Epic Journey: The Life and Times of Wasyl Kushnir

by Andrei Kushnir, Oles Tymoshenko (Translator), Yaryna Tymoshenko (Translator)

Overview

Wasyl Andreievych Kushnir was born in Ukraine in 1923, and was witness to the tragedies and horrors of the early years of collectivization under the Soviet regime in his homeland. His father fought in the Ukrainian National Army against the Russian Bolshevik invasion and ultimate occupation of Ukraine, and his grandfather was murdered by Chekist Bolsheviks. Early in Wasyl's life, his family's home and all personal possessions were confiscated by the communist authorities, and both parents were exiled, his father to Siberia, and mother to a prison in Mariopol. His uncle Danylo was also arrested and exiled to forced labor in Siberia, and then to Komi SSR. During this period, Ukraine experienced genocidal famine, and Wasyl himself suffered hunger during the Ukrainian Holodomor, in which millions perished. Upon the escape of his parents from prison camps, the family reunited, only to be torn apart again during World War II when Wasyl was taken by the Nazis as a slave laborer to Germany. At the war's conclusion, Wasyl drove trucks for the American Army in Germany, and married his wife, Maria, also a forced labor survivor, who bore him two sons. The family ultimately emigrated to Mississippi, and then Chicago, Illinois where two other children were born. Wasyl pursued the American dream, sought an education, and was ultimately successful in business, retiring in Florida where he spent his last years.

The story of Wasyl’s life, which extended almost a century, is told by his son Andrei in his father’s voice. Andrei combined his father’s memories, written longhand in Ukrainian, with translated documents and additional narrative. This non-fiction work attests to the struggle for survival under the harsh Soviet regime in Ukraine, the courage and persistence of one remarkable man, the importance of family, and the strength and endurance of the human spirit.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781644691090
Publisher:	Academic Studies Press
Publication date:	04/07/2020
Pages:	142
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Andrei Kushnir is an American artist/author of Ukrainian-American descent. He is the author of Oh, Shenandoah, Paintings of the Historic Valley and River; Painted History, and other collections of his artistic works. He is a graduate of the University of Illinois (BA), Georgetown University(MA) and Howard UniversitySchool of Law (JD), and served as a civilian attorney with the Federal Aviation Administration, and U.S. Department of the Navy.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
List of Illustrations

Introduction

Family History
Dispossession and Father’s Arrest
My Mother’s Travails
My Life After the Arrests of My Parents
The Holodomor
My Parents, and Their Lives During and After the Holodomor
I Rejoin My Parents
Uncle Danylo
Life with My Parents in Bilychi
The German Army Enters Kyiv
Return to Nova Bubnivka
Conscription to Forced Labor in Germany
Correspondence I Received as a Forced Laborer in Germany
The War Ends; I Am Set Free
Life in the Refugee Camp, Regensburg, Germany
I Start My Own Family
We Immigrate to the United States
Life in Chicago
Reconnecting with my Mother
Family Life in Chicago
Move to Palatine, Illinois
Our Family in America
Our Move to Florida. The Family Grows
Last Thoughts

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“The story of Wasyl Kushnir is indeed an epic journey. From birth to boyhood and youth in Ukraine, he and his family suffered unimaginably under Soviet domination and collectivization in the 1920s and 1930s and then under German occupation during World War II. Taken from his family by the Germans and put to forced labor, he survived by chance and misadventure but also through courage, determination, and an indomitable spirit. In the aftermath of the war, the Ukrainian story of this resourceful young man, now married with children, became an American story as he found the means and resolve to immigrate to the United States and raise his family in Chicago. Herein lies the meaning of a purposeful life, well lived, for all Americans concerned for the future of a nation conceived in its own time of trial, developed by peoples of many varied traditions, faiths, and nationalities, and destined because of people like Kushnir to be a model of tolerance, optimism, and opportunity. This powerful story is compellingly told in Kushnir’s own words, personal photographs, and public documents carefully edited with commentary by his son, Andrei Kushnir.” —Warren R. Hofstra, Stewart Bell Professor of History, Shenandoah University

“Epic Journey is indeed an epic journey, a sad, tragic, and ultimately inspiring tale of oppression, defeat, flight, and salvation that addresses the very essence of the human condition. But Epic Journey is also an important addition to the small, but steadily growing, body of memoirs that give voice to the Ukrainian encounter with catastrophe in the twentieth century. As such, it sounds a warning about the dangers of authoritarianism, fanaticism, and intolerance to all people of good will.” —Alexander J. Motyl, Rutgers University-Newark

“This richly-illustrated memoir spanning a century of family history centres on the life of an immigrant, Wasyl Kushnir. Born in 1923 on the eve of turbulent times into a family of beekeepers in Soviet-ruled Ukraine, as a child Kushnir lived through a period of state-sponsored violence and terror. This included his parents’ arrest, the dispossession of their small farm, and in 1932-1933 a genocidal-scale famine, when millions died. During the Second World War Kushnir was taken to work in Germany as a forced labourer. Remarkably, he kept the post-card correspondence with his family, reproduced in this volume. In the post-war era, away from his subjugated homeland, Kushnir finally gained the opportunity to live a more normal life. He married, and in 1950 emigrated with his young family to the United States, settling in a largely Ukrainian neighborhood in Chicago. His family grew, and Kushnir lived a long, productive and successful life, bringing his story to a happy ending. This memoir should be of interest to those seeking to understand the immigrant’s quest to escape tyranny and violence for a chance at a better life.” —Bohdan Klid, Director of Research, Holodomor Research and Education Consortium