In 1944, the legendary UPA officer school “Oleni” operated in the Lower and Upper Rozhanka mountains. Under the leadership of Stepan Frasulyak-“Khmel” and Fedir Polyovyi-“Pol”, hundreds of young men learned to fight, overcoming exhaustion and danger.
The most touching chapter of this story was the unity of the local residents. When the front cut off the school from supplies, the inhabitants of the villages of Upper and Lower Rozhanka, Volosyanka, Khashchovanya, and Yalynkovate helped the cadets by giving up their last food reserves.
On 21 September 1944, a solemn oath ceremony for the cadets took place near Rozhanka with the participation of the UPA high command. However, due to the betrayal of an instructor, on 15 October the camp was surrounded by NKVD troops, and in an uneven battle, Commander “Pol” and the school’s staff were killed.
Despite the enemy’s attempts to erase the memory of the “Oleni”, their spirit and sacrifice remain in history.