Separation: A Ukrainian WWII Survival Memoir

In 1996, Ukrainian-born Stepan Fedenko's fifty year wait to tell his WWII survival story came to an end when he first published his memoir Rozluka (Separation). Any sooner and Stepan feared that the Soviets would torture his family for speaking out. The Ukrainian version of Separation reached #8 on the most read books list in Ukraine in 1997, was heralded as the "Book of the Year," and was written about in over 20 different articles. As a Ukrainian Underground account of Nazi imprisonment, it was the first book of its kind. Stepan's grandson Damian has taken the last three years to translate his memoir in order to give English-speakers the chance to read his story.

Synopsis: Stepan's story begins as a 17 year old Ukrainian Undergrounder. After a routine mission goes wrong, he and Tato (his father) get arrested by the Germans. Stefan's mother was brutally separated from Tato and Stepan and that was the last Stepan ever saw of her. The rest of the story weaves Stepan in and out of prisons, beatings, concentration camps, bombings, and more, finally leaving him with a near impossible choice at the end of the story.

With Ukraine continuing to be in the spotlight, fighting for freedom from oppression and governmental corruption, Stepan's memoir could give readers a better idea of "how did we get here?" with the Soviet Union and Ukraine.

Half the proceeds of the book will be donated to NASHI, a volunteer organization that houses, feeds, and teaches life skills to young girls who would otherwise be trafficked in Ukraine.

You can contact Stepan or Damian by emailing Damian at dnoflows@gmail.com.

Author: Damian Oleksiuk, Stepan Fedenko
Publisher: Damian Oleksiuk
Published: 03/06/2015
Pages: 580
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.85lbs
Size: 9.02h x 5.98w x 1.29d
ISBN: 9780997165111

About the Author
Stepan Fedenko was born January 3rd, 1926 in the Ukrainian village of Uherci, now Uhry, southwest of Lviv. He studied there up until fifth grade and spend sixth and seventh grade in the nearby town of Horodok. After that, he studied for two years (1942-1944) in craft school in Lviv. During April 1944, he and his father were arrested by the Germans. In 1946, after gaining his freedom, he finished high school in a camp for immigrants in Karlsfeld near Munich in Germany. In 1950, he immigrated to the US. In 1951, he joined the American army, where he served for two years. From 1953 to 1956, he studied mechanical engineering at Wayne State University in Detroit. In 1956, he became a partner at Cylectron Corporation. In 1957, he married Anna Drohomeretska and they had two daughters - Mary and Donna. Mary married Alex and had two children - Damian (this book's translator) and Christine. Donna married Markian Fedorowycz and had four children - Olenka, Levko, Lys, and Kalyna. In 1993, Stepan retired and he now lives in Warren, Michigan, outside of Detroit. At 89, he's still an active member of the choir and will always hope for peace in Ukraine.

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