Stefan Terlezki
Encyclopedia
Stefan Terlezki, CBE
, (29 October 1927 – 21 February 2006) was a British Conservative
politician who served as Member of Parliament
(MP) for Cardiff West
from 1983 to 1987. Terlezki was born in Oleshiv, a village near the town of Tlumach
in what is now western Ukraine
but was then part of Poland
. Terlezki experienced life in both Nazi
Germany
, and the Soviet Union
, which made him a powerful voice against totalitarian governments.
. His father Oleksa Terletskyj was a peasant farmer who also worked at a brickworks, where he organised a sit-in protest for shorter working hours. This led to a period of imprisonment by the Polish authorities.
was occupied by the Russians
in 1939 and then annexed to the Soviet Union
. One of Terlezki's uncles was classified as a kulak
after paying some neighbours to help with the harvest. He was arrested and deported to Siberia
, a fate also suffered by several of Terlezki's cousins, who were students suspected of Ukrainian nationalism
. Oleksa Terletskyj had initially welcomed the Communists and become Antonivka's village chairman but he later resigned.
After the German invasion in 1941, Stefan Terlezki was put to forced labour repairing a railway bridge over the river Dniestr, damaged during the Red Army
retreat. He also witnessed the murder of Jews
thrown from the neighbouring road bridge by German soldiers. His father also sent him on errands to aid Jewish villagers by obtaining false baptism certificates for them.
.
Most of his consignment of slaves were destined for factory work in Graz
but the younger ones were put on sale at a slave market in Voitsberg
, Styria. Terlezki was bought by Hansel Böhmer, who had been conscripted into the German Navy
and was looking for someone to replace him on his family's farm.
Terlezki worked on farms near Voitsberg between 1942 and 1945, interrupted only by a spell digging trenches for the German defences at Radkersburg and three weeks imprisonment after his arrest by the Gestapo
for insubordination. (He had complained about the treatment of British Prisoners of War).
. They were informed that they were being conscripted into the Red Army and would be sent to fight the Japanese
.
, Carinthia
, where he found work in the cookhouse at a British Army
base. In 1948, he was allowed to emigrate to Britain
, where he was expected to work as a coalminer in Wales
. His catering experience allowed him to find alternative work in the canteen of a miners' hostel. He eventually went into hotel management in the Welsh towns of Porthcawl
and Swansea
before running his own hotels in Aberystwyth
and Cardiff
.
. He stood for Parliament in the two General Elections of 1974, unsuccessfully challenging James Callaghan
in Cardiff South East. Terlezki gained greater public prominence by serving as Chairman of his local football club, Cardiff City F.C.
, between 1975 and 1977. He attracted headlines by advocating the flogging of football hooligans, firmly establishing his reputation as a right-wing Conservative.
He refused to travel to the Soviet Union when Cardiff City played Dinamo Tbilisi
in the European Cup Winners' Cup, he said he could not risk being sent to Siberia
as a Red Army deserter. His father and sister were already in Siberia, sent there during Joseph Stalin
's post-war purge of western Ukraine, where nationalist guerrillas fought the reimposition of Russian rule. (Terlezki's mother, Olena, had died in 1943).
opponent suffered a loss of votes to the breakaway Social Democratic Party
. In Parliament, Terlezki remained true to his right-wing reputation, introducing a bill to replace the May Day
holiday with a day of celebration for Winston Churchill
. However, he mostly concentrated on constituency work and increased his vote at the 1987 election, though the collapse in support for the Social Democrats cost him the seat, which was retaken by Labour.
At Westminster
, Terlezki also had the chance to do something about his father's plight. He persuaded the Foreign Secretary, Sir Geoffrey Howe, to raise the case with his Soviet counterpart, Andrei Gromyko
. As a result in October 1984, his father was flown to London for a month long reunion and subsequently allowed to return to Antonivka, where he died in 1986. Terlezki requested a visa to attend the funeral but it was not issued in time. However, he and his Welsh wife, Mary, together with their two daughters, later visited his home village as guests of the Soviet authorities.
's Human Rights Committee. This was condemned by some Labour opposition MPs because of his previous advocacy of flogging, a view he later renounced. The Conservatives argued that his wartime experiences made him well suited to the role, which involved inspecting prison conditions in different countries, later including former Communist states.
When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Terlezki became a critical supporter of newly independent Ukraine. He condemned the preservation of close ties with Russia, especially the leasing of military bases in Crimea
and argued that more should be done to promote the Ukrainian language and to discourage the use of Russian. In 2003 he visited the European Parliament
to press the case for eventual Ukrainian membership of the European Union
.
In 2002, Terlezki took part in a television documentary about his life story and returned to Voitsberg, where he was reunited with Hansel Böhmer's niece. He published his memoirs, 'From War to Westminster' in 2005. He died on 21 February 2006, aged 78.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, (29 October 1927 – 21 February 2006) was a British Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
politician who served as Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for Cardiff West
Cardiff West (UK Parliament constituency)
Cardiff West is a borough constituency in the city of Cardiff. It returns one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system...
from 1983 to 1987. Terlezki was born in Oleshiv, a village near the town of Tlumach
Tlumach
Tlumach is a small city located in the Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, in western Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Tlumach Raion .The current estimated population is around 8,800 .-History:...
in what is now western Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
but was then part of Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. Terlezki experienced life in both Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, which made him a powerful voice against totalitarian governments.
Early life
Terlezki was brought up in the nearby farming community of Antonivka, where his first teacher at the village school was the Ukrainian poet Mariyka PidhiryankaMariyka Pidhiryanka
Mariyka Pidhiryanka was a Ukrainian poet, best remembered for her children's poetry though she also wrote adult work on patriotic themes.-Life and work:...
. His father Oleksa Terletskyj was a peasant farmer who also worked at a brickworks, where he organised a sit-in protest for shorter working hours. This led to a period of imprisonment by the Polish authorities.
Wartime experiences
Western UkraineUkraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
was occupied by the Russians
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
in 1939 and then annexed to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. One of Terlezki's uncles was classified as a kulak
Kulak
Kulaks were a category of relatively affluent peasants in the later Russian Empire, Soviet Russia, and early Soviet Union...
after paying some neighbours to help with the harvest. He was arrested and deported to Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
, a fate also suffered by several of Terlezki's cousins, who were students suspected of Ukrainian nationalism
Ukrainian nationalism
Ukrainian nationalism refers to the Ukrainian version of nationalism.Although the current Ukrainian state emerged fairly recently, some historians, such as Mykhailo Hrushevskyi, Orest Subtelny and Paul Magosci have cited the medieval state of Kievan Rus' as an early precedents of specifically...
. Oleksa Terletskyj had initially welcomed the Communists and become Antonivka's village chairman but he later resigned.
After the German invasion in 1941, Stefan Terlezki was put to forced labour repairing a railway bridge over the river Dniestr, damaged during the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
retreat. He also witnessed the murder of Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
thrown from the neighbouring road bridge by German soldiers. His father also sent him on errands to aid Jewish villagers by obtaining false baptism certificates for them.
Slave labour
In 1942 the Germans went to Terlezki's school and drew up a list of children to be sent to the Third Reich as slave labour. Aged 14, he was one of the youngest on the list. After several weeks in holding camps, he became part of a shipment sent in railway cattle wagons to a slave distribution centre in AustriaAustria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
.
Most of his consignment of slaves were destined for factory work in Graz
Graz
The more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...
but the younger ones were put on sale at a slave market in Voitsberg
Voitsberg
Voitsberg is a small city in the district of Voitsberg in Styria, Austria, with a population of c. 9,700 as of 2009. It grew upon the St. Margaret church at the Tregistbach river and was first mentioned in 1220 as Civitas. Remains of the Greisenegg palace and Obervoitsberg castle can be seen...
, Styria. Terlezki was bought by Hansel Böhmer, who had been conscripted into the German Navy
German Navy
The German Navy is the navy of Germany and is part of the unified Bundeswehr .The German Navy traces its roots back to the Imperial Fleet of the revolutionary era of 1848 – 52 and more directly to the Prussian Navy, which later evolved into the Northern German Federal Navy...
and was looking for someone to replace him on his family's farm.
Terlezki worked on farms near Voitsberg between 1942 and 1945, interrupted only by a spell digging trenches for the German defences at Radkersburg and three weeks imprisonment after his arrest by the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
for insubordination. (He had complained about the treatment of British Prisoners of War).
Soviet invasion
In May 1945, Voitsberg was occupied by the Russians, who promised to repatriate slave labourers. Terlezki was in a large group who boarded a train thinking they would be taken home but who ended up in a camp in the eastern Austrian province of BurgenlandBurgenland
Burgenland is the easternmost and least populous state or Land of Austria. It consists of two Statutarstädte and seven districts with in total 171 municipalities. It is 166 km long from north to south but much narrower from west to east...
. They were informed that they were being conscripted into the Red Army and would be sent to fight the Japanese
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
.
Escape to Britain
Terlezki escaped and fled back to Voitsberg, which in July 1945 became part of the British Zone of Occupation. He was sent to a Displaced Persons' camp in VillachVillach
Villach is the second largest city in the Carinthia state in the southern Austria, at the Drava River and represents an important traffic junction for Austria and the whole Alpe-Adria region. , the population is 58,480.-History:...
, Carinthia
Carinthia (state)
Carinthia is the southernmost Austrian state or Land. Situated within the Eastern Alps it is chiefly noted for its mountains and lakes.The main language is German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Austro-Bavarian group...
, where he found work in the cookhouse at a British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
base. In 1948, he was allowed to emigrate to Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, where he was expected to work as a coalminer in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. His catering experience allowed him to find alternative work in the canteen of a miners' hostel. He eventually went into hotel management in the Welsh towns of Porthcawl
Porthcawl
Porthcawl is a town on the south coast of Wales in the county borough of Bridgend, 25 miles west of the capital city, Cardiff and 19 miles southeast of Swansea...
and Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
before running his own hotels in Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth is a historic market town, administrative centre and holiday resort within Ceredigion, Wales. Often colloquially known as Aber, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Ystwyth and Rheidol....
and Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
.
Politics
His political career began in 1968, when he became a Conservative member of Cardiff City CouncilCardiff Council
The County Council of the City and County of Cardiff is the governing body for Cardiff, one of the Principal Areas of Wales. The council consists of 75 councillors, representing 29 electoral wards. The authority is properly styled as The County Council of the City and County of Cardiff or in...
. He stood for Parliament in the two General Elections of 1974, unsuccessfully challenging James Callaghan
James Callaghan
Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC , was a British Labour politician, who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1976 to 1980...
in Cardiff South East. Terlezki gained greater public prominence by serving as Chairman of his local football club, Cardiff City F.C.
Cardiff City F.C.
Cardiff City Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Cardiff, Wales. The club competes in the English football pyramid and is currently playing in the Football League Championship. Cardiff City is the best supported football club in Wales, averaging approximately 22,500 for...
, between 1975 and 1977. He attracted headlines by advocating the flogging of football hooligans, firmly establishing his reputation as a right-wing Conservative.
He refused to travel to the Soviet Union when Cardiff City played Dinamo Tbilisi
FC Dinamo Tbilisi
FC Dinamo Tbilisi is a Georgian football team, based in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia.Dinamo Tbilisi was one of the most prominent clubs in Soviet football and a major contender in the Soviet Top League almost immediately after it was established in 1936...
in the European Cup Winners' Cup, he said he could not risk being sent to Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
as a Red Army deserter. His father and sister were already in Siberia, sent there during Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
's post-war purge of western Ukraine, where nationalist guerrillas fought the reimposition of Russian rule. (Terlezki's mother, Olena, had died in 1943).
Parliament
He became MP for Cardiff West in the Conservative landslide of 1983. As in other constituencies, his Labour PartyLabour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
opponent suffered a loss of votes to the breakaway Social Democratic Party
Social Democratic Party (UK)
The Social Democratic Party was a political party in the United Kingdom that was created on 26 March 1981 and existed until 1988. It was founded by four senior Labour Party 'moderates', dubbed the 'Gang of Four': Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers and Shirley Williams...
. In Parliament, Terlezki remained true to his right-wing reputation, introducing a bill to replace the May Day
May Day
May Day on May 1 is an ancient northern hemisphere spring festival and usually a public holiday; it is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures....
holiday with a day of celebration for Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
. However, he mostly concentrated on constituency work and increased his vote at the 1987 election, though the collapse in support for the Social Democrats cost him the seat, which was retaken by Labour.
At Westminster
Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons...
, Terlezki also had the chance to do something about his father's plight. He persuaded the Foreign Secretary, Sir Geoffrey Howe, to raise the case with his Soviet counterpart, Andrei Gromyko
Andrei Gromyko
Andrei Andreyevich Gromyko was a Soviet statesman during the Cold War. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and as Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet . Gromyko was responsible for many top decisions on Soviet foreign policy until he retired in 1987. In the West he was given the...
. As a result in October 1984, his father was flown to London for a month long reunion and subsequently allowed to return to Antonivka, where he died in 1986. Terlezki requested a visa to attend the funeral but it was not issued in time. However, he and his Welsh wife, Mary, together with their two daughters, later visited his home village as guests of the Soviet authorities.
End of Communism
In 1989, Terlezki was appointed as the British Government's representative on the Council of EuropeCouncil of Europe
The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
's Human Rights Committee. This was condemned by some Labour opposition MPs because of his previous advocacy of flogging, a view he later renounced. The Conservatives argued that his wartime experiences made him well suited to the role, which involved inspecting prison conditions in different countries, later including former Communist states.
When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Terlezki became a critical supporter of newly independent Ukraine. He condemned the preservation of close ties with Russia, especially the leasing of military bases in Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
and argued that more should be done to promote the Ukrainian language and to discourage the use of Russian. In 2003 he visited the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
to press the case for eventual Ukrainian membership of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
.
In 2002, Terlezki took part in a television documentary about his life story and returned to Voitsberg, where he was reunited with Hansel Böhmer's niece. He published his memoirs, 'From War to Westminster' in 2005. He died on 21 February 2006, aged 78.