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Omelian Herman

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Omelian Herman
Born13 January 1915[1]
Unit
Battles / wars

Omelian Herman (pseudonym "Orlyk") was an activist of the Organization of the Ukrainian Nationalists, a sergeant in the Roland Battalion, an adjutant to the commander of the 201st Schutzmannschaft Battalion, and a company commander in the 1st Battalion, 29nd Regiment, 14th SS Division Galicia.

Life

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Sergeants of the Roland Battalion, from left to right: Richard Yary, Yevhen Pobihushchyi, platoon commanders Omelian Herman and Liubomyr Ortynskyi.
A company of the Roland Battalion at the Saubersdorf [de] training camp. In the first row, from left to right: major Yevhen Pobihushchyi, platoon commanders Liubomyr Ortynskyi, Omelian Herman and Ivan Makarevych
The merger of the Roland Battalion and the Nachtigall Battalion into the 201st Schutzmannschaft Battalion in Frankfurt an der Oder. In the first row, from left to right: Vasyl Sydor, Omelian Herman, Roman Shukhevych, Yevhen Pobihushchyi, Volodymyr Lun

He was an active participant in the Ukrainian Nationalist Militias [uk] and served as the commander of a platoon in the Roland Battalion.[2]

After the formation of the 201st Schutzmannschaft Battalion, he served as the adjutant to its commander, Yevhen Pobihushchyi. He distinugished himself in battle against the Soviet partisans. Pobihushchyi wrote in his memoirs:

...having arrived early at the office, I did not find my adjutant, Omelian Herman. It was unheard of for him to oversleep; that had never happened before.

Herman arrived around noon with a group of our soldiers and told me that not far from our post, partisans had mined the road ambushed a convoy of vehicles carrying grain.

When mines began exploding and shooting started, he assembled a group of soldiers, including members of the headquarters staff, ran to the aid of the convoy that had been attacked, and successfully forced the partisans away.[3]

According to Ukrainian historian Roman Ponomarenko, after the disbandment of the 201st Battalion, Herman and Pobihushchyi were among a group of fifteen of the battalion's officers who did not follow Roman Shukhevych into the underground Ukrainian Insurgent Army but instead went on to form part of the officer corps of the 14th SS Division Galicia.[1]

Between December 1943 and January 1944, Herman travelled to the Brody district [uk], the Zolochiv district [uk], and the Peremyshliany district [uk], as part of a divisional recruitment campaign throughout Galicia. He met with local officials and representatives of the Ukrainian intelligentsia, and organized meetings in various towns and villages. In a report of his activities, he noted that he had received a positive reception from the Ukrainian population but had encountered hostility from the Polish population and Soviet sympathizers. During these meetings, he also advised Ukrainian youth not to engage in partisan activities. 97 volunteers were recruited to the Galicia Division through his efforts: 7 in Brody, 20 in Zolochiv, and 70 in Peremyshliany.[4]

In June 1944, Herman was made a company commander in the 1st Battalion of the Galicia Division's 29th Waffen-Grenadier Regiment.[5][6] According to Navruzov, division commander Fritz Freitag appointed Herman to command the battalion's 2nd Company after dismissing the previous commander, Obersturmführer Bauff, a German, who had stamped on flowers arranged in the shape of a Ukrainian trident outside the company headquarters, having mistaken it for a communist symbol.[5] However, Ukrainian historian Andrii Bolianovskyi lists Herman as the commander of the 1st Company (sotnia) of the 1st Battalion (kurin) as of 28 June, the date when the division began deploying into western Ukraine.[6]

Pobihushchyi's memoirs contain a different explanation of how Herman became a company commander: 29th Regiment commander Friedrich Dern considered taking Herman as his adjutant, but preferred to have a German in this position, and assigned Herman to command a company instead.[3]

According to Pobihushchyi's memoirs, Herman took part in the July 1944 battle of Brody. Herman and his company (sotnia) were the first to go into battle after the 1st Battalion (kurin) was ordered to support Wehrmacht units defending the area around Olesko and the village of Khvativ [uk].[3] His further fate is unknown.

References

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  1. ^ a b Пономаренко, Роман (2020). Українські юнкершафти: підготовка українського офіцерського корпусу і військах СС і їхня служба в дивізії «Галичина» [Ukrainian Junkerschaft: Training of the Ukrainian officer corps in the Waffen-SS and their service in the Galicia Division] (in Ukrainian). Mandrivets [uk]. p. 19. ISBN 978-966-944-194-2.
  2. ^ Легіон «Роланд»
  3. ^ a b c Побігущий–Рен, Євген (1982). Мозаїка моїх спомнів [Mosaic of my memories]. Munich-London.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. ^ Крохмалюк, Роман (1978). Заграва на сході: Спогади й документи з праці у військові управі "Галичина" в 1943-1945 роках [The Glow in Eastern Europe: memoirs and documents of a member of the Military Board "Galicia" (1943-1945)]. Toronto: Kiev Printers Ltd. pp. 212–214. LCCN 77-9240.
  5. ^ a b Наврузов, Бегляр (2010). 14-я гренадерская дивизия СС «Галиция» [14th Grenadier Division of the SS "Galicia"]. Moscow: Veche [ru]. p. 168. ISBN 978-5-9533-4058-8.
  6. ^ a b Боляновський, Андрій (2000). Дивизія "Галичина": історія [The Division "Galicia". Its History]. Lviv. p. 178. ISBN 966-02-1635-1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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