I posted a few months ago some photos I uncovered of my great-grandfather who was a native of Buchach (at the time part of Poland).

In clearing out some old boxes at a relative’s house, we came across his old ID pieces, which are incredibly still in one piece.

I dont speak Polish, so while I was able to translate the printed text, I don’t understand the cursive handwriting. Would someone be able to let me know what it says / where he served, his ranks etc.?

Dziekuje bardzo!

12 comments

  1. Your ancestor was of Ukrainian nationality most likely (Greek catholic faith, native language Ruthenian).

  2. My grandpa also was from Buczacz. Why are you covering the name? If I can recommend something, uncover it as it’s already 80 yeard old document and all these people are gone now. Maybe someone will be able to find their own relatives if you uncover it.

  3. He served in infantry. There’s a history of transfers between 1925 and 1927 (after which he is moved to reserve), but nothing in the war/frontline history and the transfers themselves are recorded in a super-dense cursive that I can barely make anything out of (and some parts can’t at all).

    His language being given as “ruski” doesn’t mean “russian”, BTW – it means “ruthenian”, which is an older name for the Ukrainian ethnicity.

  4. Very cool – documents from between the wars are always interesting to look at.
    I always think it’s amazing how the facial features are described.
    Nose: proportional – made me giggle a bit.

  5. “Buchach remained a part of Austria and its successor states until the end of the First World War in 1918. The town was briefly a part of the independent West Ukrainian People’s Republic before it was captured by the Republic of Poland in July 1919 after Ukrainian-Polish War.[6] Also, between August 10 and September 15, 1920, it was occupied by the Red Army (see Polish-Soviet War). In the Second Polish Republic, Buchach was the seat of a county (powiat) in Tarnopol Voivodeship. In the 1920s, Buchach was inhabited by Jews (~60%), Poles (~25%), and Ukrainians (~15%).”

    Thats quite a history.

  7. My grandmother’s family name was also Rzepnicka.

  8. He wasn’t really educated, was working as a farmer, was in a good condition, had blond hair, grey eyes, straight(?) nose, shaved beard and a long face.

  9. Congratulations. You can get Polish citizenship with these documents if you only want.

  11. I’m wondering if our families could knew each other. They’re from a city around 15 km from Buczacz, and some of them emigrated to Canada around similar time as your great grandfather

  12. A slight correction to this thread’s general misconception:

    “Ruthenian” isn’t an old name for “Ukrainian”. It is a separate ethnicity within then Poland and now Ukraine, similar to, but distinct from, Ukrainians.

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