Maksym Skorupsky ( uk, Максим Скорупський; also known by his

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

Maks) (November 12, 1912 – December 11, 1985) was a

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

military leader of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army.

Biography

Born in the village of Antonivtsi, Volhynian Governorate,

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

(now

Ternopil Oblast Ternopil Oblast ( uk, Тернопі́льська о́бласть, translit=Ternopilska oblast; also referred to as Ternopilshchyna, uk, Терно́пільщина, label=none, or Ternopillia, uk, Тернопілля, label=none) is an obl ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

), he studied at the Lviv University before his studies were terminated and he was called up for military service in the Polish Army. Skorupsky was not a member of

OUN Oun or OUN may refer to People * Ahmed Oun (born '1946), Libyan major general * Ek Yi Oun (1910–2013), Cambodian politician * Kham-Oun I (1885–1915), Lao queen consort * Õun, an Estonian surname; notable people with this surname * Oun Kham (18 ...

, but was a supporter of Andriy Melnyk. He was an officer in the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UIA) known under the name “Maks” in UIA-South. In 1943 he operated in area south of

Rivne Rivne (; uk, Рівне ),) also known as Rovno (Russian: Ровно; Polish: Równe; Yiddish: ראָוונע), is a city in western Ukraine. The city is the administrative center of Rivne Oblast (province), as well as the surrounding Rivne Raio ...

in the military group (division) “Bohun”. On May 3, he participated in the assault on Polish village Kuty during the

massacres of Poles in Volhynia The massacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia ( pl, rzeź wołyńska, lit=Volhynian slaughter; uk, Волинська трагедія, lit=Volyn tragedy, translit=Volynska trahediia), were carried out in German-occupied Poland by the ...

. At least 53 Poles were killed.

Grzegorz Motyka Grzegorz Motyka (born 1967) is a Polish historian and author specializing in the history of Poland–Ukraine relations. Since 1992 he served at the Institute of Political Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences and at the Institute of National ...

, Od rzezi wołyńskiej do akcji Wisła, p. 115 On February 29, 1944, Skorupsky took part in the attack on Nikolai Vatutin, a battle near the village of Myliatyn against the group

SMERSH SMERSH (russian: СМЕРШ) was an umbrella organization for three independent counter-intelligence agencies in the Red Army formed in late 1942 or even earlier, but officially announced only on 14 April 1943. The name SMERSH was coined by Josep ...

. On 12 March 1944, ''kurin'' of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army under his command murdered Poles in

Pidkamin Pidkamin ( uk, Підкамінь, pl, Podkamień) is an urban-type settlement in Zolochiv Raion (district), Lviv oblast in Ukraine. It is located near the administrative border of three oblasts, Lviv, Rivne, and Ternopil. Pidkamin hosts the ad ...

. Estimates of victims include 150

, Ukraińska Partyzantka 1942-1960, Warszawa 2006, p. 385 and more than 250.Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, Chapter 5
Kiev, Ukraine: Institute of History of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences. Chapter written by

Ihor Ilyushin Igor ( be, Ігар, Ihar ; russian: Игорь, Igor' ; sr-Cyrl, Игор ; uk, Ігор, Ihor ; ) is a common East Slavic given name derived from the Norse name Ingvar, that was brought to ancient Rus' by the Norse Varangians, in the form ...

. pg. 285 Skorupsky took part in the Battle at Hurby, April 21–25, 1944, against soldiers of the

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...

, which was a tactical win for the NKVD. After the battle, the NKVD burned down the villages of Hurby and Antonivets. In 1944, he emigrated to Austria and from there in 1948 to the United States, where he settled in New Jersey. He died in Trenton, New Jersey. Skorulsky is known for numerous published articles of reminiscences regarding his activities in the UIA and his book of memoirs, ''Туди, де бiй за волю'' ("There, where there is a battle for freedom").

References

Sources

* ''Encyclopedia of Ukraine'', Vol. IV, University of Toronto Press, 1993. * ''Encyclopedia of the history of UIA'' (Eнциклопедія історії УПА) * М. Сивіцький. Записки сірого волиняка. Львів, 1996. * П. Содоль. Українська Повстанча Армія 1943-49. Довідник. Нью-Йорк, «Пролог» 1994. *
Skorupsky, M.A. (Maks).

Туди де бій за волю ("Where the battle for freedom is") : (Спогади Курінного УПА Максима Скорупського-Макса) / М.А. Скорупський, Макс. - К. : Вид-во ім. Олени Теліги, 1992. - 351 с. -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skorupsky, Maksym 1912 births 1985 deaths Military personnel from Ternopil Oblast People from Volhynian Governorate Commanders of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists Ukrainian collaborators with Nazi Germany Ukrainian people of World War II Ukrainian revolutionaries Soviet emigrants to the United States Holocaust perpetrators in Poland