It is – surprising how little information, apart from dry data about his functioning in -the organisational bodies of the Ukrainian Social and Cultural Society, can be -found about one of the leaders of the Ukrainian community in Central Pomerania, -Władysław (Włodzimierz) Serkiz (1931-2002). It is possible to trace his path in – the structures of the UTSK, from the very beginning of the organisation’s – existence to its reform and transformation into the Union of Ukrainians in -Poland; it is possible to establish that he was a member of the association’s -governing bodies on many occasions and that he was a leading figure in the -Koszalin circle. However, we learn far less about his passions in life, his -views, his relationships with other people. This says a lot about ourselves, -how superficial our interest in people who devote their time to others can be.
Władysław -Serkiz was born on 10 September 1931 in the village of Kornie, Tomaszów-Lubelski district, into the family of Jan and Irena (née Storoniak). Kornie, a -village of just over a thousand inhabitants, was inhabited almost entirely by -Ukrainians until the outbreak of the Second World War. In October 1939, Kornie -was incorporated into the Lviv oblast of the USSR. From 1941 to 1944, it was -part of the Lviv district of the General Government. In 1944-1946, most of the -inhabitants were deported to the Soviet Union. The remainder, 327 people, were -dispersed to the Recovered Territories in 1947 as part of Operation Vistula. -This is how the Serkiz family were displaced to the village of Przemysław, in -the Drewnica municipality, just a dozen or so kilometres east of Gdańsk.
Władysław -Serkiz began his school education before the war in Kornie, and completed the -last two grades of primary school in Rawa Ruska. His further education was -interrupted by wartime and post-war events. In the absence of his father, who -was conscripted into the Red Army in 1944, the teenager had to help maintain -the farm. Also after his resettlement in 1947, he initially worked on his -parents’ farm. In 1948, in the Wrocław area, he did his juniors’ service in the -National Organisation Serving Poland. Soon afterwards, he joined the Union of -Polish Youth. In 1950, he began studying at the School of Theatre Instructors -in Nowy Dwór Gdański, which he continued in Bydgoszcz at the State School of -Voluntary Theatre Instructors. His studies were interrupted this time by being -called up for compulsory military service in 1951.
In the -mid-1950s, Władysław Serkiz moved to Koszalin. He soon co-founded the Ukrainian -Social and Cultural Association. He was one of the delegates to the -organisational congress of the association in June 1956 in Warsaw. He -co-founded the provincial structures of the UTSK in Koszalin. He paid -particular attention to the development of the Taras Shevchenko Primary School -with Ukrainian as the language of instruction in Biały Bór. He acted as an -intermediary in providing students with material aid from the West.
Between 1959 -and 1967, Serkiz was removed from his position on the provincial board of the -UTSK in Koszalin because of his political stance, which was inappropriate in -the opinion of the authorities. He returned to social activity in the second -half of the 1960s.
Władysław -Serkiz’s passion was theatre. He successfully led amateur drama troupes (but -failed to transform any of them into a professional theatre). He also performed -for many years in the representative choir of the UTSK Zhuravli.
Serkiz had a -great talent as an organiser. In 1969, he was first in charge of organising the -central artistic festival of the UTSK. He was later the main organiser of the -festival on two more occasions – in 1977 and 1981. These two events, held in -the Koszalin amphitheatre, were considered a huge organisational and artistic -success. They were also of great importance for raising the national spirit -among the Ukrainian community in Poland. At the same time, Władysław Serkiz was -a co-founder of the festival of children’s art in Koszalin in 1972, which in -time turned into a regular event. It continues to be held today. Serkiz was -also instrumental in organising radio programmes in Polish Radio Koszalin, many -years hosted by Jakub Muszyński.
In his -social activity, he made extensive use of the opportunities and contacts he had -gained while working professionally at the State Enterprise RSW Ruch and the -Baltic Theatre in Koszalin. In the early 1980s, he joined the Solidarity -movement. His association with Solidarity caused Serkiz’s position to be -questioned by some of the organisation’s leadership during martial law. During -one meeting in 1982, "he was accused […] that after August 1980, being -influenced by extremists from Solidarity, he was an inspirer of disruptive -actions both in the UTSK and in the whole Ukrainian environment in -Poland".
In 1985, -local UTSK activists in Koszalin attempted – unsuccessfully – to get Serkiz -onto the electoral lists for the People’s Republic of Poland parliament. After -the political changes of 1989, Serkiz became involved in rescuing the memory of -the Ukrainian inhabitants of his native Kornie.
For his -social activities, Władysław Serkiz has been awarded the Bronze Cross of Merit, -the Medal for Merit for the Koszalin Voivodeship, the Distinguished Cultural -Service badge, medals for the 20th and 25th anniversaries -of the UTSK, and the Polish–Soviet Friendship Society gold badge.
Władysław -Serkiz was married. He and his wife Olga had two children. He died on 16 -February 2002 in Szczecin and was buried in the cemetery in Koszalin.
Jarosław Syrnyk
Sources:
A. Słabig, Socio-political activities of Ukrainians in Poland in the period of the -so-called Solidarity carnival (with particular reference to Western Pomerania), -"Przegląd Zachodniopomorski" No. 36 (2021), 65: 325-349, DOI: 10.18276/pz.2021.36-12
-О. Гнатюк, Зглибинимоєїпам‘яті. Книгаспогадів, Київ 2017.