On February 21, 1942, Olena Teliga, a prominent figure of the OUN, died in Kyiv. In total, as a result of the German terror, more than six hundred OUN members, as well as Mykhailo Teliga, Olena's husband, found their final resting place in Babyn Yar.
"At the end of November 1941, Mykhailo Teliga followed his wife to Kyiv, which was occupied by the Germans. They lived on Korolenko Street, then moved to Karavaevska Street. The house did not have stoves, because it was adapted to central heating. But when the heating was turned on, the pipes began to burst and the house began to cool down again. Then, for the same reason, the water was turned off, followed by the light. But the couple held on, moreover, their apartment was always filled with Olena's loud laughter. On February 7, 1942, more than 200 conscientious Ukrainians were arrested in Kyiv. It became clear that it was dangerous to stay in the capital. Oleg Olzhych ordered to prepare for departure. But Olena strongly answered:
- I will not leave Kyiv a second time!
When Olzhych made another attempt to convince her to leave Kyiv immediately, she said that women know how to die no worse than men...
Teligas were arrested on February 9, 1942, in the Union of Writers, at Triokhsvyatitelska Street, 23 (now Desyatynna Street, 9) - together with many other Ukrainians who came to the Union on business that day. At 3:00 p.m., the Germans announced: those who did not belong to the Union of Writers can go home. One of the writers slipped out of the room, and Mykhailo, although he was not a writer, remained in solidarity with his wife... He could not do otherwise because he "hardened her will, taught her hatred of enemies and love for the crucified country". During the arrest and short imprisonment, both of them behaved bravely... One night, in the middle of February, in the morning, there was a movement in the prison corridors. The prison was on alert. Suddenly a cry was heard:
- Whoever comes out alive, say that the Gestapo shot Mykhailo Teliga from the Kuban!
The screams of the executioners were heard, blows rained down, and the door slammed... Suddenly, everything quieted down...
Olena Teliga also accepted her death with dignity. One of the executioners expressed himself as follows:
"I have never seen a man die so heroically as this beautiful woman."
The Teligas accepted a "hot death" because they strongly did not agree to "cold dying"...
"The Ukrainian nation needs strong people who know how to live, create and die for their Motherland," Olena Teliga wrote in the article "Flags of the Spirit".
She and her husband - the Kuban Cossack Mykhailo Teliga - were just such firm people who lived, worked and died for the Motherland.
