Ihor Shaban

Father Omelian Kovch - historical and moral significance of events in Galicia during WWII

Ukrainians, Polish, Armenians, Jews and other nationalities resided on the territory Eastern Galicia.  The outbreak of WWII marked a milestone in their history as an beginning of a terrible ordeal.  It manifested  particularly when the populace faced social and global problems and grew to feel debilitated and insignificant.

This engendered fear, helplessness and suspiciousness. These are the main impediments preventing us from changing our lives and starting to act to help other people change theirs. 

Religion has been the bulwork of human soul and moral support in the spiritual life of Galician peoples, represented by priests and rabbis, who sacrificed themselves for the sake of God and righteous life.

This was the lot that befell blessed Omelian Kovch.   A priest, social and cultural figure, patriot of his nation he was adept at reconciling Divine and Human and served God by serving people.

He lived in exceptional times on the territory with complex national and confessional situation, where representatives of at least three confessions, three different national groups: Byzantium-Ukrainian, Latin-Polish and Judaic -Jewish cultural identities lived together and interacted daily.

All this was topped by two occupations: Soviet-Russian and German Fascist.

Was it possible under the circumstances of such pressure from outside to maintain the Christian idea of love for thy neighbour and moral principles in relation to people persecuting others and perpetrating evil?

Probably most people on Earth have an inherent aptitude for heroism, self-sacrifice, courage and noble deeds.  Everyone of use, every second has this capacity for righteous deeds.  The question is only: when the moment really comes will we remember that we are heroes, will we answer the call of the needy at whatever cost that may come? We find it difficult to imagine that moral fortitude of one person can change the world we live in.

The life and spirit of a modest Greek Catholic priest, a martyr of the XX century, blessed Omelian Kovch is an evidence that one can be true to one's ideals to the very end, to martyr death, which he met on his 60-ieth year of life in 1944, in the concentration camp Maidanek near Lublin (Poland).

From 1922 Father Omelian was the parish priest of St. Michael church in Peremyshliany, a town with a population of about 5000 people, over half of whom were Jews.  His provided spiritual leadership for his parish for over 20 years, until he was arrested by German invaders in 1942.

Over all those years in Peremyshliany he was an ardent and persuasive preacher.  He actively organised religious, social and cultural life of his parish.  His home was a refuge for orphans and paupers.  When speaking of the modest dwelling of Kovch family Peremyshliany residents said  "Angels hover over their house".  One of the witnesses recalls that "Reverent Kovch was loved by Ukrainians, Polish and Jews alike. He never  guarded his own interests but was good to everyone who was in need".  Not infrequently his beliefs lead to conflicts with authorities.  Police searched his house, arrested him for short spells of time [1] .

In 1941, when Galicia was occupied by German troops his mission became even more difficult. The annihilation machine started working at full power exterminating Jews indiscriminately and Chistians - discriminately. Rev.Kovch appealed to the faithful, particularly to young people warning them against co-operating with the new administration and its murderous deeds, urging them not to respond to anti-Jewish provocations.  In  his sermons he bravely condemned the inhumane Nazi policy.  Time and again he was prepared to risk his life and the life of his family to save other people's lives. In this adversity Father Omelian invariably remained true to himself, valiantly and openly fighting for people's rights, protecting his neighbours, as far as it was possible and for people's good. He tried to deal with every pressing problem, which were numerous during occupation [2] . In various ways he tried to counteract crimes and homicidal policy.

People still remember the feat of Father Omelian Korch, who saved Jews from the fire.  Once, when the Jewish community convened in the synagogue for prayer, the Nazis prepared a deadly trap for them, by closing the door from outside and setting it on fire with all the people inside.  Several Jews found Father Kovch and pleaded for help.  He ran out of his home and without a second thought started shouting in an authoritative tone of voice in German to the soldiers to spare the Jews and to go away.  The repulse was so unexpected that the soldiers were taken by surprise, mounted their motorcycles and left. Father Kovch with other people opened the door, blocked by a heavy post, ran inside and starting pulling out semi-conscious people.  Risking his own life he rescued everyone he was able to” [3] . Many Jew died then but many were saved. This is just one episode of salvation, which Rev. Kovh delivered to the populace [4] .

The Jewish community placed great trust and respect in Father Omelian.  The persecuted Jews sought help from the indomitable parson of Peremyshliany time and again.  At the great peril to his life he tried to rescue them.  He was aware that he cannot save everyone, and yet he realised that he can help them.

In 1941 and beginning of 1942 some Jews were christened of their owned accord. For the majority of adults, even those, that were not particularly religious the conversion was a difficult and forced decision. This did not save them from Nazi persecutions, since pursuant to Gestapo instruction a Jew did not become an Aryan following Christening.  Still the christening certificate made is easier to obtain "Aryan" documents, which gave a semblance of hope, a prospect of rescue [5] .

Father Kovch strove to preserve the very trust in people.  His doings, which trespassed on the regulations of the German authorities could not be tolerated  by the Nazis for long. He recklessly ignored warnings of the occupation authorities and persisted in visiting people in ghettos, who were condemned to death.  These audacious steps taken by a recalcitrant priest too clearly defied the extermination plans of the Germans. He even wrote a letter of appeal to Hitler, demanding permission to visit Jewish community in ghettos and condemning the murders perpetrated  there. His deeds and disloyalty to Hitler policy eventually resulted in his arrest. In December 1942 he was thrown into Lviv prison, where in spite of great suffering he endured he still tried to console others.  His family and friends left no stone unturned to free him.  Metropolitan Andrei Sheptytskyy personally interfered.  When the only thing lacking for the discharge was Father Kovch's signature under a document obliging him to refuse to help others - he made a decision against it.

His refusal to sign the obligations brought him to the concentration camp "Maidanek" near Lublin, where he was assigned number 2399, which is still kept in the museum. The number of the barrack, where he stayed is also known.  All those traces without doubt remind us of someone, who in adversity gave people trust in people.

Maidanek was a place of martyrdom and suffering for many thousands of human lives, but Father Omelian example demonstrated that it was possible to endure this living hell differently.  He considered his stay in the concentration camp as a mission. There, in inhuman conditions his heroism reached the ultimate limit.  Concentration camp is a site of concerted mass murder. As a priest he served people by giving them consolation without regard for their origin or confession.   A letter from the camp, which somehow passed the wires is a testimony of his high morale and mindset under the circumstances. Father Omelian writes to his loved ones: "I understand you are trying to free me. However I beseech you to do nothing in this matter… I thank God for his kindness to me.  Here is the only place I would like to be apart from haven. We are all equal here - Polish, Jews, Ukrainians, Russians, Latvians, Estonians. Of all the present I am the only priest… I can see God here, Who is the only God, one for all regardless of all religious differences existing between us.  Our churches can be different, but the same God Almighty reigns in all of them.  When I give a service, all of them pray together. They pray in different languages, but doesn't God understand all languages?  They die different deaths and I help them cross this threshold into eternity."

Nowadays there is special demand for values consolidating all nations.  This is particularly so now, when we often delve in our memories into dramatic times of common history.  In this context Father Omelian Kovch can serve us as a symbol of unity. His stance of openness to each person, without regard to nationality and confession, especially in the dire times of the war, and the mere fact of a year-long stay in the concentration camp in Maidanek and brutal camp realities did not manage to eradicate the spirit of self-sacrifice in him.  His behaviour formed a positive model of relations between people and helped overcome negative stereotypes and prejudices. This positive perception of other cultures and traditions without doubt made a significant contribution into building a world free of xenophobia and hate.

A score of individuals and institutions gave recognition to the life and doings of Omelian Kovch.  The Jewish Council of Ukraine recognised him a "Ukrainian Righteous Gentile", Catholic church proclaimed him Blessed during the visit to Lviv of the Pope John Paul II.   By commemorating the extraordinary figure of Father Omelian we are trying to pay our respects to all  people, known and unknown, who dared to commit truly heroic acts in the times of denigration of human life.  He paid the ultimate price for his love of people - his life.

The example of Father Kovch teaches us to free ourselves from the burdens of the past, biased and negative conceptions of the history of other nations.  Reconciliation between neighbours can only be built on truth and justice, and this is what we should strive for. The example of blessed Father, who was true to the ideas of infinite love for thy neighbours, without regard for nationality and confessions gives us hope for achievement at the time of various national and ethnic egoism.  The life of Father Omelian exemplifies a life of a person who until death was true to his moral principles, which were profoundly humane and truly Christian. He was a son of one nation, died on the land of another nation because he rescued sons and daughters of the third nation. Our task is to comprehend his lessons: that firstly one can remain human in the most horrible circumstances, secondly that religion is our weapon against our weaknesses and thirdly that we should do everything to prevent the tragedies from ever recurring. Our meeting today should make us better people.

The issue of being open to other people to be able to understand them better and yet remain self is particularly topical and pressing today [6] . Father Kovch was a person of this make. He exemplifies a person who profoundly comprehended the message of the Gospel, which shows us the way today, when there are numerous stereotypes in the mutual perception of one another. His life is an outstanding  example of true ecumenism and  tolerance that we like to talk about these days.  He was able to oppose barbarian totalitarianism of the XX century and start building new Europe with individual and his dignity at its core. Father Kovch's openness to each individual is a veritable testimony of life.

Translated by Olena Kuznyetsova