Lagarde-Kaserne

The barracks and their residents

The camp’s January 1946 chronicle describes four residential blocks. It also places activities in two churches, a theatre and a sports ground. Books for Ukrainian studies courses were collected in the basement of block A-2. These spaces supported a community whose daily life extended well beyond its sleeping quarters.

The recorded Ukrainian population fell from 1,398 in August 1946 to 1,081 in May 1947 and 918 in December 1947. A separate questionnaire total of 1,298 belongs to returns collected during 1946–1947, without a precise date. These are Lagarde figures, not totals for all the displaced people living in Aschaffenburg.

Two churches and shared celebrations

Pastoral reports quoted by Bernadetta Wojtowicz describe 800 Ukrainians from Prague at Lagarde, approximately half Greek Catholic and half Orthodox. In a separate group arriving in Aschaffenburg in August 1945, Father Veselovsky initially stayed elsewhere before making contact with Lagarde residents. His report describes celebrating Mass outdoors, subsequently sharing the Orthodox chapel, and eventually using a separate Catholic chapel on the third floor of the third barrack. This is his account of the development of worship in the camp.

Bishop Sylvester of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church arrived on 17 November 1945 and celebrated the liturgy the next day. The camp chronicle describes a brief sermon emphasising patience. It also records two performances of a memorial programme on 21 November for the men killed at Bazar in 1921, preceded by services in both camp churches.

The Epiphany celebrations of 18–20 January 1946 brought together church services, pupils and a procession through the camp. The bulletin reports services in both churches on the eve of the feast and pupils of the gymnasium (secondary school) singing festive songs for their educators. On 19 January, pupils carried banners, a cross and candles in a procession to the sports ground for the blessing of water. A children’s concert in the camp theatre that day featured folk songs and dances. The next day, the Ukrainian Catholic priest blessed residents’ rooms in all four blocks and collected voluntary donations for the Ukrainian Catholic seminary in Bavaria.

A January 1946 collection by Lagarde’s priest and choir supported the Ukrainian seminary. An October 1946 report describes a service bringing together more than 3,000 faithful from Lagarde, Pionier and Artillerie in Aschaffenburg. That attendance represents several camps, not Lagarde’s population.

A school, courses and a search for books

Ukrainian studies courses offered a varied programme in autumn 1945, from museums and historical landmarks to philosophy, the history of law and economic questions. The bulletin records a visit on 30 October by educational representatives, including Professor I. Palyvoda and H. Denysenko from the Ukrainian Technical and Economic Institute in Regensburg. Denysenko proposed putting the courses under his faculty’s patronage and educational direction. At a meeting on 2 November, lecturers and student representatives discussed a practical obstacle: obtaining books and textbooks. They appealed for donations or loans and gave the basement of block A-2 as the place to deliver them. The proposal for institutional patronage is reported as a next step, rather than a completed affiliation.

Gymnasium pupils staged the religious play Bethlehem Night three times on 7 and 9 January 1946, with separate performances for young people and adults. The camp bulletin describes full audiences, including foreign visitors. Together with the earlier appeal for textbooks, the report shows schooling extending beyond classroom lessons into the camp’s public cultural life.

A hall above the kitchen

The camp’s own bulletin places communal life in recognisable spaces: a flag square with a symbolic memorial mound, two churches, a theatre and a hall above the kitchen. On 31 October 1945, Ukrainian Catholic and Orthodox clergy held a joint memorial service at the flag square. Residents of other camps joined the gathering, followed by an evening programme of songs, recitations and recollections in the hall. On 4 November, the same hall hosted a commemorative programme for Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky, including choral and solo singing, a talk, recitation and a double-bass solo.

The writer Ulas Samchuk spoke on “Great Literature” in the hall above the kitchen on 14 November 1945. A full audience heard his argument that a creative environment helps produce major writers. The following evening, the visiting Bandera Syndik troupe performed a two-part programme in the same hall.

La Garde hosted the MUR (Artistic Ukrainian Movement) writers’ congress on 21–23 December 1945. The opening included remembrance of writers killed during the war. Yu. Sherekh spoke on Ukrainian expressionism and I. Kostetsky on Ukrainian realism. Authors read their work to fellow participants and to residents in the camp theatre, bringing the congress into the community’s public life.

Work, recreation and seasonal celebrations

Residents founded the Samopomich trading and industrial cooperative at a general meeting on 24 November 1945. The bulletin explicitly located the organisation in La Garde. Its proposed workshops and consumer departments were intended to provide everyday necessities at moderate prices while giving skilled residents an opportunity to earn money through their trades. These were the cooperative’s stated aims; the announcement does not establish how many workshops subsequently opened.

The November bulletin reports a Ukrainian chess qualifying tournament with 33 players in four groups. Four players from each group were to advance to the final; the others formed a second class. By the time of the report, matches were under way at two boards and attracting spectators. December brought a different kind of gathering. On 18 December, a Saint Nicholas celebration for younger children included songs, dances, recitations and gifts. That evening, Saint Nicholas visited gymnasium pupils in the camp theatre. A further visit to the wider camp community followed on 19 December.

Jarko Sichynsky remembers La Garde

Former resident Jarko Sichynsky remembered La Garde as a cultural centre that drew people from the other camps. Writing in 2012, he recalled its secondary school, concerts and entertainment, and a community that included doctors, professors, artists and priests. He also remembered Plast, the Ukrainian scouting organisation, and SUM, the Ukrainian Youth Association. His recollection complements the bulletin’s contemporary accounts of classrooms and performances.

Debating the future

A political and social studies circle opened with a talk on the importance of democracy on 3 November 1945; discussion continued three days later. On 12 December, a visiting Vatican delegate addressed a general gathering about displaced Ukrainians and efforts to find new homes overseas. Residents were discussing possible resettlement while continuing to build institutions inside the camp.