How Do You Like Australia?
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ANATOLIJ MIROSZNYK HOW DO YOU LIKE AUSTRALIA? This book is the memoirs of the well-known Ukrainian pianist and composer, Anatolij Mirosznyk, who lives in Sydney, Australia. It embraces a large span of time from the end of the twenties of the last century till today. Through the author’s reception of the events, the reader will acquire an understanding of how Kyivites (people of the city of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine) lived in the thirties in their occupied country during the Second World War. The memoirs present interesting facts of life, the author’s life and his countrymen. The author was taken by force to labour in Germany and later migrated to Australia. This book is addressed to all readers. This publication is sponsored by FUSA (Foundation of Ukrainian Studies in Australia) All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the author. Copyright © Anatolij Mirosznyk 2009 ISBN 978-0-646-51734-6 Printed in Australia by BA Printing & Publishing Services Pty. Ltd. www.baprinting.com.au CONTENTS A Dedication.................................................................................................. 4 From The Author........................................................................................... 4 About Kyiv, Ukraine - The Country Of My Birth........................................ 5 Early Years.................................................................................................... 5 Music Is My Destiny..................................................................................... 8 What Was Kyiv Like In 1928?...................................................................... 9 A Few Words About Kyivites’ Life In The 1930’s ..................................... 14 My Brothers................................................................................................. 18 Famine 1932-33 ........................................................................................... 20 Father - A One Man Shop........................................................................... 22 My Mother................................................................................................... 25 Travel........................................................................................................... 26 War Begins.................................................................................................. 29 German Occupation..................................................................................... 33 Racial Commission...................................................................................... 45 Only For Germans....................................................................................... 47 Theatres, Football........................................................................................ 48 Journey Into The Unknown......................................................................... 51 In Germany.................................................................................................. 52 How Americans Gave Us A Lift................................................................. 71 Freedom At Last.......................................................................................... 74 Life In The Castle........................................................................................ 82 In Camp Again............................................................................................ 85 How Do You Like Australia?...................................................................... 99 Life Of The Ukrainian Community........................................................... 114 Teaching In School.................................................................................... 124 My Travel In Australia.............................................................................. 126 Guests From Ukraine In Australia............................................................. 133 Music And Musical Education In Australia.............................................. 134 Visit To My Motherland............................................................................ 138 Compositions by Anatolij Mirosznyk......................................................... 142 4 Anatolij Mirosznyk A DEDICATION I dedicate to my parents, relatives, friends and to the people of Ukraine and Australia. Acknowledgements I would like to thank Yoshiko McDonald, Virginia Rudenno and Margareta Akcay for their invaluable support in providing assistance with compiling this English version of my book. FROM THE AUTHOR The impulse to write this book was through my article, published in the Number 1 edition of the Ukrainian Musical Gazette in the year 2007 in Kyiv. It created lively interest from readers and gave me confidence to share my journey and how important music has been in my life. I write this from memory. I would like to apologise to readers for any errors of fact but please take into account that this covers eighty years of the past. HOW DO YOU LIKE AUSTRALIA? 5 ABOUT KYIV, UKRAINE - THE COUNTRY OF MY BIRTH Ukraine is situated in the eastern part of Europe. In the north it borders Russia and Belarus, and in the west, Poland, Slovak Republic, Hungary, Moldova, Romania, and the Black Sea in the south. It is the largest European country except for the European part of Russia. The present population is about 48 million. The capital city - Kyiv (Kiev) is where my life and story began. Kyiv currently has a population of nearly 3 million people and proudly stands on both sides of the Dnipro (Dnieper) River. It is a cradle of Christian religion for Eastern Slavs of three nations - Ukrainian, Belarusian and Russian. The name Kyiv derives from the name of Kyi one of the legendary founders of the city (brothers Kyi, Shek, Horyv and sister Lybid). The city’s history dates back to the fifth century and was founded as a trading post by the early Slavs. It grew and acquired eminence in Eastern Slav civilization, religion and culture. In the tenth to twelfth century it became the political and cultural centre of Kyivan Rus. One of the oldest cities in Eastern Europe, during its history, Kyiv passed through several stages of great prominence and relative obscurity. It was destroyed by Mongol invasion in the year 1240. At the time of the Mongol destruction, Kyiv was one of the largest cities in the world with a population of 100,000 citizens. It had a turbulent history. From 1921, Ukraine became the Ukrainian Socialist Republic of the Soviet Union until 1991, when it gained its independence by the fall of the Soviet Union. EARLY YEARS I was bom in Kyiv, Ukraine. My father Mychailo Grygorovich was working in the Damitza railway repair workshop. He was bom in the village of Nova Basan in the Chernigov region. His name Mirosznyk means that his 6 Anatolij Mirosznyk grandparents were connected with the mills and, actually, Mirosznyk is the person that measures the incoming grain and ready product. About his childhood, my father didn’t tell me much. He lost his father early in his life and grew up with his grandfather and sick mother. He had only a few classes of village school education. At 15 years of age, he moved to Kyiv where he commenced his working life as an apprentice in the metal shop owned by Igor Sikorsky, who was later well-known as an aircraft designer in the United States. As my father acquired experience, he opened his own workshop and later a garage at No. 1 Baseinaya Street. Just before the start of the First World War, he owned a workshop and a garage where he had accumulated twelve hire cars made by Lando. During the war he served in the Sapper battalion. After returning from the front, he continued to work in his garage. When the First World War finished, civil war raged in the country. Following 18 changes of government in Kyiv, finally the Bolsheviks established their rule of the country. At that time, Vladimir Lenin issued a decree guaranteeing life and immunity from further persecution for all capitalists, large landowners, and wealthy people, if they agreed to support the proletarian revolution. My father, after reading this decree, hurried to Podol (Kyiv suburb) to the military Commandant’s office and “wilfully” handed over his garage with twelve automobiles to the cause of the proletarian revolution. He was left with only one motorcycle which he later also handed over. In exchange, he received a special certificate acknowledging his support to the new government, which saved his life many times. He subsequently went to work as a fitter at the Damitza railway repair shop. My mother, Maria Popugayeva, was bom in the Russian city of Kursk. Her real name - “Papuga”, didn’t sound very well in Russian and by the pressure of friends and relatives, changed her name to the more acceptable Russian sounding name of “Popugayeva”. By profession, she was a “high-class” dressmaker. My father’s first wife died early in her life, leaving four children - Evgeny, Gregory, Konstantyn and daughter, Vira. They were all much older than me and lived separately from us. HOW DO YOU LIKE AUSTRALIA? 7 I remember my godfather, Turulin. He was a dental mechanic who lived and had a business at the same address as my father’s garage at N1 Baseinaya Street. His son was also a dental mechanic and was married to a Japanese circus artist whom he met when she was on