Józef Doroch was born on August 16th in 1927, in the Śliwnica village by San river, in Przemyśl county, in a family of Jan and Franciszka nee Kozak. Józef Woroch’s father was of a Greek – Catholic religion, the mother was a Roman Catholic. Doroch;s parents supported themselves by working on their farm. He recalled his childhood as a period full of peaceful co- existence of Polish and Ukrainians.

Before the outbreak of WW2 he began his education in the Ukrainian primary school in Przemyśl. In the fall of 1939 a border line between Soviets and Germans was established. His family village Dorochów was on the Soviet side. Due to carrying out the works by the Soviets on Stalin’s line, the inhabitants of Śliwnica were ousted. Doroch’s family relocated to the Optyń area, near Pikulice, near Przemyśl. They lived there until May 1948 and later they managed to return to Śliwnica.

After graduating from the primary school, Doroch began to study in the trade school in Przemyśl (1943). However soon after that, due to the shift of the front line and the following liquidation of education Ukrainian institutions, he was forced to interrupt his education. His final High School exams he passed in1950. The same year he began his university education at the University of Economics in Szczecin, which he graduated from in 1953.

According to the so-called work order, Doroch took his first job in Kraków, but soon returned to Szczecin. He kept in touch with his parents and his sister, who stayed behind in Śliwnica. He was interested in the fate of the Śliwinica community and participated in the important events, such as the transfer of the ikon copy of Our Lady to a newly built, in a place of a non existing church, chapel.

Józef Doroch was tied to Social – Cultural Ukrainian Organization (UTSK) from the very beginning of its existence until its transformation into the Association of Ukrainians in Poland (ZUwP). Among other activities he was a delegate to the organizational meeting UTSK in 1956. In the organization he fulfilled a number of functions, among others he was the Chairman of the  Provincial Revision Commission in Szczecin (1969), he was the Chairman of the Board of UTSK branch in Szczecin (1984-1986), the Chairman of the Board of Szczecin UTSK, and the Chairman of the General Revision Commission of UTSK. The last function was fulfilled continuously by him for  over 30 years (1960-1990). After 1990 he also joined the activity of Association of Ukrainians in Poland (ZUwP), where he was chosen as a member of the revision commission at the organizational meeting.

Besides being active in UTSK and ZUwP, Józef Doroch was also connected with a folk movement. Among other activities he worked as an accountant in the Provincial Office of the United People’s Party in Szczecin.

Józef Doroch was married to Anna nee Mowczan (she passed away in 1981 and was buried in the Central Cemetery in Szczecin). They had two children.

Józef Doroch passed away on 6th of February 2001. He was buried at the Central Cemetery in Szczecin.

Sources:

• Archiwum Instytutu Pamięci Narodowej w Warszawie (dalej: AIPN), sygn. BU MSWII 6996, k. 1; AIPN, BU MSW II 6998, k. 27; AIPN, BU MSW II 7002, k. 49;
• І З’їзд Об’єднання українців у Польщі. Документи, Варшава 1990, с. 8-9.
• „Український Альманах” 2003, s. 360–361;
• Я. Стех, Пропам’ятна книга українських діячів Перемищини, Львів 2006, с. 134–135;
• B. Mazuryk, Ocalmy od zapomnienia, Krasiczyn 2013 (wersja elektroniczna: krasiczynskaplebania.parafia.info.pl);
• strona Cmentarza Centralnego w Szczecinie: cmentarze.szczecin.pl