Talerhof

Talerhof was a concentration camp created by the Austro-Hungarian authorities of Franz Joseph I of Austria in the first days of World War I, in a sandy valley in foothills of the Alps, near Graz, the main city of the province of Styria.

Austro-Hungarian authorities imprisoned Ukrainian Russophiles, as well as other Ukrainians and Lemkos from Galicia and Bukovina. They were punished for their loyalty to the Russian language and culture, the people who had renounced the Russian language and identified themselves as Ukrainians were released from the camp. Over twenty thousand people were arrested and placed in the Austrian concentration camp in Talerhof. (Another concentration camp for supporters of Russia was the fortress at Terezín, now in the Czech Republic.)

The first group of prisoners was interned in Talerhof by the soldiers of the Austrian regiment of Graz on September 4, 1914.

Until the winter 1915, there were no barracks in Talerhof. Prisoners slept on the ground in the open-air during rain and frost. According to U.S. Congressman Medill McCormick, prisoners were beaten and tortured. On November 9, 1914 official report of field marshal Schleer said there were 5,700 Ukrainians in Talerhof. In all, 20 thousand people were prisoners of Talerhof from September 4, 1914 to May 10, 1917. The camp was closed by Emperor Charles I of Austria, after the first 6 months of his 24-month reign.

In the first eighteen months of its existence, three thousand prisoners of Talerhof died, including the Orthodox saint. Maxim Sandovich, who was martyred here.

Tens of thousands of Ukrainians and Lemkos were victims of reprisals which carried out by the Austro-Hungarian authorities in Galicia during World War I.

The camp site is now located at the Graz Airport.

People interned in Talerhof

 * Jaroslav Kacmarcyk
 * Metodyj Trochanovskij
 * Euphijon Venhrynovych (1861–1919) imprisoned 1914-1917
 * Vasylij Kuryllo (1861–1941)