nacjonalistów i Ukraińskiej Powstańczej Armii (in Polish). Warsaw: Instytut Studiów Politycznych PAN. p. 187. ISBN 9788388490583.
- ^ "Kim był Hryhoryj Perehijniak?" [Who Was Hryhoryj Perehijniak?]. Pysl Polska (in Polish). Archived from the original on 25 September 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
- ^ Piętka, Bohdan (18 February 2017). "Kim był Hryhoryj Perehijniak?" [Who Was Hryhoryj Perehijniak?]. Spory o historię i współczesność (in Polish). Archived from the original on 12 September 2024. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
- ^ Nowik, Mariusz (11 July 2017). "Rzeź wołyńska. Oto, co opowiedział jej ostatni świadek" [Volhynian slaughter. Here's what her last witness told]. Newsweek Polska (in Polish). Archived from the original on 20 June 2025. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
Further reading
- Fedoriv, Taras (1 September 2011). "Гриць Перегіняк: Земляк і послідовник Степана Бандери – командир Першої сотні УПА" [Grits Peregiya: Fellow and follower Stepan Bandera – commander of the First Hundred UPA]. Старий Калуш (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 25 September 2018. Retrieved 18 September 2018.