Nykyfor Hirnyak.The Last Act of the Tragedy of the Ukrainian Galician Army.New York, 1959 — author’s autograph

THE FINAL ACT OF THE TRAGEDY OF THE UKRAINIAN GALICIAN ARMY. 1959
HIRNYAK NYKYFOR New York: Publication of the Ukrainian Military-Historical Institute in the USA; Printed by “America,” Philadelphia. — 210 pp. — ~23 × 16 × 1.5 cm.
Original cherry-colored publisher’s hardback binding with gold stamping. Very good condition: minor rubbing along the edges of the cover. The book contains illustrations.
Author’s lifetime edition.

Special feature of this copy: The title page bears the author’s inscription, dated October 1959: “To the Most Reverend Father Parokh V. Bylinsky, my unforgettable pastor, with deep respect. The Author.”

The book is of significant historical and cultural value as a primary source on the history of Ukraine’s struggle for independence and is highly collectible due to the author’s personal inscription.

INFORMATION
“The Final Act of the Tragedy of the Ukrainian Galician Army” is a memoir by Nykyfor Hirnyak covering the dramatic period of the UGA’s history from mid-December 1919 to September 1920. The book provides a detailed account of the army’s political and military situation, negotiations with the Bolsheviks, the formation of the ČUHA (Red Ukrainian Galician Army), relations with the Army of the Ukrainian People’s Republic, and the fate of the senior command amid epidemics and encirclement by enemy forces.

Nykyfor Hirnyak (1885–1962)
Ukrainian military and public figure, Ataman of the UGA. During World War I, he served in the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen Legion. During the struggle for independence, he held responsible positions within the structures of the State Secretariat for Military Affairs of the ZUNR and the UGA Command. Following the defeat of the independence movement, he lived in exile in Czechoslovakia and later in the United States, where he was an active member of the Ukrainian community and a founder of the Ukrainian Military-Historical Institute. His memoirs are an important document for studying the causes of the failure of Ukrainian statehood in the early 20th century.