On the said terrorism (but Poland overall was a place of extreme political violence even during peacetime - a president shot dead, a successful military coup with hundreds killed, police repeatedly massacring protesters and strikers, a ridicalously huge commie bombing that killed hundreds of people, tens of thousands of commies fleeing the police repressions to the USSR only to be executed by Stalin, etc):
Since joining the OUN, Bandera has rapidly risen through its ranks – partly due to his skills as an organiser and his knack for clandestine operations, and partly as a result of a generational change that took place within the organisation, which saw older and more moderate activists gradually replaced by young radicals. In 1931, Bandera became the head of the propaganda department, and two years later he was appointed the head (providnyk) of OUN’s National Executive. He pushed the activity of the organisation towards individual terror against the representatives of Polish authorities and against Ukrainians who were believed to collaborate with enemies. He personally selected assassins from among prospective candidates and made detailed preparations for the assassinations.
On 15 June 1934, his men carried out a daring assassination of the Polish Minister of Internal Affairs, Bronisław Pieracki. The swift reaction of the Polish authorities entailed mass arrests of OUN members as well as the establishment of a detention camp in Bereza Kartuska – a prison for political opponents of the ruling party. On 25 July 1934 the principal of the Ukrainian secondary school in Lviv, Ivan Babiy, a former UHA officer and a great Ukrainian patriot, was murdered for preventing OUN propaganda from being spread on school grounds, as he wanted to protect the students and the school from police reprisals. Bandera considered it to be treason.
The Greek Catholic Metropolitan of Lviv Andrey Sheptytsky spoke out after Babiy's murder, condemning the activities of Ukrainian terrorists as amoral; however, in the eyes of young radicals, Stepan Bandera – the leader of the assassins, who was arrested by Poles – started turning into a hero. This could be attributed in part to the reports of his steadfast attitude during two trials in Warsaw and Lviv, which saw him sentenced to death – at a later date, the sentence was changed to life imprisonment. His fanaticism is best described by the words he himself used in his final speech during the Lviv trial:
"our idea in our understanding is so grand, that when we talk about its realization, not single individuals, nor hundreds, but millions of victims have to be sacrificed in order to realise it."
Bandera’s way with words, unpredictable temperament, fanatical determination and his devotion to the ‘sacred nationalist cause’ all contributed to the growing cult of personality.
Bandera served his sentence in Polish prisons in Święty Krzyż, Rawicz, Wronki and in the Bereza Kartuska camp. Before the outbreak of World War II, he was moved to the prison in Brest, from where he was released on 13 September 1939 – after which he made an attempt to seize power in the OUN. Several months later, in 1940, the organisation split into two factions – one led by Andriy Melnyk (OUN-M) and the other led by Bandera (OUN-B).
On the said terrorism (but Poland overall was a place of extreme political violence even during peacetime - a prime minister shot dead, a successful military coup with hundreds killed, police repeatedly massacring protesters and strikers, a ridicalously huge commie bombing that killed hundreds of people, tens of thousands of commies fleeing the police repressions to the USSR only to be executed by Stalin, etc):
Since joining the OUN, Bandera has rapidly risen through its ranks – partly due to his skills as an organiser and his knack for clandestine operations, and partly as a result of a generational change that took place within the organisation, which saw older and more moderate activists gradually replaced by young radicals. In 1931, Bandera became the head of the propaganda department, and two years later he was appointed the head (providnyk) of OUN’s National Executive. He pushed the activity of the organisation towards individual terror against the representatives of Polish authorities and against Ukrainians who were believed to collaborate with enemies. He personally selected assassins from among prospective candidates and made detailed preparations for the assassinations.
On 15 June 1934, his men carried out a daring assassination of the Polish Minister of Internal Affairs, Bronisław Pieracki. The swift reaction of the Polish authorities entailed mass arrests of OUN members as well as the establishment of a detention camp in Bereza Kartuska – a prison for political opponents of the ruling party. On 25 July 1934 the principal of the Ukrainian secondary school in Lviv, Ivan Babiy, a former UHA officer and a great Ukrainian patriot, was murdered for preventing OUN propaganda from being spread on school grounds, as he wanted to protect the students and the school from police reprisals. Bandera considered it to be treason.
The Greek Catholic Metropolitan of Lviv Andrey Sheptytsky spoke out after Babiy's murder, condemning the activities of Ukrainian terrorists as amoral; however, in the eyes of young radicals, Stepan Bandera – the leader of the assassins, who was arrested by Poles – started turning into a hero. This could be attributed in part to the reports of his steadfast attitude during two trials in Warsaw and Lviv, which saw him sentenced to death – at a later date, the sentence was changed to life imprisonment. His fanaticism is best described by the words he himself used in his final speech during the Lviv trial:
"our idea in our understanding is so grand, that when we talk about its realization, not single individuals, nor hundreds, but millions of victims have to be sacrificed in order to realise it."
Bandera’s way with words, unpredictable temperament, fanatical determination and his devotion to the ‘sacred nationalist cause’ all contributed to the growing cult of personality.
Bandera served his sentence in Polish prisons in Święty Krzyż, Rawicz, Wronki and in the Bereza Kartuska camp. Before the outbreak of World War II, he was moved to the prison in Brest, from where he was released on 13 September 1939 – after which he made an attempt to seize power in the OUN. Several months later, in 1940, the organisation split into two factions – one led by Andriy Melnyk (OUN-M) and the other led by Bandera (OUN-B).
On the said terrorism (but Poland overall was a place of extreme political violence even during peacetime - a prime minister shot dead, a successful miliary coup with hundreds killed, police repeatedly massacring protesters and strikers, a ridicalously huge commie bombing that killed hundreds of people, tens of thousands of commies fleeing the police repressions to the USSR only to be executed by Stalin, etc):
Since joining the OUN, Bandera has rapidly risen through its ranks – partly due to his skills as an organiser and his knack for clandestine operations, and partly as a result of a generational change that took place within the organisation, which saw older and more moderate activists gradually replaced by young radicals. In 1931, Bandera became the head of the propaganda department, and two years later he was appointed the head (providnyk) of OUN’s National Executive. He pushed the activity of the organisation towards individual terror against the representatives of Polish authorities and against Ukrainians who were believed to collaborate with enemies. He personally selected assassins from among prospective candidates and made detailed preparations for the assassinations.
On 15 June 1934, his men carried out a daring assassination of the Polish Minister of Internal Affairs, Bronisław Pieracki. The swift reaction of the Polish authorities entailed mass arrests of OUN members as well as the establishment of a detention camp in Bereza Kartuska – a prison for political opponents of the ruling party. On 25 July 1934 the principal of the Ukrainian secondary school in Lviv, Ivan Babiy, a former UHA officer and a great Ukrainian patriot, was murdered for preventing OUN propaganda from being spread on school grounds, as he wanted to protect the students and the school from police reprisals. Bandera considered it to be treason.
The Greek Catholic Metropolitan of Lviv Andrey Sheptytsky spoke out after Babiy's murder, condemning the activities of Ukrainian terrorists as amoral; however, in the eyes of young radicals, Stepan Bandera – the leader of the assassins, who was arrested by Poles – started turning into a hero. This could be attributed in part to the reports of his steadfast attitude during two trials in Warsaw and Lviv, which saw him sentenced to death – at a later date, the sentence was changed to life imprisonment. His fanaticism is best described by the words he himself used in his final speech during the Lviv trial:
"our idea in our understanding is so grand, that when we talk about its realization, not single individuals, nor hundreds, but millions of victims have to be sacrificed in order to realise it."
Bandera’s way with words, unpredictable temperament, fanatical determination and his devotion to the ‘sacred nationalist cause’ all contributed to the growing cult of personality.
Bandera served his sentence in Polish prisons in Święty Krzyż, Rawicz, Wronki and in the Bereza Kartuska camp. Before the outbreak of World War II, he was moved to the prison in Brest, from where he was released on 13 September 1939 – after which he made an attempt to seize power in the OUN. Several months later, in 1940, the organisation split into two factions – one led by Andriy Melnyk (OUN-M) and the other led by Bandera (OUN-B).