Dmytro Hrytsai

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Dmytro Hrytsai (a.k.a. "Perebyjnis"; born 1907 in Galicia, died 1945 in Prague) was a leader in the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists.

Born in Galicia, Hrytsai graduated from gymnasium in Drohobych and became a member of the Ukrainian Military Organization (UVO). In 1928 he matriculated in the Physics and Mathematics Department of Lviv University.

He was mobilized into the Polish Army and completed officer training. At that time he joined the OUN. In 1933 he directed the military section of the OUN's Ukrainian Executive.

In 1934 Hrytsai was arrested and incarcerated for two years in the Bereza Kartuska Detention Camp. After release, he completed his studies at Lviv University.

In 1939 he was again arrested and returned to the concentration camp, but was released later that year after Germany occupied Poland.

In 1940-41 Hrytsai was a member of the OUN Directorate and participated in the second Great OUN Congress. In the fall of 1941 he headed the OUN's military wing in Ukraine.

In the spring of 1943 Hrytsai was arrested by the Gestapo, but was freed by a Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) group. He directed UPA's main directorate of military affairs.

In January 1945 Hrytsai was arrested on the Polish-Czechoslovak border and was shot in Prague.