A father served as the mayor of 11 villages. An Olympic champion shares insights about life in his village during the occupation.

Six months before his death, 92-year-old Olympic champion of the 1960 Rome Greco-Roman wrestling Ivan Bohdan had an open conversation with Maksym Rozenko, where he shared why his father served as the mayor of 11 villages during World War II, how a German commander saved local youth from being taken to Germany, and how his father managed to escape the crushing weight of Stalin's repressions after Soviet power returned to their village of Dmytro-Bilivka.

From Collective Farm Head to Mayor

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Bohdan denies that the Germans took most of the harvest from the peasants.

Currently, Dmytro-Bilivka has just over 300 residents. In 1941, the population was twice that number.

Bohdan does not believe his father served the Germans.

His father collected warm clothes from the villagers — supposedly for the Germans. But in reality, it was for partisans, as there was a partisan unit operating in their area. He also sent food supplies there.

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Who the Commander Avoided

Even nearly 80 years later, Ivan Havrylovych finds it difficult to explain the behavior of the German commander.

Paradoxically, the German commander ... shunned his fellow countrymen.

According to Ivan Havrylovych, after the arrival of the Red Army, the grinding wheels of repression passed by his father and only touched the villagers who worked as policemen.

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Ivan Havrylovych received his draft notice in the winter of 1945.

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Personal File:

Ivan Bohdan. Born on February 29, 1928, in the village of Dmytro-Bilivka, Mykolaiv region. Honored Master of Sports in Greco-Roman wrestling. Olympic champion of Rome-1960 in heavyweight. Two-time world champion (1958, 1961). Three-time champion of the USSR (1958, 1959, 1961).

Died on December 25, 2020.

Since 2010, a tournament has been held in Mykolaiv for the prizes of Olympic champion Ivan Bohdan.

Maksym Rozenko, Champion