Family
 Victor Ivanovich Skliar 1) 2) 3) 4)Born 28 Jul 1899 Sakhnovshchyna, Kharkiv, Ukraine 1) 5) 3) Died 31 Mar 1964 London, England, 64 years 5) 3) Occupation: 1 Jan 1938 Sakhnovshchyna, Kharkiv, Ukraine; Book-keeper in a cooperative office 1) Residences: 6 Sep 1945 Eugenbach, Landshut, Bavaria, Germany 1), between 24 Jun and 1 Dec 1945 Eugenbach, Landshut, Bavaria, Germany 6) Departure: Left his home with his son Aug 1943 Sakhnovshchyna, Kharkiv, Ukraine 1) 3) Departure: Registered at AEF Assembly Center for English Labour Mission. Cancelled 31 March 1848 9 Feb 1948 Ganacker, Bavaria, Germany 7) Notes: Victor was born circa 1895-1899, on 28 June in Sakhnovschina, Kharkiv region - probably in the village of Dar-Nadezhda based on his German identity cards. Identifying his exact year of birth is problematic - as 1895, 1897 and 1899 all appear on official documents. Given the earliest surviving records - his membership card for the Flour Workers Trade Union (dated 1924), and his Soviet military billet papers (dated 1940) - both state 1899, and given that is also the date recalled by Lydia Skliar, it seems likeliest. Subsequent records including German ID cards, Displaced Person ID cards, and his UK passport all have earlier dates. Victor attended Poltava Orthodox Seminary, like his father, where, according to Wsewolod, he was in the same class as the famous Ukrainian general Simon Petliura. While this is impossible for chronological reasons - Petliura attended from 1895-1901 - it is possible that his father, Ivan, was in the same class. Wsewolod recalled that Victor joined Simon Petliura’s patriotic, pro-independence Ukrainian Army c1917, following the completion of his studies. He was subsequently employed in 1924 as an accountant/bookkeeper for a German business - probably involved in the flour production industry - based on his union membership card. A1943 German Security Pass/Identity card advised that Victor had been working as an accountant at a fruit and vegetable seller since 31 June 1941. His post-war "A.E.F. D.P. Registration Record" provides further information about him including his parents, and stated his occupation as a book-keeper in a cooperative office. Sometime, before 1923, Victor married, by arrangement, to Nadeska, from Kharkiv. The marriage had been arranged based on social status, as was common at the time. Victor had one son Nadeska; Vadim Skliar. This relationship ultimately failed; the lady’s family were very strong communist supporters whereas Victor and his family were Ukrainian Nationalists. Nadeska later remarried to a member of the Politburo and became headmistress at a local comprehensive school. Sometime before 1926, Victor and Nadeska divorced; Victor then remarried in 1926/7 to Evdokiya Musiyenko, probably of Sakhnovschina. Evdokiya’s surname was recorded as “Bondarenko” on various post-war ITS documents, but Wsewolod clearly recalled her surname as Musiyenko, and other documents confirm this too. With Evdokiya, Victor had one daughter, Xena who died due to malaria three months after birth, and one son, Wsewolod Skliar, born in 1928. When the Germans invaded Poltava during the Second World War, Wsewolod recalled Victor took up new employment, delivering food for the German army. By Ukrainians, given the Holodomor and other Soviet atrocities of the 1930s, the Germans were viewed as liberators freeing he Ukrainian people from the oppressive, communist, Soviet regime. During the War, Wsewolod believed Victor worked for the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), a patriotic liberation movement in the Ukraine. Family connections with Petliura and other dissident Ukrainians support this - as does Wsewolod’s active involvement in the OUN from 1947-1954 - and his possession of OUN documents from the 1940s including pamphlets, an early copy of “The Decalogue of the Ukrainian Nationalist” and drafts of speeches. While Victor received Soviet military call-up papers 11 November 1940, he did not enlist. It was in March 1943 that tragedy struck the family. Kharkiv, and the surrounding region was at that time was under German occupation, but was about to become the site of a fierce battle between the Soviets and the Germans. Before launching their offensive, the city faced aerial bombardment. Victor’s wife, Evdokiya, her two sisters (one of whom was Wsewolod’s godmother) and their two children were all killed. Wsewolod and Victor survived by chance; they were both out working in the fields at the time the bomb hit their home. At some time between March and June 1943, Victor, and a group of fellow employees made the decision to move West, to flee the advancing Soviet army, towards Austria by horse and cart. The likely date of their departure was 16th June 1943, based on the remnant of a German travel permit. Towards the start of their journey, their pet dog (Bantik) was killed as he was run over by their carriage. Wsewolod recalled that their journey took them through Poland and Romania before making it to Vienna, late 1943. He also recalled that the family’s possessions, other than the horse and cart, were stolen while they were asleep, at some point in Romania. Victor kept various travel permits, identity cards and passes from the trip, which can be used to piece together some of the journey. Their initial direction is likely to have been Dubrivka, Sambir, near Lviv in the Galizien area of Western Ukraine. Various documents (e.g. Displaced Person camp registers and identity cards) attest that as their last residence in Ukraine, and it was an area with significant OUN activity/presence. A German security pass, dated 4 April 1944, issued by Germany Army Group south based out of Lviv gives Victor permission to work in Drohobych, a town to the South West of Sambir. Some time between April and October 1944, the remnant of a German Work Permit records Victor as employed in Vienna at “Durchgangslager Strasshof”. Durchgangslager Strasshof was a transit camp from where forced labourers were allocated to employers. By 26 October 1944, Victor had arrived at Gmund, where he seemingly stayed until at least to at least 19 March 1945, based on a work permit issued the 19 March 1945. While in Gmund he was employed at „Fürst Palffy sche Güterdirektion Heidenreichstein Kr Gmund Nd“ as a farm worker, according to the remant of a different German work permit. The 3rd January 1945, Victor held savings with the Savings Bank of Gmund State. Part of a letter from them, dated 3rd January 1945, sets out that he and his family were of Ukrainian ethnicity, but Aryan heritage. Between January/March 1945 and June 1945, it becomes harder to piece together movements. A German travel permit, dated 3 January 1945, gives Victor permission to travel through Slovakia - and a “Robbery Certificate” dated 21 January 1945 states they were the victims of a robbery, potentially in Slovakia, though only half the document survives. The document seems to advise they head towards, or gives permission to head towards, Nowy Sacz. Given the existence of the work permit issued 19 March, it would seem that if they did head to Slovakia, or even to Nowy Sacz in Poland, then they relatively quickly returned to Gmund. These documents advise they were traveling with Anatoly and Ludmila Kusmenko - whom they also appear with at subsequent Displaced Persons camps. Throughout these travels, what is not entirely clear is what was forced, versus what was choice. Germany removed enormous numbers of Ukrainians from Western Ukraine to Austria and Germany to support their industries. Given the work permits have Victor staying in labour camps, and have restrictions on movement, and activities - it would seem much of their journey - certainly post Sambir, was forced by German forces. Movements between areas are often timed in advance of their liberation by Soviets, which aligned with German ARLZ measures including deportation of local civilian populations for forced labor in the territory of the Reich. The next definitive location is June 1945 - Victor and Wsewolod arrive at Landshut 26th June 1945, which had already been liberated by the US army in the April. There, they resided at Eugenbach, Landshut Displaced Persons camp until 1st December 1945, based on the International Tracing Service’s registers. An Identity Card issued by the Ukrainian Committee for Niederbayern-Oberpfalz in Regensburg, confirms that Victor was a member of the Ukrainian Committee in Landshut. 31 August 1945, the German Military Government granted Victor an exemption to move from Eugenbach, Landshut “to Auremburg” with two horses and a wagon. He advised “his mother is living there, he wants to remain there”. By 19 March 1946, Victor was resident at Camp Ergolding, and 28 August 1947, Camp Ganacker - from where he received permission to relocate to England as part of a European Voluntary Worker scheme. Victor and Wsewolod were approved for departure to the UK from Ganacker 2 February 1948, their initial voyage on 26 February was cancelled, however they were ultimately able to make the journey, 31 March 1948. Circa 1948, Victor had a child with Maria Tkaczuk. Maria was resident at Landshut camp from 1943 to 1947, overlapping with Victor's stay there. To arrive in the UK, they took the train to the coast, and then caught a ship to England. In England within a few weeks both Victor and his son had been allocated jobs, however they were split up, for the first time in many years. Wsewolod was sent to Swindon to work as an interpreter in a cement factory, whereas his father was employed as an agricultural worker elsewhere. Married ± 1926 3) (approximately 17 years married) to:  Evdokiya Petrova Musijenko, Alternative name: Evdokiya Petrova Bondarenko 3) 4) 2)Daughter of Petr Mosyenko and Nikola Unknown. Children: 1. Wsewolod Victorovich Skliar 8)Born 2 Apr 1928 Sakhnovshchyna, Kharkiv, Ukraine 2) 9) Died 22 Jun 2011 London, England, 83 years 8) Residences: 7 Sep 1945 Ergolding Camp, Bavaria, Germany 2), between 24 Jun and 1 Dec 1945 Eugenbach, Landshut, Bavaria, Germany 6), between Jun 1964 and 2011 50 Princethorpe House, Warwick Estate, London, England 10) 11) 12) 13) 8) Departure: Left his home with his father Aug 1943 Sakhnovshchyna, Kharkiv, Ukraine 2) Departure: Registered at AEF Assembly Center for English Labour Mission. Cancelled 31 March 1848 26 Feb 1948 Ganacker, Bavaria, Germany 14) Naturalized: 10 Nov 1978 London, England 15) Notes: Born 2 April 1928 in Martynova, a small village near Sakhnovschina, Wsewolod move to the UK via central Europe, alongside his father. While at Ganacker Displaced Persons camp, Wsewolod obtained employment first as a cook and then as driver, working between December 1946 and October 1947. He obtained his German driving licence 12 June 1947. 6 August 1947, he passed his Certification of Food Hygiene. 4 December 1947, following a three month course and both practical and theoretical exams, he qualified as an electrician. It would seem Wsewolod became involved in the OUN around 1947 - he kept leaflets and meeting records from this time, and may even have attended their third congress given documents retained. On moving to England, March 1948, Wsewolod kept us his involvement until at least 1954 - being a member of, and undertaking duties for, both the Newhaven and London branches of the AUGB / OUN. From 15 March 1948 until 30 November, Wsewolod was employed as an interpreter (being able to speak fluent Russian, Polish, Ukrainian, German and English) at “British Portland Cement Manufacturers” in Swindon, but he left wanting to be closer to his father. His subsequent employment, as part of the European Voluntary Workers scheme included: 1 December 1948 - 31 October 1949 - Employed as Assistant Cook at WSCAEC Hostel in Chichester. Left when hostel closed down. During this time, Wsewolod lived in Seaford, and also began working towards a British electrician’s qualification. 1 November 1949 - 1 July 1951 - Employed as Assistant Cook at War Department EVW Camp, The Fort, Newhaven 9 July 1951 - 7 July 1952 - Employed as Cook and Diet Coordinator at St Charles Hospital, Ladbroke Grove. Left as he was attending night school and the hours were not good. On 1 October 1951 he enrolled at Hammersmith Technical School for Women on “City and Guilds 150 basic catering course”. He subsequently studied for three further years to obtain a diploma in catering. In 1954 Wsewolod met his would-be wife, Julia Davidenko whilst, supposedly, on a training course in Paris. He may actually have been attending the OUN conference held in Paris that year - based on letters and tickets he retained. Wsewolod went on to build a successful career as a chef. Initially Wsewolod worked for the US Air Force, as chef at the Officers club, at their base in Ruislip. When Wsewolod and Julia then moved to Seaford, where Wsewolod had previously lived, Wsewolod worked as a Head Chef in Eastbourne. Following their return to London, Wsewolod worked for for 16 years at the Lancaster Gate Officers' Club, and was awarded silver and gold medals by the US government. When the club closed around 1973, Wsewolod was offered the opportunity to move to the US with his family to continue working with the US army which he turned down. A few months later, Wsewolod took a job as sous-chef at the Londonderry hotel on Park Lane which was owned by the Barclays brothers at the time. Whilst a step down, as he had been Head Chef for the last 16 years, the job was taken with the view that he would be head chef at the Barclays brother's next hotel. Later that year they opened the Howard Hotel, near Temple, where Wsewolod was appointed head chef, and eventually executive chef. He worked their for 16 years eventually retiring at the age of 70. For his service he was presented with a gold watch and clock. He received his certificate of naturalisation on the 10th November 1978 [London Gazette]: "Skliar, Wsewolod ; Of uncertain nationality ; 50 Princethorpe House, Warwick Estate, London, W.2. 10th November 1978." | |||
| 2nd marriage/ relation Victor Ivanovich Skliar 1) 2) 3) 4)Married/ Related to: N.N. Child: 1. Living Tkaczuk | |||
| 3rd marriage Victor Ivanovich Skliar 1) 2) 3) 4)Married before 1923 3) (at least 41 years married) to: Nadeska UnknownChild: 1. Vadim SkliarBorn 12 Feb 1924 / 12 Sep 1924 Sakhnovshchyna, Kharkiv, Ukraine / Sakhnovshchyna, Kharkiv, Ukraine 17) 18) 19) 20) Died 30 May 1985 Ukraine 21) Occupations: 7 Feb 1944 Bavaria, Germany; Registered for employment in Munich 17), 16 Jun 1944 Bavaria, Germany; Registered at the Southern German Iron and Steel Professional Association 19), between 26 Mar and 30 Apr 1945 Bavaria, Germany; Employed at the company, Alfred Kunz & Co 20) Notes: During the Second World War he was taken to Germany for forced work in Munchen. After the war he returned to the Ukraine where he lived in the village of Demjantzi. | |||
Sources
1) Source: ITS Records Record for Victor Skliar. Reference: A.E.F. D.P. Registration Record (Questionable reliability of evidence)2) Source: Records of the International Tracing Service Record for Wsewolod Skliar. Reference: A.E.F. D.P. Registration Record (Data from direct source)
3) Source: Living Sources. Reference: Wsewolod Skliar (Data from direct source)
4) Source: France, Vital Records Record for Wsewolod Skliar and Julia Davidenko. Reference: Mairie Saint-Laurent-Blangy (Data from direct source)
5) Source: England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007 Record for Victor Skliar. Reference: Database online. (Questionable reliability of evidence)
6) Source: ITS Records Records for Victor and Wsewolod Skliar. Reference: List of Russian Nationals stationed at Eugenbach, Landshut. Various lists compiled at different dates. (Data from direct source)
7) Source: ITS Records Record for Victor Skliar. Reference: A.E.F. Assmbly Center Registration Card (Data from direct source)
8) Source: Living Sources. Reference: Ben Ward (Data from direct source)
9) Source: Living Sources Wsewolod said he was born in 1928 and that documents stating 1927/1929/1930 did not record the truth. Wsewolod changed his age as was required (e.g. to make him older or younger than he was).. Reference: Wsewolod Skliar (Data from direct source)
10) Source: British Phone Books, 1880-1984 Record for W Skliar. Reference: 1978 BT Phone Directory (Data from secondary evidence)
11) Source: British Phone Books, 1880-1984 Record for W Skliar. Reference: 1980 BT Phone Directory (Data from secondary evidence)
12) Source: British Phone Books, 1880-1984 Record for W Skliar. Reference: 1982 BT Phone Directory (Data from secondary evidence)
13) Source: British Phone Books, 1880-1984 Record for W Skliar. Reference: 1983 BT Phone Directory (Data from secondary evidence)
14) Source: ITS Records Record for Wsewolod Skliar. Reference: A.E.F. Assembly Center Registration Card (Data from direct source)
15) Source: Home Office: Immigration and Nationality Department and predecessors: Indexes to Naturalisation and Denization Page 88. Index entry of Naturalisation Certificate: Wsewolod Skliar. Of Nationality uncertain. Resident in London W.2. Certificate 027077 issued 10 November 1978. Home Office file number: S126180. [Duplicate Certificate does not survive].Date: 10 Nov 1978. Reference: HO 409/30/27077; Page 88 (Data from direct source)
16) Source: Living Sources Julia Davidenko was told that Jozéf died either before his daughter Anna left for France or at approximately that time.. Reference: Julia Davidenko (Data from direct source)
17) Source: ITS Records Records for Vadim Skliar. Reference: Lists of Russians resident in Munich at various times
18) Source: ITS Records Records for Vadim Skliar and Warwara Burdun. Reference: Various records detailing marriages which occured in Munich at various times
19) Source: ITS Records Records for Vadim Skliar - Accident number: U 4932/44. Reference: Lists of accidents suffered by members of Southern German Iron and Steel Professional Association
20) Source: ITS Records Records for Vadim Skliar. Reference: Lists of individuals employed by Alfred Kunz & Co at various times
21) Source: Living Sources. Reference: Lydia Skliar