Volodymyr Pavlovych Stakhiv was born in the village of Bzovytsia, in what was then the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria in Austria-Hungary in 1910.
Stakhiv graduated from gymnasium in Przemyśl in 1930, and afterwards became a member of Plast and the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN).
[2] He and other OUN leaders were interned at Zellenbau, the area of the camp for political prisoners, who received improved treatment, including access to newspapers, mail packages, exemptions from the daily roll calls, and better food.
[3] Following his release, Stakhiv emigrated to Munich, where he worked with the Ukrainian Supreme Liberation Council and OUN as a diplomat.
He also became head of the German branch of the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists and League of Political Prisoners.