Manuscript Collection MS Coll 00192E - Pip Family Papers

When Nazi Germany invaded Ukraine in 1941, the occupying forces took Dr. Pip’s mother, Nadija Jaremenko, from her native village of Shpola in Cherkasy province to Germany to work as an Ostarbeiter (Eastern Worker), a form of slave labour. Nadija ended up in a prison camp in Itzehoe. Following liberation by British forces, she was sent to Wagenfeld, and then Korigen. At the latter camp, Nadia composed poetry (under her name and the pseudonyms N. Iskra and Ya. Idan) describing her contemporary living conditions and feelings, took part in amateur plays, and taught at the makeshift school. She also contributed to Camp Korigen’s journal Na chuzhyni (In a Foreign Country). While there, Nadija Jaremenko met her eventual husband, Ivan Pip.
Ivan and Nadija Pip immigrated to Canada in 1948-1949. In Canada, Nadija Jaremenko Pip taught in several Ukrainian schools in Winnipeg and continued to write for Ukrainian-language periodicals and pedagogical journals.

Ivan was born in the village of Koniushky in the Lviv region. He enlisted with the Polish cavalry in 1938 and, during the September Campaign of 1939, was wounded and captured by German armed forces. Ivan spent the rest of the war moving from one forced labour camp to another in the Hamburg region. Afterwards, he passed through several displaced persons camps in Lower Saxony and Schleswig‐Holstein. Ivan, an artist and musician, participated actively in the cultural life of Camp Korigen. He painted icons for the camp church, created stage sets for the performances staged there, and designed the costumes and makeup for the actors, crafted dolls for children, and played the violin both solo and with the camp orchestra, which he organized. In addition, Ivan illustrated camp journals, including Dzhmil´ (Bumblebee), a satirical‐humorous publication.
Ivan and Nadija Pip immigrated to Canada in 1948-1949. In Canada, Nadija Jaremenko Pip taught in several Ukrainian schools in Winnipeg and continued to write for Ukrainian-language periodicals and pedagogical journals.