Talerhof
Encyclopedia
Talerhof was a concentration camp created by the Austro-Hungarian
authorities of Franz Joseph I of Austria
in the first days of World War I
, in a sandy valley in foothills of the Alps, near Graz
, the main city of the province of Styria.
Austro-Hungarian authorities imprisoned Ukrainian Russophiles
, as well as other Ukrainians
and Lemkos
from Galicia and Bukovina
.
They were punished for their loyalty to the Russian language and culture, the people who had renounced the Russian language and identified themselves as Ukrainians they were released from the camp.
Over twenty thousand people were arrested and placed in the Austrian concentration camp in Talerhof. (Another concentration camp for supporters of Russia was the fortress at Terezín
, now in the Czech Republic.)
The first group of prisoners was interned in Talerhof by the soldiers of the Austrian regiment of Graz on September 4, 1914.
Until the winter 1915, there were no barracks in Talerhof. Prisoners slept on the ground in the open-air during rain and frost. According to U.S. Congressman Medill McCormick
, prisoners were beaten and tortured. On November 9, 1914 official report of field marshal Schleer said there were 5,700 Ukrainians in Talerhof. In all, 20 thousand people were prisoners of Talerhof from September 4, 1914 to May 10, 1917. The camp was closed by Emperor Charles I of Austria, after the first 6 months of his 24 month reign.
In the first eighteen months of its existence, three thousand prisoners of Talerhof died, including the Orthodox saint. Maxim Sandovich
, who was martyred here.
Tens of thousands of Ukrainians and Lemkos were victims of reprisals which carried out by the Austro-Hungarian authorities in Galicia during World War I.
The camp site is now located at the Graz Airport
.
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
authorities of Franz Joseph I of Austria
Franz Joseph I of Austria
Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I was Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia, King of Croatia, Apostolic King of Hungary, King of Galicia and Lodomeria and Grand Duke of Cracow from 1848 until his death in 1916.In the December of 1848, Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria abdicated the throne as part of...
in the first days of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, in a sandy valley in foothills of the Alps, near 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...
, the main city of the province of Styria.
Austro-Hungarian authorities imprisoned Ukrainian Russophiles
Ukrainian Russophiles
The focus of this article is part of a general political movement in Western Ukraine of the nineteenth and early 20th century. The movement contained several competing branches: Moscowphiles, Ukrainophiles, Rusynphiles, and others....
, as well as other Ukrainians
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
and Lemkos
Lemkos
Lemkos , one of several quantitatively and territorially small ethnic groups who also call themselves Rusyns , are one of the ethnic groups inhabiting the Carpathian Mountains...
from Galicia and Bukovina
Bukovina
Bukovina is a historical region on the northern slopes of the northeastern Carpathian Mountains and the adjoining plains.-Name:The name Bukovina came into official use in 1775 with the region's annexation from the Principality of Moldavia to the possessions of the Habsburg Monarchy, which became...
.
They were punished for their loyalty to the Russian language and culture, the people who had renounced the Russian language and identified themselves as Ukrainians they were released from the camp.
Over twenty thousand people were arrested and placed in the Austrian concentration camp in Talerhof. (Another concentration camp for supporters of Russia was the fortress at Terezín
Terezín
Terezín is the name of a former military fortress and adjacent walled garrison town in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic.-Early history:...
, now in the Czech Republic.)
The first group of prisoners was interned in Talerhof by the soldiers of the Austrian regiment of Graz on September 4, 1914.
Until the winter 1915, there were no barracks in Talerhof. Prisoners slept on the ground in the open-air during rain and frost. According to U.S. Congressman Medill McCormick
Joseph M. McCormick
Joseph Medill McCormick , known as Medill, was part of the McCormick family of businessmen and politicians in Chicago...
, prisoners were beaten and tortured. On November 9, 1914 official report of field marshal Schleer said there were 5,700 Ukrainians in Talerhof. In all, 20 thousand people were prisoners of Talerhof from September 4, 1914 to May 10, 1917. The camp was closed by Emperor Charles I of Austria, after the first 6 months of his 24 month reign.
In the first eighteen months of its existence, three thousand prisoners of Talerhof died, including the Orthodox saint. Maxim Sandovich
Maxim Sandovich
Maxim Sandovich is a New Martyr and Orthodox saint. He is the protomartyr of the Lemko people.He was trained as an Orthodox priest, and was executed by the Austro-Hungarian Empire as a russophile. After his execution, his wife was imprisoned in Talerhof, where his son, also named Maxim Sandovich,...
, who was martyred here.
Tens of thousands of Ukrainians and Lemkos were victims of reprisals which carried out by the Austro-Hungarian authorities in Galicia during World War I.
The camp site is now located at the Graz Airport
Graz Airport
Graz Airport , also known as Thalerhof, serves Graz, Austria. It is located in the municipalities of Feldkirchen and Kalsdorf, south of Graz city centre.-Transportation:...
.
People interned in Talerhof
- Jaroslav KacmarcykJaroslav KacmarcykDoctor Jaroslav Kacmarcyk or Jarosław Kaczmarczyk, also spelled Iaroslav Karchmarchyk was born in Binczarowa, and was the head of the Lemko-Rusyn Republic from 1918 to 1920...
http://www.rusyn.org/histalerhof.html - Metodyj TrochanovskijMetodyj TrochanovskijMetodyj Trochanovskij , Lemko activist, was born in Binczarowa, Poland, when it was part of the province of Galicia of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, on May 5, 1885. At the onset of World War I, he was accused of treason against Austria-Hungary, arrested, prosecuted, and sentenced to death in 1916...
- Euphijon Venhrynovych (1861–1919) imprisoned 1914-1917 http://www.carpatho-rusyn.og/lemko/images.htm
- Vasylij Kuryllo (1861–1941)http://www.carpatho-rusyn.org/lemkos/images.htm
See also
- Ukrainian Canadian internmentUkrainian Canadian internmentThe Ukrainian Canadian internment was part of the confinement of "enemy aliens" in Canada during and for two years after the end of the First World War, lasting from 1914 to 1920, under the terms of the War Measures Act that would be used again, in the Second World War, against Japanese Canadians;...
- Ukrainian Austrian internmentUkrainian Austrian internmentThe Ukrainian Austrian internment was part of the confinement of enemy aliens in Austria during World War I. Central Camp Talerhof was a concentration camp operated by the Austro-Hungarian imperial government between 1914 and 1917 in the Austrian state of Styria.Over twenty thousand Ukrainian...
- Central Labour Camp JaworznoCentral Labour Camp JaworznoCentral Labour Camp Jaworzno was a concentration camp in Jaworzno, Poland. It operated from 1943 until 1956, first run by Nazi Germany and then by the Soviet Union with the People's Republic of Poland...