In 1918 left, in unknown circumstances, the parish of Seret, which — after the end of World War I and the dissolution of the Austro–Hungarian Monarchy, ruling till then in part of partitioned Poland, from c. 06.11.1918, found itself within Romania, beyond the reach of effective control of Lviv archdiocese. Indeed, for c. 3 years — in connection with the Polish–Ukrainian War of 1918‐1919 and the Polish–Russian War of 1919‐1921 — resided outside the archdiocese, in Siedlce. During the Russian offensive, Siedlce was under Russian occupation for 10 days, on 10‐20.08.1920. His fate during this time is unknown.

From 1926 ministered in the Shchurovychi parish, in the Polish Radekhiv county in the Ternopil Voivodeship. The seat of the parish was a town of the same name, situated on the Styr, in the 19th century the border river between the province and crown land of the Germ. Königreich Galizien und Lodomerien (Eng. Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria) of the Austro–Hungarian Monarchy and the Rus. Волынская губерния (Eng. Volyn Governorate) of the another country ruling of part of partitioned Poland, i.e. Russian Empire, and in 1939 the border river between the Ternopil and the Volyn Voivodeships. In 1939, it had an estimated population of c. 1,400 people, of whom Roman Catholic Poles constituted c. 53% of the inhabitants, Greek Catholic Ukrainians c. 41%. In addition, there were c. 100 Jews living there. The parishioners from the town and the surrounding area, among whom ministered, numbered c. 1,530 in 1938.

Was ministering there when in 09.1939 the Germans and Russians invaded Poland and World War II began. Shchurovychi — by virtue of the genocidal German–Russian agreement of 23.08.1939, known as the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, confirmed on 28.09.1939 by the so‐called „Treaty on the Borders and Friendship between Germany and Russia”, also known as the second Ribbentrop–Molotov Pact — was captured by the Russians. „As soon as the Russians entered, the Ukrainians took over the local offices. They thought it would be theirs”, reported one of the Polish witnesses living then in the area. Arrests of Polish intelligentsia, teachers, doctors, landowners, government officials, foresters, policemen, and families of Polish servicemen began. In the 1940‐1941, many other Poles became victims of four large waves of deportations „to Siberia”, in the vicinity of his parish especially during the first one, on c. 10.02.1940. The reports often mention that „they came at night, without warning, and took away entire families, from babies to the elderly”. „When we went out into the yard, they let my mother look into the chest ‐ it was unfortunately empty because our neighbors had already emptied it. We took practically nothing with us because they didn't let us move around the house […] There were large snowdrifts and heavy frost”. They were deported not only to Siberia, but also to the north, e.g. to the area around Arkhangelsk — the aforementioned witness from Shchurovychi's vicinity recalled: „In February 1940, they took us to Russia. Me and my entire family. That is, my mother, my father, and five brothers, there were five of us. We went to Arkhangelsk […] unfortunately, my father died there, and one of my brothers”. Poles who were not deported had to face Russian terror. In addition, 150,000–200,000 men were conscripted into the Russian army, and c. 100,000 were forced to work for Russian industry, mainly in the mines of the Donets Basin, in heavy industry plants in the Urals and in Siberia. Then the surveillance of priests and monks began. High taxes were imposed on the clergy. Religious education for children in schools was abolished.

Survived the Russian occupation, and after the German attack on 22.06.1941 on its erstwhile ally, the Russians, and the beginning of the German occupation, Shchurovychi was incorporated into the Germ. Kreishauptmannschaft Kamionka Strumiłłowa (Eng. Kamionka Strumiłłowa County), which was part of the Germ. Distrikt Galizien (Eng. District of Galicia), a German‐occupied and run quasi‐state called the Germ. Generalgouvernement (Eng. General Governorate), i.e. GG, still de facto remaining a border city, this time with another German‐occupied and run quasi‐state called the Germ. Reichskommissariat Ukraine (Eng. Reich Commissariate of Ukraine).

The period 1941‐1943 was marked in particular by the extermination of Jews. From the beginning of 1942, the Germans implemented the genocidal plan Germ. «Endlösung der Judenfrage» (Eng. Final Solution of the Jewish Question), in the GG codenamed «Aktion Reinhardt» (Eng. Operation Reinhardt). Units of the Ukrainian, collaborative Germ. Ukrainische Hilfspolizei (Eng. Ukrainian Auxiliary Police), also operating as the Germ. Schutzmannschaft (Eng. Protection Battalions), i.e. Schuma, took a significant part in it. The Jews from Shchurovychi, although formally administratively subordinated to the Germ. Kreishauptmannschaft Kamionka Strumiłłowa, were in fact transported to Brody, c. 25 km away, in the Germ. Kreishauptmannschaft Złoczów. In 1941, there were c. 9,000 Jews in Brody. From 25.10.1941, they were basically not allowed to leave the town, because of the decree of the Germ. Generalgouverneur (Eng. General Governor) of the GG, Hans Frank, which stated that „Jews who leave their designated district without authorization are subject to the death penalty. The same punishment applies to persons who knowingly provide such Jews with a hiding place”, and „Instigators and helpers are subject to the same punishment as the perpetrator; an attempted act will be punished as a completed act. In less serious cases, heavy imprisonment or imprisonment may be imposed”. On 27.12.1941, several „larger groups” of Jews were transported to „slave labor camps”, from which no one returned. The main extermination operations began on 19.09.1942 when the policemen of the Germ. Jüdischer Ordnungsdienst (Eng. Jewish Order Service) managed to capture c. 2,500 Jews in the ghetto, who were then herded by the Germ. Ukrainische Hilfspolizei to the railway station and transported to the Germ. Vernichtungslager (Eng. extermination camp) VL Belzec, where they were all murdered in the gas chamber. Already on the way to the station, the Germans and Ukrainians murdered c. 300 Jews. The second group of c. 2,500 Jews was transported to VL Belzec from Brody at the end of 11.1942. And then, in 12.1942, Jews from the surrounding area were brought to Brody, including prob. from Shchurovychi. On 10.12.1942 the Germans established a closed ghetto, surrounded by a fence topped with barbed wire with only one exit, guarded by Ukrainians from Germ. Ukrainische Hilfspolizei, in which c. 5,000 Jews were held. In the winter of 1942‐1943, c. 1,000 Jews died of hunger and disease, especially typhus.

And it was then, in 02.1943, in Volyn, i.e. in Germ. Reichskommissariat Ukraine, bordering the GG, Roman Shukhevych, nom de guerre „Taras Chuprynka”, the chief commander of the Ukrainian, genocidal OUN/UPA organisation, who in 1941 was a member of the Ukrainian Germ. Sondergruppe Nachtigall (Eng. Special Group Nightingale) — a unit of the Germ. Wehrmacht (Eng. Armed Forces) that took part in the German attack on Russians in 1941, accused of participating in the Jewish pogrom in Lviv in 1941 — and later a member of the Germ. Schutzmannschaftsbataillon 201 (Eng. 201st Protection team Battalion) — responsible for the murder of Jews and civilians in the territory of Belarus — issued an order: „The extermination operation should be carried out according to the following principles: Polish villages are to be burned, and their populations massacred. Attacks on towns will take place in broad daylight, not at night. In mixed villages, the Polish population alone should be liquidated, and farmsteads should be burned only if they are 15 meters away and when there is no risk of the fire spreading to neighboring Ukrainian buildings. The Ukrainian population will receive instructions as to where to gather during the attack […] For every Ukrainian murdered, whether by Poles or Germans, 100 (one hundred) Poles will be executed”.

It was the de facto signal for the commencement of the «Genocidium Atrox» — i.e. the genocide perpetrated by Ukrainians, known as „Volyn genocide”.

Immediately thereafter, in 03.1943, the UPA issued an appeal to members of the Germ. Ukrainische Hilfspolizei and Schuma, to desert and join the UPA ranks. Perhaps as many as 10,000 Ukrainians did so.

Volyn was drenched in Polish blood. Tens of thousands of Poles were murdered by the Ukrainians — with German passivity — in an extremely barbaric manner. Hundreds of villages were burned.

And then was arrested.

Sources are ambiguous. Some state it happened as early as 02.1943, others it happened on 25.05.1943.

Sources mostly agree that the arrest was carried out by members of the Germ. Ukrainische Hilfspolizei, although some claim by the Germ. Geheime Staatspolizei (Eng.Secret State Police), i.e. the Gestapo.

Most also report that was transported to a prison in Lviv, which likely means it was no accident, as the sources do not mention him being held in local detention centers, e.g. at the capital of the Germ. Kreishauptmannschaft in Kamionka Strumiłłowa. It resulted from specific circumstances, considered by the Germans as justifying the arrest and transport to the capital of the Germ. Distrikt Galizien, i.e. to Lviv.

The arrest coincided with the final liquidation of the ghetto in Brody. On 21.05.1943, the majority of the Jews — c. 3,000‐3,500 — were deported from the town to the Germ. KL Lublin (Majdanek) extermination camp or VL Sobibor extermination camp. During this Germ. Aktion (Eng. operation), „some Jews put up armed resistance, killing four Ukrainian and several German policemen”. To „break the resistance, several buildings were set on fire; some people were forced to leave, some died in the fire”. The rest were being murdered by Germans and Ukrainians from the Germ. Ukrainische Hilfspolizei in the ghetto itself until 06.1943, when the town was finally defined by the Germans as Germ. „Judenfrei” (Eng. „free of Jews”).

The Germ. «Endlösung der Judenfrage» had a significant impact on the fate of his successor in the Shchurovychi parish, Fr Stanislav Mazak. Fr Mazak, prob. already in 1942 became the vicar of this parish — some sources even state that „the church authorities ordered him to take over the parish of Shchurovychi in 12.1942”, although most state that became the administrator in 1943. Was supposed to be involved in Polish „conspiratorial activities. At the same time, the aid committee he founded took care of refugees from Volyn, starving teachers and sent parcels to Polish soldiers in German captivity”. And Jewish sources add that „was the spirit behind the campaign to save a group of Jews from the village of Shchurovychi […] In his sermons […] would call upon the faithful to take part in saving the persecuted, trying to convince them to do what they could, even at the cost of self–sacrifice. And indeed, […] his flock responded to his appeal and extended their assistance to the Jews who were hiding in the area […] Even farmers who did not personally hide Jews in their homes volunteered to help, providing food and keeping their hiding places secret from their Ukrainian nationalist neighbors. Reverend Mazak himself visited the hiding places, offering comfort by cheering up the Jewish fugitives and providing them with medicine as needed, without asking for anything and receiving nothing in return”.

It is also known that issued false birth certificates for Jews, i.e., so‐called „Aryan papers”, certifying their Christian origins.

As a vicar, he would not have been able to conduct such activities without the knowledge of his immediate superior.

It is unclear when perished / was murdered. Sources state it happened „a few weeks after his arrest”. Some state perished on 25.05.1943.

It is also unclear where perished. Some sources state it happened in a prison in Lviv, e.g., the prison on Łącki Street. Others suggest perished after release, during the trip back to Shchurovychi — that was murdered by „Ukrainian nationalists”, according to family accounts, „sawn in half”.

The genocidal OUN/UPA formally operated only in Volyn, on the territory of the Germ. Reichskommissariat Ukraine, so the quoted order of Shukhevych did not cover — it would seem — the Germ. District of Galicia in the GG. However, Shukhevych — in order not to „annoy” the Germans — founded a group in the GG operating under the euphemistic name Ukr. Українська Народна Самооборона (Eng. Ukrainian National Sel‐–Defense), i.e. UNS, reinforced by deserters from the Germ. Ukrainische Hilfspolizei and Schuma, seasoned in the genocide of Jews. Its main goal, like the OUN/UPA, was the extermination of the Polish population, although its internal documentation and reports ostentatiously stated „defense against the terror of the German authorities”. Perhaps the murder was the work of agents of the genocidal Ukr. Служба Безпеки (Eng. Security Service), i.e. SB OUN, whose task was to track down political and ideological opponents of the OUN, carry out their physical liquidation, and also participate in the murders of the Polish population, took part in the attack. Sources indicate that „SB OUN could only issue death sentences to "enemies of the Ukrainian nation" […] For minor offenses, the so‐called buki were used, i.e. beatings with beech sticks from 10 to 50 strokes. Major offenses were punished by death. The sentence was carried out by shooting or hanging […] some group commanders "chopped off the heads of their victims"”. The SB OUN was founded in 1940, under the watchful eyes of the Germans, and training was conducted, among others, in Zakopane, at the „Stamary” hotel. According to the contemporary website of this hotel, „the training included the principles of sabotage, Gestapo methods of interrogation and methods of killing”. At the same time, i.e. on 20.02.1940, in Zakopane, at the „Pan Tadeusz” (Eng. „Sir Thaddeus”) and „Telimena” villas, the third so‐called „thematic conference” of the Germ. Geheime Staatspolizei (Eng. Secret State Police), i.e. Gestapo, and the Russian Rus. Народный Комиссариат Внутренних Дел (Eng. People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs), i.e. NKVD, two genocidal allied organizations, debating cooperation and ways of combating and exterminating Poles in the territories they occupied. In Zakopane, all these undertakings were supervised by the Gestapo, which had its headquarters in the „Palace” villa, where Polish patriots were being murdered. German–Ukrainian cooperation was still strong in 1943, as exemplified by the speech of the Reichsführer of the Germ. Die Schutzstaffel der NSDAP (Eng. NSDAP Protection Squad), i.e. «SS», a paramilitary formation subordinate to the ruling National Socialist German Workers' Party NSDAP in Germany, Heinrich Himmler, Germ. „auf dem Appell des Führerkorps der Galizischen SS‐Freiw. Infanterie–Division in Heuhammer am 16 Mai 1944” Eng. „at the roll call of the commanders of the Galician Volunteer Infantry Division of the SS in Heuhammer on 16 May 1944”, i.e. the 14th Grenadier Division of the Waffen SS (1st Ukrainian), commonly known as «SS‐Galizien», in which the German leader said: „Your homeland has become so much more beautiful since you got rid of — on our initiative, I must say — those inhabitants who were so often a dirty stain on the good name of Galicia, namely Jews. I know that if I ordered you to liquidate Poles, I would give you permission to do what you already desire so much. However, the privilege of issuing such an order belongs exclusively to the savior of Europe, Adolf Hitler”.

Hitler, it seems, did not manage to issue such an order, but Ukrainian collaborators undertook the task on their own. E.g. in 1944 in Shchurovychi, they learned about Fr Stanislav Mazak organizing help for hiding Jews and sentenced him to death. He was warned and had to leave the parish. And in 1984, was honored by the Yad Vashem Holocaust Martyrs" and Heroes" Remembrance Institute in Jerusalem with the title of „Righteous Among the Nations”.

Ukraine responded by posthumously awarding génocidaire Roman Shukhevych with the title of Hero of Ukraine on 12.10.2007 In several locations, monuments and commemorative plaques have been erected to this Lat. „hostis humani generis”, the schools were named after him.

Lat. „O Tempora! O mores!”

According to some sources, murdered right after the German attack on 22.06.1941 on their erstwhile ally, the Russians, and the beginning of the German occupation. This is supposed to be evidenced by the Holy Masses celebrated apparently in 1942 for his soul in nearby Leshniv.