August 4, 2017. One of the events that happened very early after WW2 ended was the repatriation of prisoners of war, concentration camp occupants, forced labourers, and volunteer labourers. For many, the chance to go home was like a dream come true, after the long nightmare of war. But for the people of Eastern Europe, the desire to go home was tempered by the fact that their countries were now occupied by the Soviet Union. Anyone going back faced a life that could make the war years seem like a pleasure holiday. Many chose to fight against repatriation.
For the residents of Camp Ohio, as they saw people being forced into repatriation against their will, there appeared to be a communal call for action, and a letter writing campaign of writing ‘refusal of repatriation’ letters occurred in August and September 1945.
The letters that survive were written in Ukrainian, German, Russian, Romanian, or English, and by men and women. Some of the letters were in two languages. All had the same basic format, identifying:
- their name
- camp registration number
- family members being spoken for
- basic personal details such as birth date and place of birth
- nationality claimed
- citizenship held prior to 1938, before WW2 began
- reason for refusing repatriation, all along the lines of not wanting to live in a Soviet state
- where they wanted to go and why, particularly if they had family members in the west
We do not yet know who originated the letter writing campaign. Many of the letters were written by the same person, on behalf of the displaced person, and that person only signed the letter. It suggests that a number of the displaced persons were unable to write much beyond signing their name. All of the Russian émigrés had their letters typed, in both English and Russian. Again, this suggests an organized campaign. Many of the letters from the Romanians were written in German.
It took the better part of a year to translate the letters into English. I did the Ukrainian ones, my husband Pieter translated the German letters. Our thanks are extended to Ed Rozylowicz, who came to our aid and asked his cousins to translate the letters in Romanian. I was very grateful to the Russian émigrés for writing their letters in English, saving translation.
The letters were heartfelt and revealed much about the times they lived in, and the desperation to have someone in a position of authority listen to them. The letters also indicated that the displaced people had some political savvy. The majority claimed Ukrainian nationality. However, as Ukraine was NOT a recognized country, the Ukrainian people before the war held either Polish or Soviet citizenship. Eastern Ukraine was Soviet, Western Ukraine was Polish. Naturally, the more astute Ukrainians claimed Polish citizenship, no matter what part of Ukraine they were from.
Only one of the letters found from Camp Ohio residents showed anyone claiming Polish nationality. This is likely because at this point in time Polish people were being repatriated. However, Poland had stated it did not want Ukrainians back. Therefore, people of Ukrainian descent, who had previously held Polish citizenship, could not be forcibly repatriated. If you wanted a chance of remaining out of the clutches of the Soviets, you claimed to be Ukrainian with Polish citizenship prior to the war!
Subsequent research shows that several of the letters were understandable works of fiction, as people made up places of birth and nationality to what they hoped would be acceptable to authorities. For example, if you stated you were Russian, you had a one way ticket to a Russian repatriation camp. The only people readily claiming Russian nationality were the Russian émigrés who’d left during the period of the Russian Revolution and who had Nansen (stateless) passports.
Out of the 233 letters, the following nationalities were identified:
- 6 had no nationality confirmed
- 2 Ethnic German
- 1 Hungarian
- 1 Polish
- 15 Romanian
- 76 Russian
- 132 Ukrainian
We have been trying to trace what happened to the writers of these letters, to see if they had been successful in their request not to be repatriated. This research is still ongoing.
Can you add to this blog entry about the refusal of repatriation letters? We need your help. If you have any stories, photos, or documents you are willing to share, please send them to dariadv@yahoo.ca to help build up the archive of information about Camp Ohio and its residents.
© Daria Valkenburg
Camp Ohio Research Project 