The question of reburial of prominent Ukrainians abroad, particularly Stepan Bandera, has gained relevance in connection with the initiative to create a National Pantheon in Ukraine. However, the implementation of such decisions largely depends on the legal norms of the country where the individual is buried. In the case of Bandera, who is buried in a cemetery in Munich, the procedure has several restrictions.
This is reported by Finway
Legal Nuances of Reburial in Germany
According to the Munich city cemetery service, the relocation of a grave is only possible with a valid reason and with the consent of the relatives and the owner of the burial site. Exceptional circumstances, such as the objective impossibility for relatives to maintain the grave for valid reasons, may be considered by the court. However, even significant distance between the relatives’ residence and the grave, for example, 500 kilometers, is not considered a standalone reason for reburial.
Germany operates under the principle of “the peace of the deceased,” which has constitutional status and protects the burial site from changes without substantial grounds. Additionally, the wishes of the deceased are taken into account if there is evidence of their desire regarding reburial.
“The same general rules apply to the possibility of reburial of Stepan Bandera. If the owner of the grave submits a request, it may be approved if there is a valid reason. Consent from the relatives is also required. If such a request is made by Ukraine, the family’s consent remains mandatory,” the Munich city cemetery service informed Radio Liberty.
Life Path of Stepan Bandera
Stepan Bandera was born on January 1, 1909, in the village of Staryi Uhryniv in Ivano-Frankivsk region. He became one of the leaders of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists while studying at the Lviv Polytechnic. Known for his struggle for the rights of Ukrainians, Bandera organized an assassination attempt on Soviet diplomat Mailov in Lviv in response to the Holodomor policy, and he also led the preparation for the assassination of Polish Interior Minister Bronisław Pieracki, the initiator of the “pacification” of Ukrainians in Galicia and Volhynia. For these actions, the Warsaw court sentenced Bandera to death, which was later commuted to life imprisonment.
On June 30, 1941, he became one of the initiators of the proclamation of the Act of Restoration of Ukrainian Statehood in Lviv. This decision was not agreed upon with the occupying authorities, which led to Bandera’s arrest by the Gestapo and his subsequent imprisonment in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp for over three years.
Stepan Bandera died on October 15, 1959, in Munich at the hands of KGB agent Bohdan Stashynskyi.