In December, 2017, the UHEC was pleased to again welcome Pavlo Podobev from Ukraine. Pavlo works for the Institute of National Remembrance in Ukraine, as well as the "Heroika" Fund, which is dedicated to re-awakening knowledge about Ukraine's struggle for independence, and preserving the memory those who participated in that struggle through telling their stories, restoring Ukrainian military burials, and the installation of monuments and memorials in honor of fighters for Ukrainian independence.
He gave a public talk about the fate of famous Ukrainians who fought in the Army of the Ukrainian People's Republic (УНР) for Ukraine's freedom in 1917-1920, among them Patriarch Mstyslav (Skrypnyk), and many others who are buried at St. Andrew Cemetery in South Bound Brook, NJ. He also gave a special, engaging, and very well-received talk for students of the St. Andrew Ukrainian School, as well as their parents. In many cases, the parents ended up learning as much as their children!
Pavlo has done significant work with the UHEC's museum and archives collections. He has not only obtained valuable information from our collections, but has provided great assistance to our staff with descriptive and background information on items. We look forward to our continued collaboration!